Let’s Talk Talent

When I was a little girl, my grandparents used to constantly drill it into me that “Nobody's good at everything; everybody's good at something”. Sure I found it hard to believe…in fact I thought they were just trying to make me feel better!

From the ripe old age of 10, I started writing—sending in my pieces to local newspapers and I was completely obsessed with slogan-writing competitions. While I managed to score loads of moolah and prizes during my quests, I never actually thought I was good at it.

 

Eventually, over the years I realised that “Hey, not everyone can write, get published and win tons of goodies! Aah…so this is my talent, eh”. I guess it wouldn’t come as a surprise that I am now Content Editor at JobsDB Malaysia and lovin’ every minute of what I do!

 

As The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur put it: “Everyone has a talent.  EVERYONE.  So maybe yours is blowing milk out your nose... it's still a talent.  And most talents can be monetized.  The key is to find your talent and then turn it into a scalable business.  Too bad many folks get stuck on the "finding the talent" part.” Believe or not, Mike Michalowicz is right!

Best-selling author and broadcaster Patrick Lindsay offers a piece of advice, “Some know it from childhood. Some never find it. But we all have special talents. Take the time to explore yours. It may be disguised. It may be undeveloped. But trust your instincts. Give yourself the opportunity. It will be there.”

With the New Year around the corner, we urge you to tap into your inner talents and realise your true potential—you’ll lead a happier, more fulfilling life!

Image via weheartit.com

TalentCorp: Contributing from outside

When Talent Corporation Malaysia (TalentCorp) was announced, the buzz words were, “luring Malaysians from foreign country back to Malaysia”. Actually it’s more thant that.

According to The Sun newspaper report quoting TalentCorp’s chief executive officer (CEO) Johan Mahmood Merican, TalentCorp is poised to work towards optimising foreign talent and up-scaling Malaysian talent, instead of merely focusing on bringing Malaysians home to work.

Speaking to the media after participating in a panel discussion at the Government Linked Companies (GLC) open day, he said the corporation is also looking at ways how Malaysians abroad can contribute to the country from wherever they are.

"In looking at talent needs (in the country) it cannot just be (focused on) Malaysians abroad," he said.

"We need to also be aware of the opportunities (available) to utilise foreign talent and up-scale Malaysian talent," he was quoted as saying, adding that the organisation was looking into optimising foreign talent within Malaysia.

"We are working very closely with different key sectors of the economy, to find what can be done to address the critical skills gap, and how to forge public-private partnerships to address these shortages," said Johan.

Asked about an announcement in Parliament last June by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak that TalentCorp would lure about 700,000 Malaysians working abroad home, Johan said luring such a figure was impossible.

"What he articulated when he made the announcement was how many Malaysians were overseas. I do not think it was any attempt to say we'll bring everyone back. Clearly we cannot bring everyone back," said Johan.