Step 2: Approval Visa & Travel Date

The husband wrote: 

After came back from Korea trip. I have to submit my original passport for visa approval from Saudi Embassy. Received approval visa from YHA Travel on 4th April 2016. Since the visa has been stamped, I need to proposed travel date to the recruitment agency. 

Proposed travel date: 14th April 2016.
Confirmation travel date: 17th April 2016

Based on my offer letter received before, I have to reporting in Yanbu but, my flight itinerary stated I'll be arriving in Dammam Airport which is company headquarters located.  After re-confirm with the agency, she said that I have to submit all the document required with HR at the HQ before travelling to Yanbu.

Well, I have only 10 days left to packing my stuff. ''phew, neves gak nih.''

Tak sabar nak jumpa kwn2 saya..hihi

Saudi Arabia see you on 17th April 2016! .hehe

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Husband-Wife Decision Making

The wife's wrote:

Remember these past 2 days that my husband has accepted an offer from M***? The offer was too good to pass up. However, there was one problem. What about me? 

Well, we have discussed about it yesterday.

My husband need to know that I'm behind him when he's making choices for the both of us

How my husband convince me?

I let my husband express his opinions, concerns, and ideas about his plan. This process can help me develop a mutually-agreeable plan and then support his need for ongoing success. 

It was all planned out.

There was a lot to consider. First of all we have to decide how many years we want to spend in Saudi Arabia. 3 years? 10 years? Is it was long enough to see the country, visit neighbouring countries, and save up money?

Quit Job.

According to Saudi Law, womens are NOT allowed to work if living there as part of their husband’s visa. So, I have to quit my job in order to follow my husband.

Rent out the house

Then, we decided to rent out the house instead of selling it and have someone to take care of our furniture while we were away. ''kena cari penyewa yg lembut2 lah, tak rosak brg umah aku". That way we would return to our life when we came back.

Selling Cars

We need to sell 2 out of 3 cars that we have. "simpan satu yg dh nak abes byr". 

Sponsorship
My husband need to pay all my commitments with bank. Because, I will be unemployed for a very long time. "hehe..tak byk pun". 

InsyaAllah, dipermudahkan :)
 

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Faktor Penting Sebelum Buat Keputusan Kerja Di Luar Negara / Crucial Criteria Before Decide To Work Oversea

Sekadar perkongsian FAKTOR atau aspek atau kriteria aku sebelum buat keputusan untuk kerja di luar negara. Lain orang mungkin ada kelainan dari segi keutamaannya (priority). Kriterianya adalah:


1. Gaji kalau setakat lebih 10%-50% dari gaji sekarang, baik tak payah. Paling kurang dapatkan 2 kali ganda dari gaji semasa di Malaysia. Itu pendapat aku lah. Sebab yang dapat kerja ini seorang shj. Pasangan anda mungkin kena berhenti kerja. Fikir-fikirkan. 

2. Gaji - bersih ke ada cukai. Kalau bebas cukai memang terbaik lah. Kalau ada cukai tengok pulak berapa gaji bersih selepas tolak cukai. Ada negara 30% cukai pendapatan bagi orang asing, ada sampai 40%, ada juga yang lebih tinggi lagi. Subhanallah... Kalau kurang dari situasi no.1 di atas baik tak payah. 2 kali ganda. Ingat tu!

3. Gaji - berapa target minimum saving? Sebab kat Malaysia korang ada KWSP. Caruman dan simpanan untuk hari tua. Majikan korang bayar caruman . Secara tak lgsung gaji korang lagi besar dari gaji pokok tu. Majikan kena contribute minimum 12% dari basic. Klu setakat dapat keje luar gaji mcm situasi no.1 gak baik tak payah. 2 kali ganda. Ingat tu!

4. Pakej (single@family) & Elaun2 lain (rumah, kereta, hardship, telefon, kelab rekreasi dll)

5. Tiket balik tahunan. Berapa kali dorang bagi utk 1thn? Berapa org boleh tanggung? Ada bagi duit poket balik bercuti tak?

6. Yuran sekolah anak. Berapa org yg ditanggung? Ada limit ke tak? Setakat mana yg ditanggung sampai universiti ke sampai sekolah tadika je.

7. Medical, hospitalization, dental ada optical gk lagi terbaik.

8. Lokasi negara tersebut. Sbb klu nak balik byr sendiri harga tiket mungkin mahal. Contoh: Kalau dapat yang dekat dgn capital city lebih bagus seban byk flight yg ada. Tapi kalau smaller city yg kena transit biasanya tiket mahal. 

Contoh: 

a. Jeddah-KLIA-Jeddah dlm SR1500/pax dah boleh dapat. 

Tapi kalau Dammam kena transit dulu. Jadi perjalanannya Dammam-transit-KLIA-transit-Dammam plg murah SR1900/pax tapi normal time dlm SR3000/pax. Raya beli last min mau smpai SR7000/pax.

b. Muscat-KLIA-Muscat dlm OR160/ pax senang2 boleh dapat. 

Tapi kalau Salalah kena transit dulu kat mana2 airport sebab takde direct flight ke KLIA. Jadi route nya Salalah-transit-KLIA-transit-Salalah yang paling murah dalam OR300/pax.

9. Job security. Berapa lama dorang bagi kontrak? 1thn? 2thn? Tetap? 

10. Pengalaman yang tak boleh dibeli dgn wang ringgit. Priceless.

English version:

Please use Google Translate Website then choose detect language to English. Thank you.

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The day just arrived!

The husband's wrote:

This is it! Today is my face to face interview (2nd interview) with Saudi Arabia Company. The M***. Again! I've got butterflies in my stomach. At 10.20 am, starts the engine and drove to JW Marriot Hotel, Kuala Lumpur where the interview was conducted. Need to go earlier to avoid traffic jammed. "taula kan KL punya traffic jammed pagi2". My interview's schedule was at 1.45pm to 2.20pm. Reached JW Marriot at 11.06 am. It's too early, and I've met a few candidates from morning session which is came for an instrument engineer position. "diorg ni ada dtg dr TNB, Aker Solutions, Petronas dll."

Image from google

At 12.30 pm, the morning session interviews already done. The candidates are waiting for the results. As far as I know, M*** will give the offer letter to the successful candidates on the spot. From 7 candidates, there are 4 who is successful in these interview (for morning session). But, not all accept the offer. Some of them reject the offer due to some reasons. "mungkin sbb low pay offer atau tak meet diorg punya exepectations".

At 2.30 pm, the afternoon session has started. I am the first candidates to be interviewed in the afternoon session. There are 3 interviewer, one of them is Mr. Franck (represent Jerry Varghese company) from France. He introduced the company background and told that they have 4 years balance JV with M****** and M***. But, they already applied 8 years extension with these 2 companies. "Kalo ada rezeki boleh la duk Arab Saudi 12 tahun, InsyaAllah". Overall, the interview went well. They want to know what are my 5 years and 10 years goal in the future. 

At 5.50 pm the results session begin and guess what?? ALHAMDULILLAH! I'VE GOT AN OFFER!! But, the salary did not meet my expectation. The benefits was okay. They gave me a family package "sng nak bawak keluarga", inclusive of A+ coverage, tuition fee for 2 childrens, return flight to hometown, 22 days annual vacation and other normal benefits. I told them, the salary was too low and I'm trying to negotiate with them. At 6.15pm I was then asked to wait outside, to allow them to discuss about it.

At 6.22 pm, they called me and offer the salary which is higher than before. ACCEPT & SIGN! "aku pn terus je la sign, tak ckp byk dah..hehe ALHAMDULILLAH. 

I am expected to report duty on 15 MAC 2016. But, it depends on approval of my VISA application. Maybe it takes 2 months from today. 

Yanbu, here I come!! :)

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Second Interview Just Ahead

The husband's wrote:
Still remember on previous post, we went to Kelantan? On the same day, I've received a call from Masood (the recruiting company). "lama gak dia tak call aku.. ternanti-nanti gak panggilan ni". He said that I have been shortlisted for FACE to FACE interview with M******. " Aku mcm terjaga dari mimpi, haha nampak mcm ada peluang aku nak keje dgn Pak Arab ni!" The face to face session will be notify later. All I need to do is to submit required document to them first. ALHAMDULILLAH...

21st January 2016

Received a phone call from Masood. He told me the face to face interview's schedule at KUALA LUMPUR. "Alhamdulillah, Moga-moga berkat doa keluarga dan usaha, adalah rezeki aku nanti".

27th January 2016

Did you guys remember, A guy that seated besides me at MMC's open interview last time? Yes! He is. I've whatsapp him at 8.57pm "laju reply mamat ni". He told me that he was selected for face to face interview with M****** at Kuala Lumpur. I was shocking, it was the same company that I've applied. "Kami pernah cakap, one day InsyaAllah akan berjumpa lagi, tak sangka akan jumpa lagi masa face to face interview nanti.." And of course we are in different working background. He was in Human Resource while I am in Civil Engineering background. 

I will update on our face to face interview with Saudi Arabia Company. Till then!

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Other Opportunity

The husband's wrote:
I was selected for an interview with one of utilities company in Malaysia. "terletak dkt Negeri kelahiran aku gak. Niat mmg aku nak menyumbang kepakaran dan pengalaman di negeri kelahiran sendiri. Asyik duk merantau di negeri org je. Aku igt nak cr keje yg boleh setel down terus. Utk isteri tersayang, harusla ikut aku kan.. kita balik duk kampung lak..hihi"

6th January 2016 

The interview was suck! First question is really make me think how they are be liked. "Patut tak perlu tanya soalan tu pun." They should ask about my experience rather than silly question. If they cannot afford to hire me, why did they calling me for an interview? I already stated in the resume my current and expected salary. Don't they review the CV? "Interview yg buang masa dan duit aku. Igt dekat ke nak dtg? Drive sblm subuh lagi. Sian wife aku.."

After finished, my wife and I decided to go to Terengganu. Went to Asfar Briyani "sedap tau, korg patut try", stop by at Rantau Abang "masuk sume cerok kampung yg ada pantai..haha. Pastu g Permaisuri cari burger lak". Then my wife decided to spend one night at Kelantan. 

Bawak diri :(

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After Wake Up Call

The husband's wrote:

30th October 2015
Calling for Interview by Recruiting Firm based in United Kingdom

At 7.00 pm, I've received a call which is NOT a Malaysian number. Normally Malaysia number starts with +60 code. Shockingly, it was form recruiting company that represent one of Saudi Arabia Company named M******. The recruiter name is Masood, asking few questions about myself and he was looking for Civil Engineer to be hire by M****** ."Dia minta aku reply e-mel dan sertakan butir-butir yang diperlukan for the next step". The phone conversation end. It was a good news for me. Yeahh!

Mungkin camni la aku pakai g keje kt ARAB nanti.hahaha

14th December 2015
After waiting for a long time.. I've got a call again from the recruiting company, but this time I've had a conversation with Masood's collegue name 'Arif'. "Nama sama mcm aku gak". What a coincidence. He told me to be prepared for first round of interviews with M******. The interview will be conducted on 16th December 2015 at 2.30pm (Saudi Arabia time) using skype. "Cuak gak aku, bape ari je nak prepare, ketaq lutut cek. Video Conferencing Interview lak tu.. Aku ni mana penah ada skype account bagai. Nampak gaya kena create satu account la.hahaha"

15th December 2015
Arif from recruiting company called to postponed the interview session to 20th December 2015 at 2.30 pm (Saudi Arabia time). "Waktu Malaysia 7.30pm".

20th December 2015
"Arghh... bapak neves giler wehh nak skype gn Pak Arab. Pukul 3 ptg dah standby depan laptop. Wife aku dh nmpk ke-cuak-an aku."  Keep looking at my watch.. I've got butterflies in my stomach. At 7.09 pm,  received a skype messages from M******'s Human Resource. 
HR: Are you ready?
Me: Please, give me 5 minutes until adzan finished. "Kebetulan time tu tgh azan, kena hormat la kan".
Then at 7.29pm received a call from skype. The interview begin.. there was 3 panels conducting the interview. It takes about 26 minutes to finished. I was so upset because the video conferencing became lagging sometimes. "aku pakai UniFi kot.. mungkin jarak jauh menjadi penghalang di situ.. Aku jd tak berharap sgt lps tu, beserah kpd Allah S.W.T sajalah yang menentukannya."

21st December 2015
Arif from recruiting company followed up about interview session yesterday. How was the skype interview's going on ect. I'm telling him that I'm quite upset with unclear skype network and lagging. But, I'm hoping to be selected for 2nd interview. 

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Wake Up Call For Change

The husband's wrote:

For starters, I will try to be a bit more serious. My goal instead will be to highlight some issues within the profession that I feel deserve attention and to generate some discussion about what, if anything, can and should be done about these issues. I have noticed there are two stages of employee job satisfaction. 

1- loving a job 

I’ve met a few people over the years who love their job and would never consider doing something different.

2- Hating a job

This should be obvious for everyone. Hating a job is understandable. A bad boss, horrible working conditions, annoying co-workers, low pay, boring tasks. The list is endless of why people hate their job. Hating a job makes it easy for us to call it quits. You often hear of people who get disturbed with their life and make a drastic change. Because change needs to happen.  

One of the challenges of doing a lot of interviews is that inevitably I am asked different versions of the same questions over and over again.  Here is the list in chronological order and excitement moments of my interview journey...

10th October 2015

Open Interview
Company: MMC Corporation Berhad
Location: Wisma Budiman, Kuala Lumpur

At 7.08 am, I'm texting Mr. Azam (GM of one MMC Subsidiary) thru Whatsapp.
Me: “Salam, Tak jadi panel interview MMC hari ni ke? Hari ni MMC bt open walk in.  
Mr. Azam : “Taklah… want to get my pmp baru nak test market J You pergilah, tambah network”.  
(Dgn semangat yg tak seberapa, pergilah juga open interview ni. Mmg niat taknak sgt pun tp just nak kenal2 org je)

As I'm reached MMC's parking lot around 9.50 am, I saw about more than 50 cars already there. With a suit and tie "dengan penuh gayanya, sempat berselfie & Whatsapp Group Family, hihi".. and going straight to the lobby. My first impression was like.. "WOW! ramainya org nak keje. Takde keje ke skrg? atau ramai yg baru graduate?"  

Camni la gaya interview kt MMC.. haha hensem tak??

After make some observations, I've took the queue number & employment form and searching for an empty seat. "Nampak satu seat ni kosong dan terus duduk". I've started a conversation with a men besides me. His name is Ferol. "Boraklah dgn Ferol ni tadi tanya keje mana ect". He said, he just came back from Qatar Petroleum (QP) after several years working there. He suggested me to apply Kahramaa and Saygarl something like that.. Since that day, "aku pun dgn semangat berkobar-kobar apply syarikat2 ni". This is My Wake up call!. Btw, the interview went well. 

So I hope you take my experience as a wake up call for change.

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