Like working in pajamas, but still need all the perks of employment?

Working in Pj's sounds good, doesn't it? But this "professional" self-employment is not for everybody, all month long however. Spoiling yourself by not having to wake up early, take shower in the early morning, wear clean and nice-looking clothes, attend mandatory meetings, listen to everything your boss says, spend hours on commuting everyday etc. also means that you'd have to force yourself to work smart for money, enforce yourself some good disciplines, and find other ways to socialize because working alone, in a small room or in your living room (even with plethora of electronics and weird house mates or family members), will bore you to death! And for many micropreneurs who are starting to self-employ themselves, it's tough...

So, you keep your day job... And pretend you like it (to death!). Or you can bitch around and everybody who have heard you would care less about hiring you or recommending you to become one of their colleaguess. So, you shout out loud: is there any fun workplace in Malaysia, like the ones you've seen on TV? You know, like those Friends who make jokes all day long, yet score decently, in life, career etc.

Well, one employer may have heard you. And it's suprisingly, MSC-status! Check out a job posting by MindValley Lab at Craiglist. This company is based in KL, or Bangsar more specifically. And if you're lucky, maybe they'll send you off to Palo Alto or Las Vegas where you can kill yourself faster with even more fun -- just kidding about the suicide note. Jobs don't kill people. Unemployment and poverty do.

Say, folks at Pajamanation don't promote jobs, do they? Well, we don't normally, but for a company that's founded and run by my alma mater's alums, I'll make an exception. (After all, we'll employ people in Malaysia too, soon!). In fact, I myself was tempted to join them, except that I don't like programming much these days - I'm a computer engineer who doesn't really like to technically build computers. (I like others to build them for me so I can sell them as my own though.)

So you think, you're up for this one?

Well, you'd have to answer yes to these sets of questions first:

• Consider PHP your "mother tongue"? (me, me...)
  
• 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? (shit happens!)
  

And don't waste anybody's time, or yours, if you don't possess the following:

1. Intense Drive and Ambition.
2. High Creativity and the Mind of an Inventor.
3. A Solid Interest in Technology
4. Strong Skills in CSS and USer Interface Design
5. The Ability to Create Beautiful, Elegant User Experiences.

Even better, if you do one or more of these:

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. (who doesn't... hehe! Malaysians are sons and daughters of Hang Jebat -- wait, did Hang Jebat got married?)
   

Vishen, the company's director said, "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 B***, going on team bonding trips to Redang and have a wicked sense of humor. (hmm... any International trips??)
  

And now, the exciting part: what will I get?

"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 (does it comes with an iPod, Vishen?) 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."

And finally, the serious part:

• Compensation: RM 2500 - 5000 (fair enough, but hmm.. in KL??)
  
• Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
• Please, no phone calls about this job! (I once posted this note, and one wrote angrily -- "If you won't answer phone, I have no time for you". So what? Me neither, if you don't bother to read and answer emails!)
• Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

All the best to the jobseekers out there! Who knows, we'll heard about you soon... (all employers of this company will be treated as celebrities, so you must like the limelights!).

Don't forget to tell people that Pajamanation "connects workers and entrepreneurs".

If readers of this blog knows of any other companies that offer truly fun workplace that comes close to the comfort of your own home, do let us know. We'd like see more people working from home, but we think that jobs can give people ample entrepreneurship skills for later decisions in life. When you're ready, you'll know it!