Do Employers really want Employees with Integrity? (Part 1)

One dictionary defines Integrity as “Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code”.

Most people put in their Resumes what they can do and what they cannot, Resume experts will tell you to tailor your CV towards a particular job advert, noting and including the keywords used in the advert to describe the job responsibilities and requirements. Apart from prospective employees claiming to be able to do what they know they cannot do or claiming to do something they never did, what bothers me today is the issue of Age.

The fact that people backdate their age in some countries today to get a job with specific age limits is no hidden agenda. I can’t help but wonder why a company would send out an advert for a graduate trainee or graduate management trainee position and set 26 years or sometimes 24 years as the age limit allowed to apply. Are they suggesting we don’t have graduates who are 28, 30 or 35years old? Take for instance, a country like ours where a course of study for 4years can run for 7years in almost all its public schools/university. And then it would probably take another 6 years of job hunting to get a job that will pay you above $300 on a monthly basis.

Now what’s to stop a person who is 28 or 30 or 34 years old from backdating his or her age to 26years old? All a person has to do to get a chance to partake in the interview stage is backdate their age to 26 on his/her CV, then get a court affidavit to support that.

Now I know most employers would say its not our fault a person decided to lie about their age to get a job interview, most people would of course end up getting the job and some might even become valuable employees in that organization. I just can’t help but ask such companies, why would you publish an advert with a specific age limit for applicants?

1. What are you promoting? Dishonesty. 
2. What are you insinuating? Older people are unattractive and you want young inexperienced faces for your brand? 
3. What are you missing out? People who could have been your most valuable resource and taken your brand to greater heights.

This feels like Age Racism to me....you employ workers using their age as one of your criteria, are you saying people above that age are not up to the task or are old and therefore will retire earlier? Do you expect people who have backdated their age to display integrity at all levels of ethical conduct in your organization, they lied before, what will stop them from lying over and over again to protect their job? Or worse, engage in or display further debauched ideologies.

To be continued!!

How not to cook noodles!!

                                          Picture Courtesy - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/instant_noodle

Step 1 – Put the appropriate quantity of water in a pot and place on your burning stove

Step 2 – pour in the noodles before or after the water has boiled. Let it cook for about 5minutes

Step 3 – pour in the sauce and other condiments you would like to add, let it cook for another 3minutes.

Step 4 – your noodles is done and ready to be munched.

Now let’s try this again… How to cook noodles

Step 1 – Put the appropriate quantity of water in a pot and place on your burning stove

Step 2 – pour in the noodles, sauce and other condiments you would like to add after the water has boiled. Let it cook for about 6minutes

Step 3 – your noodles is done and ready to be munched.

Any difference??

Yes. Most people cook their noodles the first way whereas the proper way to cook noodles is the second way, try the two methods at home, pay good attention to the taste and aroma of your cooked meal and let us know what your opinion is. However if you have other methods too, we would love to hear from you.

Happy Holidays!!

Morals are Becoming Extinct – 2 Different Scenarios!!

So there I was at the Identity card (ID) unit of my school waiting my turn to get another ID card issued out to me as the current one had expired for over six months. I met two young men in their office, most likely 2^nd, 3^rd or 4^th year students of the university because they were there for renewal of their ID cards as well. One was seated while the other stood over the desk of the issuer. The issuer would ask them both questions simultaneously, then tap at his computer, but then he would ask the one who stood over his desk twice before he got a response.

Then I noticed the young man had his eyes glued to his phone and was tapping away at it not minding his surroundings, about three times his friend who was seated had to call his attention to the issuer’s question before he responded. I then wondered if he knew it was discourteous to be standing in front of an official and tapping at his phone like that. What could be so important that couldn’t wait five minutes which is how long the process takes, or less.

Once you get your ID card, you get a free card case and hook/holder. Would you believe these boys signed their names, removed the nylon used to hold the hook and threw it on the floor in that office, and left afterwards. What will it cost them to dispose of it properly? There are waste-bins all-over the school almost at every 100metres or less. These are examples of college students who are expected to be leaders of tomorrow.

There are just some natural laws that are innate and we are all expected to be able to distinguish between morally right and wrong except a person is amoral and I think it is just mad people who qualify as amoral or babies.

Like that wasn’t enough, we were about to write an exam and the invigilator announced that those taking a particular seat should seat at the edge while I and my classmates were to seat in the middle. Now the seat is meant for five people, two of us from the same department were seated on a row but the other woman was so engrossed in her last minute reading that she didn’t hear the announcement.

A PhD student came to her side, asked her to move over, and sat by her at the edge, she then looked up and realized I was beside her so she said to him, Sorry you have to come sit in the middle, I and this lady here are writing the same course so we can’t seat beside each other. He replied her very discourteously, the invigilator asked us taking 901 to seat at the edge so go find another seat.

I was furious, this is supposed to be a PhD student with absolutely no idea what it means to be courteous, obviously. He could have simply said “Hi, sorry to bother you, but the invigilator just announced that we sit at the edge so you might have to find another seat please”. Instead of first asking her to move so he could sit, then display a nonchalant attitude at her predicament simply because he was already seated where he should be.

No matter where you find yourself, whether you are relating with someone older than you or someone younger than you, always have it at the back of your mind that you should be courteous  in your disposition even when the other person is wrong or getting you angry/impatient. It doesn’t make you less of a person or dumb, it just shows you have a sound mind, you are in control of your environment and you have very good etiquette.