21 Years Is A Long Time

Today, as Sysgen celebrates its 21st Anniversary, I would like to thank the people who have made this all possible… our employees.

Our employees have all played a pivotal role in getting us to where we are today, the top IT Staffing and Recruitment Firm in the Philippines . To all of our current and past employees, I want to say thank you for everything you have done.  Your hard work,  dedication and enthusiasm has helped build this company and the Sysgen brand.

We have come a long way in 21 years.  As we look to the next many many years, we know we can rely on your continued contributions to take us to new heights.  As a company, we will continue to strive for creativity and innovation in terms of the services we provide and in the ways we provide them.  We will continue to be committed to increasing our efficiency as an operating unit and providing superior service to our clients and our consultants.  We will continue to lead the way!

Celebrating our 21st anniversary is special to me and the rest of the shareholders, but it is only possible because of you, the Sysgen family and the tremendous contributions you make every day.  I thank you for your support, belief and commitment.

Happy 21st Anniversary!!!

Blogging and Recruiting

There’s a group in Linkedin that’s aptly called the Social Media Recruiting Group.  The group has acknowledged the value of multiple social networks in recruiting and its use in staying competitive. It also explores creative ways to combine various online sources for candidates.

The use of Social Media and Networks, though as non-traditional as it may be, is now an accepted strategy for sourcing and recruiting candidates.

“Word-of-mouth” is the force that is driving social media.

News travels fast among IT professionals and leveraging social media to announce job openings is a key sourcing strategy. You can also talk about the company (albeit anonymously) and the benefits of working with that company. It would be like having an online recruiting brochure.

Sysgen, as an IT staffing and recruiting company now recognizes social media as a critical component in their sourcing and recruitment plans. With the advent of Web 2.0 and social media, the power of word-of-mouth is much greater than before.

Blogging is a form of social media, and having said this, Sysgen is now applying blogging to recruiting. We are convinced that the use of recruiting blogs may be a good alternative to the old help wanted ad. Advantages of using recruiting blogs include giving the advert a more personal touch; having a feedback mechanism; and encouraging conversation.

************************************************************

Two weeks ago, we sought the assistance of bloggers in trying fill up the thousands of job openings that we are currently working on.  Their role was to blog about our job openings and act as sourcing channels for potential candidates.

As promised, we will be giving a Sysgen Digital Clock to the first five bloggers who blogged about our job openings... and they are:

1.  Andresito Villato - http://quimboph1.blogspot.com/2010/11/job-hiring.html
2.  Liaochiling - http://lilmisschrissie.blogspot.com/2010/12/it-professionals-sysgen-wants-you.html
3.  Miss K - http://kiranbudhrani.blogspot.com/2010/12/openings-for-it-computer-science.html
4.  Prudence - http://prudencemd.com/?p=2459
5.  Paige - http://yourmylovepoems.com/job-opportunities.html

Back to the 70's Christmas Party

Last Friday, the whole Sysgen family transported themselves back to the 1970’s and held its annual Christmas party at Cafe La Carmela.

People candidly entered the venue in their 70’s attire as if it was again the disco era. I came as a long hair dude in a double knit suit. Of course I had to explain that this was how a lot of teenagers looked during their proms in the 70’s.

I was tasked to deliver an inspirational message, and after seeing all the staff and consultants celebrating Christmas together, nothing could be more inspring.

Being in the IT Staffing and IT Staff Augmentation business, it was truly inspiring to see all the head office people and all the consultants come in their retro 70’s attire. I was honoured to welcome all our consultants... thanking them for being there and for being part of the Sysgen family.

Planning for a Christmas party is never an easy task. There's

• the party theme to think about
• the venue that’s both cosy and accessible
• the good food that is a must for a successful party
• the overflowing drinks
• the band and performers that truly entertain
• the fun and cool games
• the game prizes and raffle prizes.

Congratulations to this year’s Christmas Party Committee for doing a great job and to the rest of the Sysgen family for making it a night to remember.

Hey Blogger! How would you like to earn an endless stream of revenues?

As CEO of Sysgen (and as a blogger myself), I am pleased to announce that we are currently seeking strategic partnerships with job and career bloggers.

Being a leader in the IT staffing business, Sysgen is currently working on thousands of job orders that need to be fulfilled and is seeking the assistance of all influential bloggers out there.

We would like to call on all job and career bloggers to work together with us to fill out these openings by acting as a sourcing channel for job applicants. All a blogger needs to do is:

1. blog about our job openings with a link to http://www.sysgen.com.ph/careers.html
2. ask IT Professionals to send their resumes to referrals@sysgen.com.ph ; and
3. ask all referrals to put a link of your blog’s URL.

As an incentive, we will be giving P 5,000 (USD 110) for every referral hired by our clients as a result of your blog.

In addition, the first 5 bloggers to blog about our job openings gets a free Sysgen Digital Clock. Simply come back to this page and leave a comment on this page with a link to your blog and we will send you the digital clock.

Money tree image by Francesco Marino

Remembering my grandfather for who he was...

Last night, we were invited to watch “100: Insular Life’s Musical Journey in C Major” - a  musical narrative of Insular’s rise from being the first Filipino owned life insurance company founded in 1910 to one of the biggest in the Philippines today.

As a non-commercial production for its employees, retirees, and special guests, we were invited on account of being a descendant of a man who helped insular grow to what it is now... that man was my grandfather...Emeterio Chavez Roa Sr.

I always knew that my grandfather was at one time the GM of Insular. As it turns out, he was the general manager of Insular when World War II broke out and was instrumental in seeing Insular through those tumultuous years.

Watching the musical brought me back to memory lane. I fondly remember my grandfather for who he was. He was a kind and patient man, a man with superior intellect and an outstanding sense of humour. My fondest memories of him was when he quipped  to me that “he doesn’t mind a liar, but a stupid one is something else ” – this was after he caught me delivering an obvious lie.

He had a PhD in Math and was the first Actuary in the Far East - a feat he accomplished in the 1920’s as one of the first American “pensionados” sent to the U.S. to study. As a scholar in the University of Michigan, he established a record of having a perfect grade of 1.0 in all his subjects.  In the 1950’s, he together with 3 other Roas (my father, an uncle, and a granduncle) and 3 other Actuaries founded the Actuarial Society of the Philippines.

My grandfather during his senior years (holding a cane)
with his siblings Tecla and Mickoy

The love of his life was of course my grandmother, Candida Capistrano. She was 6 years his junior and happened to be a high school student when they met – HIS high school student! He was a teacher (and a stalker?) who fell in love with his student and followed her home every day.  Prior to leaving for the U.S. as an American pensionado, he professed his love to her and promised to come home and marry her. .. the rest as they say is history.

Coming from a clannish family, I remember all the Sundays we had at their home at Bohol Avenue, Quezon City. Sunday was always a party at their house wherein my dad’s family would all gather for Sunday lunch. I always looked forward to those Sundays when we’d be among our cousins playing games like “agawang base” and “patintero.”  (Of course, there were the occasional squabbles but that’s another story).

During their latter years, he and my grandmother decided to move back to Cagayan De Oro which I think he really considered as home.  Though he passed away 29 years ago at the age of 85, I still have very fond memories of my grandfather.

TO ALL FILIPINO BLOGGERS OUT THERE!

GET A CHANCE TO WIN A FREE SYSGEN DIGITAL CLOCK

Get a free Digital Clock this Christmas by simply promoting the Sysgen Referral Program. All you need to do is:

1. Announce the Sysgen Referral Program in your blog.

2. Make sure to use this link http://www.sysgen.com.ph/referral.htm 

3. Come back to this page and leave a comment on this page with a link to your announcement.

The first 5 bloggers to announce the referral program will get a free Sysgen Digital Clock. The promo will last from November 24 to November 27. The lucky winners will be announced in this blog.

The Referral Program Mechanics are really simple. A referrer only needs to refer IT professionals with at least 2 years of experience in Java, C++, or .Net. Each referral will entitle a referrer to one raffle ticket and a chance to win and Ipod Shuffle. In addition, Sysgen will also be giving a referral fee of P 5,000 for every referral hired by a client.

Innovation in recruiting...

The IT staffing and recruiting business in the Philippines is currently experiencing tremendous growth. This is primarily due to the continued growth of the offshore business process outsourcing (BPO) industry as well as the establishment of back office operations by global companies.

Peter Drucker, the American Educator and Writer says that “Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship.”

To survive the IT staffing and recruitment business, a firm needs to be as innovative as possible in sourcing and adding names to its candidate database.  Traditional recruiting channels include:

1.     job sites

2.     job boards

3.     college placement offices

4.     job fairs

5.     poaching

6.     adverts

Recruiting innovation has brought about new channels such as:

1.     social networks

2.     SMS

3.     mobile recruiting

4.     search engine marketing

5.     recruiting videos

6.     referral programs

As a result of these channels, Sysgen has so far more than 20,000 processed names in our database and another 30,000 digital resumes that need to be processed.

Sysgen is currently running a referral program with the objective of generating new names for our urgent requirements.  These urgent requirements include Java Developers, C++ Developer, and .Net Developers.  In the process of getting new names, other benefits of a referral program include creating awareness for Sysgen and its urgent job openings.

The Referral Program Mechanics are really simple. You only need to refer IT professionals with at least 2 years of experience in Java, C++, or .Net. Each referral will entitle you one to raffle ticket and a chance to win and Ipod Shuffle. In addition, Sysgen will also be giving a referral fee of P 5,000 for every referral hired by a client.

We have thousands of IT positions to fill. As a matter of fact, one client is setting up a research and development centre in the Philippines that will ultimately house 1,500 IT Professionals.