Smiley Face = Unprofessional

"Thank you and have a nice day! :)"

See anything wrong in this sentence?

I was asked to take away the smiley face from an internal memo by my colleague today. She claims its unprofessional and hinted that our General Manager would not be amused (she said it in the kindest way possible of course).

I hate to admit it, but even though I disagree about it being unprofessional, she's probably right about our GM not being amused though.

Sigh...

Can't blame me for not trying to bring a bit of sunshine into my working life huh?

Oh...to work in a place where people have a sense of humour....

PS : I'm posting up the following recruitment ad simply because
i) I'll be loved to bits (claims the company at the end of the recruitment ad:P)

ii) Hey, if I can't be in a company that has sense of humour, I sure as hell hope someone who
stumbles on my blog and read this can (wry smile).

Sigh...God bless the management of the world that can appreciate a smiley face...

...and God bless even more the teeny little fries who sit in their cubicle everyday battling the monster of jadedness, and despite all the rejections they've had continues to have faith and believe in the importance of smiley faces and being "too nice"....

MindValley Labs

Web Application Developers for American Startup Developing New Web Technologies
We don't care if you already have a job, have made your first million or happen to be several time zones out of KL - if you're the type of programmer that truly considers yourself brilliant and one-of-a-kind - Let's Talk.

MindValley has set up MindValley Labs, an MSC status development center in KL and over the next year will be launching 2 new web applications, a book and several million-dollar ecommerce sites. We're one of the most innovative and creative startups in Malaysia and are seeking bright minds from around the world to join our team.If you're a top knotch programmer, web developer, ecommerce expert or content developer, we'd like to meet you, show you what we're working on, and give you the option to quit your current job and work on some of the most exciting internet projects coming out of Malaysia.
We're launching 3 New Products this Year and Need More Brilliant People on Board our team.With MindValley you'll work in a tight team of marketers, product developers, and innovators. You'll work on exciting new products that aspire to be tomorrow's talked about Internet applications

Do You...Consider PHP your "mother-tongue"?

Get so addicted to a programming project that you went 2 days without sleeping?

Consider people "un-datable" if they don't know HTML?

Get complaints from your family that you spend way too much time on the Internet?

Let relational databases get in the way of real-life relationships?

If you answered "yes" to any of the questions above - we'd love to meet you.

Why MindValley Labs?

We're a fully profitable MSC Status startup, originally founded in the USA and now setting up in Malaysia.You'll be working under Michael Reining, the former Head of New Venture Strategy for eBay and one of the brightest mind from Silicon Valley. Michael was strategic advisor to Meg Whitman and the person who got eBay to move into the classifieds market with it's investment in Craigslist.org and into the communications market with it's acquisition of Skype for $4.2 Billion.You'll also be working with Vishen Lakhiani, one of Malaysia's top ecommerce consultants whose book "The MindValley Way: 40 Tactic to Boost Your Site Conversion" will go on sale on Mar 24.At MindValley we invent and spin-off cool, new web applications. We pride ourselves in being a self-funded, Edison-style laboratory fueled by bright minds. Our creativity and business style allows us to attract talented people from around the world. Our company is 30% Malaysian, 30% American and the rest includes people from Finland, Holland, Estonia, Poland and other countries.We're a small team with some pretty big goals and even bigger ambitions.

Requirements:At our lab you'll be responsible for working on our "Blink" suite of Web 2.0 applications. We're experimenting with inventing entirely new applications and re-inventing old products into shiny new cutting edge tools. Our sites include BlinkList.com and BlinkLife.com. The latter is a new take on personal communication, and seeks to replace email as the personal communication tool of choice for millions of people.Our weapons of choice are PHP, MySQL and Ajax and we apply a lot of code re-use and best practices from the Web 2.0 community.

The ideal candidate will have strong PHP skills, Solid Object Oriented Programming Experience and strong programming fundamentals.Everyting else can be learned.Skills Preferred - If you have these you are a great match.Object Oriented PHP, MySQL, HTML, XML, Web Design, Advanced Database Design, Advanced SQL Knowledge, Object Oriented Javascript

Optional Skills - these will improve your odds of being accepted.Javascript, UI Design, Perl, Knowledge of Google and Amazon.com APIs, Advanced CSS Skills, Knowledge of Testing Methodology, Framework Development and Improvement

Are You a Match for MindValley?

The ideal candidate has a combination of these five personality traits:

1. Intense Drive and Ambition.

2. High Creativity and the Mind of an Inventor.

3. A Solid Interest in Technology

4. Strong Skills in Programming and/or Database Design

5. The Ability to Create Beautiful, Elegant User Experiences.

You gain bonus points if any of the following describes you:

1. You've written your own internet or desktop apps and shared this on the Web with the General Public.

2. You have made money through your website, through selling your own internet apps or through your own IT related consulting business.

3. You constantly check out new internet startups, mashups, and blogs to learn about the latest Ajax, CSS, API releases and JavaScript hacks.

4. You were considered one of the brightest kids in High School/University

.5. You speak fluent English.

6. You look at websites and think "this sucks, I could re-design this site to make it more elegant, friendly and easier to use".

7. You love challenging authority, are not afraid to question your boss and look down on average programmers.

We don't care about your field of study, grades, age or work experience as long as you're a brilliant coder, hyper creative and a team player. (although we have found a strong positive correlation between grades and coding ability).You must speak English - fluently. No other languages necessary. Although we're based in Malaysia our market is strictly North American, Europe, and East Asia.You can be from anywhere in the world. We recruit bright people from universities worldwide and bring them to KL. Our company 70% international, and 30% Malaysian.

You must be in love with the Internet. No we don't mean, reading the news online daily. We mean you must be excited and up to speed with the latest emerging trends in Web 2.0, Ajax, PHP, RSS, OPML and other new buzzwords making their way through the Net.Bonus points if you're an avid user of eBay, Craigslist, BlinkList, Del.icio.us, Digg, or are an active Blogger. Major bonus points if you like hanging out at Mamak's, debating User Interface over pints of Beer, going on team bonding trips to Redang and have a wicked sense of humor.

You can see some profiles of people who work for MindValley on our site here:<"http://www.mindvalley.com/about/">

Your Perks

If you make our team, we'll provide you a high-end laptop you can take home, a dedicated server, all the sugary, caffeinated beverages you need, a docking bay for your iPod and a beautiful office. You'll work in a Silicon Valley style environment with amazing people from around the world, and help us build the next great Internet business.We'll also pay you competitively plus grant you stock options.This is the job software engineers dream about.

Upgrade Your Life and Join MindValley.
Interview invitations and status updates may be sent via email so pleasecheck your email regularly.

Need More Reasons to Quit Your Current Job and Work for Us?

Here's Top 10 Reasons to Be Part of MindValley.

1. Freedom: We understand that brilliant people hate rules and shackles and desire the freedom to do their work, in their way. We let you create your own work hours as long as they are fine with your team mates.

2. Thinking BIG!: We're not aiming to create an email software, we're aiming to create the biggest revolution in email since Gmail. We're not content with creating blogging tools, we aim to create the World's first "intelligent" blog. When we build an e-commerce site, we aim to put it in the top 1% of sites for performance rates. We aim to be as influential in improving people's lives through technology as Yahoo, Google or Apple. We love Big, Scary, Audacious Goals. Many people say we're nuts. We consider this a compliment.

3. Profitability: We're fully profitable, and continue to see our profits grow by at least 100% year-to-year.

4. Great People: We hire only the best. For a typical position we shift through 100 resumes and interview at least 10 people. Make it in, and you'll be working with some of the best minds in the business. We understand that "A" people attract "A" people.

5. Treats: We treat our employees well. This includes occasional concert tickets, Starbucks coffee, dinners and drinks and parties. In the last quarter we've tossed company parties in Luna Bar, taken our whole team to first Tioman then Redang and rewarded employees with trips to Bali. Our founders have worked at Microsoft and eBay and believe in the Silicon Valley model of treating Great People (see #4) in Great Ways.

6. Creativity: We let you spend 15% of your time each week working on your own projects or inventions. If your project is successful, we'll help you launch it. We've modeled this after Google and 3M's style of nurturing creativity within the organization.

7. Stability: We've never taken a drop of investment and so have no investors to pull the plug on us. Our business also spans multiple industries such as internet marketing, product development, publishing and coding. This protects us from short term market trends in any one industry.

8. Fun: We put the "Fun" in "Business Fundamentals". Don't get us wrong - we're a disciplined, well-oiled engine of growth. But we believe that business should be fun and people should look forward to going to work each day.

9.Idealism: 100% of our employees have spent significant time volunteering or working for non-profits. We started this business to change the world. As a result, we will devote our time and attention to causes that may not bring in short term profits, but may result in positive social change.

10. Entrepreneurship: We understand that great people dream of starting their own companies. We help you attain this dream. We provide training and mentorship to help you grow. We do not require any employees to sign a bonding contract (we find this practice ridiculous). Simply, put, you're free to learn from us and then move on when you're ready and start your own business - with our blessings. We respect entrepreneurship.

Care to Know What People are Saying About Us?

Okay, if you've read this far we know you're interested. Do some reading on us and then send us your resume. (See HOW TO APPLY section below).

On working for MindValley:One of our former employees from the USA blogs about the fun she had working for us in KL. Read her blog post here:http://adelle.nomadlife.org/2005/09/mindvalley-team-island-escape-kl-city.aspx

Product Reviews: Visit this link for a Review of our First Product, BlinkList:http://blendededu.com/2005/07/blinklist-learning-in-blink-of-eye.htmlOr click here for dozens more reviews from theBlogosphere here:http://www.blinklist.com/tag/blinklist%20reviews/

A MindValley Owned Ecommerce Site that is now pulling $2.5 million ringgit a year in revenue and relies on just one employee to run.

This is our speciality - high performance online stores that run on autopilot.

We're releasing a book on this in March. http://www.SilvaUltraMindSystem.comBlinkLife -

A New Way to Communicate with Friends and Family This product is designed to change the way the world communicates. It relies on the idea of using RSS to replace SMTP as a method of email delivery.Read about it here:http://www.blinklife.com/Vic_Code_Ver1.0/welcome.phpFinally, check out our site for more details: www.MindValley.com

How to Apply To apply, submit your resume and cover letter via JobStreet.com.

To improve your odds of being accepted, answer the following in your cover letter.

1. Why do you think MindValley is a Good Match for You.

2. Why do you consider yourself a Brilliant Coder. (don't be modest now).

Qualified candidates will be contacted for interview.

We look forward to receiving applications from qualified Candidates.

Vishen M Lakhiani Co-Founder and Director www.MindValley.com

PS - if you find this ad funny, interesting or unusual, please help us spread the word by posting this on your blog or website and emailing your friends about this position. We'll love you to bits and you just might help someone find a dream job.

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