AIM Singapore Career Fair 2011

Accenture. Coca-Cola. Google. Hewlett-Packard. Johnson & Johnson.

These are some of the companies that joined us for the Asian Institute of Management’s very first career fair in Singapore held last September 14, 2011.   On that day, AIM’s Career Management Services & Placement office (CMS) brought together recruiters and students of the Washington SyCip Graduate School of Business at the Mandarin Meritus Orchard hotel in Orchard Road, Singapore, for a day-long activity of company presentations and networking sessions.  Headed by no less than the Dean of the Institute, Professor Ricardo A. Lim, AIM was also represented by Associate Dean Horacio M. Borromeo, Brand Manager Mia Zamora, myself, and Jade Galvan of CMS.  Also in attendance were Greg Atienza and Sherbet Manalili of the Alumni Relations Office (ARO) and Dr. Gan Cheong Eng of the AIM Alumni Association of Singapore (AIMAS).  Sponsors of the event were Accenture, Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Contact Singapore, Hewlett-Packard, and Johnson & Johnson.  

Dean Lim gave the welcome remarks to start the day.  He gave a light and warm presentation about the mix of our MBA and MM candidates, and how their diversity is value-adding to their learning experience in AIM.  Associate Dean Borromeo then presented the award for the 2010 Top Recruiter, Cognizant Technology Solutions, who was represented by Ms. Sonia Kolkarni, HR Head for ASEAN & Middle East.  For the third year in a row, Cognizant has been the top recruiter of AIM graduates, where they gave 20 offers to our MBA candidates in 2010.

A series of company presentations followed, first from Ms. Mary Anne Hebert, Recruitment Sourcing Lead for ASEAN region of Accenture. Ms. Marie Curitana, Head of Talent Acquisition, Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, then showcased a video of their company’s innovative marketing campaigns.  Hewlett-Packard’s HR Management Associate Program was discussed in detail by Leon Chan, APJ HR Planning and Operations.  Clifton Chang, University Recruitment Manager for APAC, gave a lively discussion about J&J’s International Recruitment Development Program (IRDP), and Akie Seno from AIM MBA 2010 also gave a few words about her experience in the IRDP program where she will be headed to the USA for the next stage of her training. The final presentation was from Cognizant, where we again called to stage Ms. Sonia Kulkarni.  Ms. Kulkarni spoke from the heart, and reached out to the students by identifying with them being a former MBA student who went through the stressful experience of “placement season”.  In summary, she advised the students that a job should not define one’s life and that sincerity is important. The rest of the day was given for networking sessions between the students and the recruiters, as well as scrumptious meals served by the good people of the Mandarin Meritus hotel.

The idea of having a career fair in Singapore started when I first visited the country last year in November.  Recognizing the strength and potential of Singapore being a “placement hub”, I felt that bringing our students to the doorsteps of these recruiters was not only innovative but hopefully more effective than doing recruitment remotely from the Philippines.  The planning and execution was definitely challenging, but we hope to improve on next year’s career fair in Singapore.  But it doesn’t stop here - we will be having an on-campus final placement week from December 5 – 9, 2011 in our Manila campus (interested parties may email cms@aim.edu for more details!).

Alonto for the assist...

Khairy Alonto took his MBA at AIM and now works there. Follow him on Twitter @khairyalonto or view his profile on http://ph.linkedin.com/in/khairyalonto

4th National HR Summit

Last July 28, I attended a two-day conference at the SMX Convention Center at the SM Mall of Asia.  It was basically the "comic-con" equivalent for HR practitioners like me.  Organized by Powermax Consulting Group, the 4th National HR Summit was a great way to learn from industry experts in the field of HR.  This years' theme was "From Hiring to Retiring".

Companies that were also represented at the convention included:

• Del Monte Philippines
• DMCI
• Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
• Philippine Airlines Inc
• Filinvest Land Inc
• Gardenia Bakeries (Philippines) Inc
• Philippine Stock Exchange
• Petron Corporation
• Procter and Gamble
• SM Retail Inc
• Toyota Motors Phils. Corp
• Cats Motors Inc
• Toshiba Information Equipment (Phils.) Inc
• Cebu Pacific Air 

The speakers at the summit included:

• Senator Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel (Senate of the Philippines)
• Rose O. Fuentes – President and Dean (SAIDE School of OD)
• Imelda Centeno – SVP, HRO (United Laboratories)
• Pat Sto. Tomas – Consultant, Former Secretary of DOLE / CSC & DPB Chairman
• Gerardo Cabochan – President & CEO (Pandayan)
• Manuel Quiambao – Corporate Secretary & Asst. Dean (College of Law, JRU)
• Auggie Cadua – Head HRD (MediaScape, Inc./ TV5)
• Virgel Binghay – Professor & Director (Center for Industry Productivity and Competitiveness SOLAIR, UP)
• Jesse Francis Rebustillo – AVP Classified Ads (Phil Daily Inquirer)
• Adrian Robles – Head, People and Leadership Dev (Meralco)
• Ricardo de Vera, MBA, CSP – Chairman Emeritus, PMA Chapters; Consultant - DTI and Certified International  Trainer - Singapore and Tokyo
• Dan Carlo M. Collado – Managing Director (PPL Developers Consultancy)
• Vic Alcuaz – Trainer and Consultant (Hospitality Headhunter)
• Howell Mabalot – Director, Training & Performance Improvement (Digitel LEC Division)
• George Ramos – Training Director (TeleDevelopment Services, Inc.)
• Rozanne V. Parungo – VP, HR and Training (Integra)
• Rita Bantigue – AVP & Head Learning and Dev (Meralco)
• Hans Montenegro – Country Manager (Northgate Arinso Ph)
• Felino “Jun” Palafox, Jr. – President (Management Asso. of the Ph) • Nonong Noriega – AVP, Employee Development (PLDT)

I was able to hear from a few of the break-out sessions, but it was really great to hear from people like Pat Sto. Tomas - a former head of the Department of Labor and the second Filipino to be the President of the International Labor Organization.  Her Q&A really became a free consultation exercise for the HR directors in attendance.  

Another insightful presentation was given by Ms. Rozanne Parungo, VP for HR & Training for Integra (a BPO).  We often hear a lot about how important branding is for a company, but seldom does someone show us how they had implemented it.  At Integra, they value thir stakeholder's perception of the company and they allow their employees to market the Integra brand.  They make use of Net Promoter Score not only for their employees or clients but also with their applicants.  In the BPO industry, it is normal to see long lines at the recruitment offices and for Integra to have an almost-perfect satisfaction score from their applicants is quite impressive.  

A talk on Social Media Recruitment was given by Mr. Augie Cadua of Mediascape.  He spoke to us about the use of social media in the realm of talent acquisition/recruitment.  It seems pretty logical that if you want to recruit Filipino talent, your company should go online.  Why? Well, more than 29.7 million Filipinos, or 30% of the Philippine population, use the internet.  And it should be cheaper then above-the-line tactics (i.e. traditional media such as Print, Radio, and Television).  He gave us a list of the top sites in the Philippines, which were:

10) wordpress.com

9)   sulit.com

8)   twitter.com

7)   wikipedia.com

6)   blogger.com

5)   yahoo.com

4)   youtube.com

3)   google.com.ph

2)   google.com (what's the difference? is it the .ph? Does the extra traffic mean more income for Google?)

And numero uno goes to

1)   well, this is a no-brainer: facebook.com

My favorite website for recruitment purposes, LinkedIn, was number 11 (the site recently outpaced Myspace in visits so I think this social network will continue to grow and make things easier for companies and jobhunters in finding the right fit). Other HR/Recruitment- relevant websites for the Philippines were the Philippine Daily Inquirer (23) and Jobstreet.com (25).  If you think like a recruiter during the job hunt, which you should, then these sites might be the place to see some job ads.  But LinkedIn should be worthy of your time, and I'll write something about LinkedIn soon enough.

There was also a nice and honest presentation given by Ms. Rita Bantigue, AVP and Head LEarning Development for Meralco.  Her discussion was about how she implemented a succession plan in Meralco, or rather, how the implementation is going.  She started the project in 2005, and it is still being implemented today.  Among the presentations, I have to say hers was very sincere and straightforward.  Being HR practitioners, I guess the audience empathized with her when she shared how challenging it was to go through different owners of such a large organization (i.e. Meralco was bought during the middle of her implementation of the succession plan) but that she was also fortunate that the current ownership is more supportive of the initiative.  I guess a caveat for those who will start their own succession plan: make sure you have buy-in from the top as well as from senior management.  Another challenge she encountered was the nomination of successors (i.e. incumbent managers apparently were hesitant to nominate their successors and it took her two years just to get a list of nominees!). 

The event was capped by a talk from Senator Nene Pimentel, a fellow Mindanaoan.  His airtime was about good governance and good management.  When he entered the hall, his staff distributed hard copies of his complaint on the election of Senator Zubiri who they claim had benefited from electioneering (and the casualty being his son, Koko Pimentel).  Looking back, it was intriguing because this was prior to the resignation of Senator Zubiri.  Now his son has been proclaimed, so if you do not know what I am talking about, you need not bother.  His talk was well-appreciated by the crowd, and I even got a photo op with the man (much to the disdain of the bodyguard). 

I'll look forward to next year's summit.  Good job, Powermax!


Alonto for the assist...

Khairy Alonto took his MBA at AIM and now works there. Follow him on Twitter @khairyalonto or view his profile on http://ph.linkedin.com/in/khairyalonto

Choice Picks from Career Tools

This is a list of choice Career Tools podcasts from Manager Tools that I think would be helpful to any type of job-hunter.  Career Tools are discussions between Michael Auzenne and Mark Horstman and they provide advice on topics about job hunting, work etiquette, and career decisions.

You can visit their website at www.manager-tools.com 
Thank you to the guys at Manager Tools for this resource.

(Just click on the sub-heading for each podcast. )


The Rule of 50
I was asked by one of our students about how does one maintain their professional network.  This question, although it sounds quite basic, lead me to a search and thus finding Career Tools on iTunes.  This podcast is a very healthy discussion about this topic, and I really like the simple & helpful (and more importantly, DOABLE) tips.

Getting Started with LinkedIn Part 1
Getting Started with LinkedIn Part 2
Recent news have said that LinkedIn already has more users than MySpace, and being the professional social network, it must now be considered as a must-have in your bag of weapons for the job hunt.  These podcasts guide you on setting up your profile on LinkedIn and approaching your network.

Resumes for Graduates
Your Resume Stinks!
Resume Update 2010 Part 1
Resume Update 2010 Part 2
These podcasts are about the latest video games and movie trailers. NOT!
I just wanted to make sure I still have your attention.  These discussions provide helpful advice on how to craft a one-page resume.  Ever since I joined AIM, I have recommended the use of 1-page resumes in job applications and I have coached so many already.  I understand how difficult it is to put all of your work experience on one page, and these podcasts support what I have already shared with our students.

What to Take to an Interview
Interviewing - What to Do While You Wait
The Eight Minute Rule
These are select podcasts about what to do or not do for job interviews. I really enjoyed the Eight Minute Rule (i.e. the perfect time to arrive for your interview is arrive eight minutes early).

Other must-listen Career Tools podcasts:
The Career Tools Rule of Job Applications: 75%
Finish a Conversation
Asking your Network About an Opportunity
How to Ask for Advice
Writing Resumes for Consultants and Project Managers



I highly recommend Michael and Mark's podcasts, and you can get a full list of their audio files on iTunes (look for Career Tools) or at http://www.manager-tools.com/podcasts/career-tools 

Alonto for the assist...

Khairy Alonto took his MBA at AIM and now works there. Follow him on Twitter @khairyalonto or view his profile on http://ph.linkedin.com/in/khairyalonto

AIM & Coca-Cola Open Happiness Day

AIM & Coca-Cola Open Happiness Day

By Khairy Alonto, CMS & Placement Manager for AIM

Last July 6, 2011, Coca-Cola sponsored a recruitment event solely for the Asian Institute of Management's Washington SyCip Graduate School of Business at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City, Philippines.  This was a new venture between AIM's Career Management Services & Placement office and the HR team of Coca-Cola Bottler's Philippines and Coca-Cola Philippines, in their pursuit of recruiting the best talent available for their organization.  It was even mentioned that “they were here to recruit their dream team”.

Coca-Cola Bottlers was headed by their CEO, Bill Schultz, and their COO, Baring Olafsson; Coca-Cola Philippines was headed by Guillermo Aponte, their President and General Manager.  Other representatives from Coca-Cola were Jen Garcia (HR Director) and Atty. Tina Reyes, among other senior leaders of their company.  On the other hand, AIM was represented by no less than our President, Edilberto De Jesus, and Professor Ricardo A. Lim, our new Dean of the Institute. Other representatives from AIM were: Ana Puatu (Program Manager for the W.SyCip Graduate School of Business), Mia Zamora (Brand Manager), Jade Galvan & Eena Reyes of CMS, and yours truly. 

Current students of AIM were also joined by some alumni who were interested in knowing more about Coca-Cola.  What’s to know more about Coca-Cola, you might ask? We all know it’s a top beverage company globally. Well, we found out from their leaders so many things about Coca-Cola.  For one, in spite of the difference in population, Coca-Cola Philippines has a much larger business compared to India (and I hope our Indian students would take this as a challenge!).  They also shared videos and presentations about their CSR campaigns and promotions, and how promoting happiness is key to their strategy.  We also witnessed an ingenious way of strengthening awareness about Coca-Cola by word of mouth (and sorry, I won’t be sharing it because I will let that buzz reach you personally).  Let’s just say that it included a delivery van that delivered happiness with a push of a button.

Guillermo spoke to us about their company as an employer, by being specific of their core values and their importance, namely: leadership, passion, integrity, collaboration, diversity, quality, and accountability.  Baring inspired us with his talk on a quick glance of Coca-Cola Bottler’s Philippines, and even humorously pointed out that diversity in Coca-Cola can be readily observed with the three guys that were on stage: an American (Bill), a Colombian (Guillermo), and an Icelander (Baring).   Bill talked more about his personal experiences leading towards being a CEO.  He spoke about his work with P&G, Dixie cups, and a rice company before joining Coca-Cola and also experiences he had when he started out with Coca-Cola India.  Jen Garcia, their HR Director, moderated the Q&A portion where their three senior leaders answered the technical and sincere questions of our eager graduate students.

  

This event would not have been possible without the dedicated efforts of Marie Curitana, Senior Manager for Talent Acquisition of Coca-Cola Bottler’s Philippines and her team, whom I personally coordinated with by trading phone calls, emails, and SMS.  I personally had a blast that night, and I probably had four bottles of Coke Zero (I forgot to ask them where I can purchase it in bottled packaging; Coca-Cola really does taste better in a bottle).  Seriously, I just want to let you readers know how much I appreciate the efforts of Coca-Cola’s senior management– in my decade of experience as an HR practitioner, I always felt that top management, and perhaps even the CEO, should still play a role in the recruitment of their next wave of leaders. I have rarely seen this done, and it was refreshing to see the CEO of Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines and the President/General Manager of Coca-Cola Philippines actively recruiting the best that AIM can offer.

Alonto for the assist...

Khairy Alonto took his MBA at AIM and now works there. Follow him on Twitter @khairyalonto or view his profile on http://ph.linkedin.com/in/khairyalonto

Survey for Recruiters & Hiring Managers

Survey for AIM MBA (16 month) and MM on Employment Status

Survey for AIM MBM/MBA graduates only on Action Consultancy & MRR

Electronic Mail Etiquette

As a recruiter and HR practitioner, I always remind employees about HR rules and regulations (because I care, and also for the obvious selfish reason that I don’t want my attrition to go up). One of the rules that are usually discussed during orientations in most companies is email decorum – I doubt any business today can survive without email unless you’re Old Man Jenkins, and I doubt any employee can survive without using proper email decorum.

During my time with a BPO, there was this one employee, let’s call him Guy A, who was given a commendation by his team leader on an email addressed to the team. Another member of his team, Guy B - fairly new and fresh out of client training - replied to the email with four words: “GOOD JOB, SNOW* JOB!” (*I know you know that word isn’t snow)

I guess everyone on that team was comfortable with that kind of language. But it just so happened that the email was sent to “All”. And since I worked for a global company, everyone from Manila to Arizona got Guy B’s message loud and clear. It was funny, until it became a serious disciplinary action I guess. I don’t think Guy B was aware of what he did until it was spelled out to him.

So what is proper email decorum at work, you might ask? Well, based on experience and from the numerous sources out there, these following tips sure help:

• If you can say it nicely, then say it nicely (don’t be a beach)
• Fill in the subject line; you don’t want it to stay forever in someone’s inbox because they didn’t bother reading your un-titled message
• DON’T CAPITALIZE YOUR LETTERS – IT LOOKS LIKE YOU’RE SHOUTING!
• Don’t send chain-mail (especially to me)
• Don’t send racy jokes at work that could offend someone; if you don’t know if something is offensive, have yourself checked too
• Be discreet and don’t gossip at work especially on email. Dude, your name is traceable. But hey, did you hear about the time ____ and _____ did the ____? (you have a dirty mind…)
• Don’t use email as a substitute during difficult issues that require face-to-face discussion, like how do you remove your officemate’s necktie from the printer feeder?
• Don’t use your work email for personal messages (that’s why Facebook was invented, duh)
• Use pRopEr puncTuation and Full sentenc
• Be brief – K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid, I mean, Keep It Short and Simple)
• Avoid unnecessary comments/opinions
• Don’t use emoticons, ok? ;-)
• Answer emails ASAP (I try to respond to my students within 24 hours. I said I try)
• Full greetings and salutations are necessary. You can start with “Greetings and Salutations” and end with “May the Force be with you” (or just use “Dear Mr. “and end with “Best Regards, “)
• Write down your thoughts so that it can help you capture the essence of your email.
• You should read the email and then refine it (again, KISS).
• Use an appropriate email signature (with designation and company address/contact info – just make sure the signature won’t be larger than the message)
• Review your email before hitting send (do your best impersonation of an MSWord spellcheck while you’re at it) and make sure you’re sending it to the right people and that it is virus-free

Also, if you make an honest mistake, don’t be afraid to recall the email (you can do this on MS Outlook) or apologize to the recipient about any error (just apologize ASAP). Nobody’s perfect anyway, but the problem really is if you didn’t even know that you made an error. Don’t be like Guy B (I was so glad he was not my hire).

Alonto for the assist...


Khairy Alonto took his MBA at AIM and now works there. Follow him on Twitter @khairyalonto or view his profile on http://ph.linkedin.com/in/khairyalonto