Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.  - wikipedia

Employers focus so much of their attention seeking people with qualifications, experience, competence, skills, humour, willingness to work overtime, willingness to work for less, but have forgotten the one fundamental value of being a good-human, which is integrity.  

I have worked for 4 companies, in different cities and different environment, but the continuous existence of a lazy colleague who did everything they're not supposed to at work seems to be present regardless where I go.  Fresh out of University at my first jobs, I just thought I worked so hard because I was enthusiastic, but 10 years later, I find myself working even harder than what I did back then.  I started observing the behaviour of people around me who I considered successful or unsuccessful, and it became quite clear that ones willingness to work and uphold their principles has nothing to do with age, but is a trait that they either have or not.

You may wonder why is integrity so important in a work place, and how does it influence you?  People with little integrity are difficult to manage, as they don't keep to the rules, and often have other people pick up their slack and exhaust company resources.  They also have a tendency to be dishonest.  People with integrity would know what they were doing is wrong, making it easy to trust them and their work ethics, where as people with little integrity tend to find a sense of entitlement therefore finding nothing wrong with their behaviour.

To maintain a successful work environment, it is essential to be able to trust your staff.  So next time you find yourself in a position of hiring new staff, rather than asking if they're hard working, which everyone always says they are, ask them if they consider themselves as someone who has integrity.  They will not expect the question, and if they aren't you will see it on their faces immediately, and if that were the case, truth is no amount of qualifications or experiences would make up for the integrity that they are lacking.

For anyone who wants to enter a professional working environment, you need to know the difference between a Resume and a CV (Curriculum Vitae).   The biggest difference between the 2 is the length of the document.  A resume is a 1 page summary of one's skills and experiences, whereas a CV is a lengthier and detailed document of one's education, achievements, accomplishment, etc.  However, do not confuse a CV with biography, by over loading the document with useless life facts that are irrelevant to the position you are applying for.

Since hiring agents, or potential employers spend an estimate of 20 seconds scanning your resume, you really want the important information to stand out.  Here are 5 things you should remove from you CV today, apart from it taking up space, they can sometimes work to your disadvantage.

1.  Stop using bland fluff words.

If you think making use of big words makes you sound smarter, you are mistaken.  On the contrary it does the opposite, bland fluff words are easily identified, so the impression you are giving is that there is no true substance to your CV, therefore you are making use of meaningless words to 'fluff' up the appearance.   

E.g. dynamic visionary, developing organism, vernacular understanding.

Apart from fluff words, redundancy, slang, made up words are all a no-no's.

2.  Eliminate your home number.

In this day and age, many of us don't have home numbers, and if you do, surely you're not sitting around at home the entire day waiting for it to ring.  If possible, you want to provide only 1 contact number so that whomever may be looking for you can get hold of you successfully.  Hiring agent or employers do not want struggle to reach you.

3.  Remove irrelevant job references.

People who don't have much work experiences tend to write down unrelated job references, to fill their CV's.  It really does nothing, since the employer at an auditing company has no interested in the gap year you took after high school working as a waiter in London.

This is also applicable for skills that are unrelated.  It is no ones business that you can slam dunk, or eat 10 burgers.

4.  Stating the obvious.

Since most companies require you to e-mail your CV, we have moved away from official cover letters, but rather a professional e-mail that accompanies the CV.  Regardless which option you opt for, you should eliminate stating the obvious.  

E.g. what not to be writing:  

I am sending you an e-mail because I see your restaurant advertised for a new pastry chef, which is the position I would like to apply for. 

But rather:  

I would like to apply for the pastry chef position at your restaurant.  

5. Inappropriate photo's.

It is not required for people to include photo's or any personal information (e.g. religion, ethnicity) in their CV's.  Any information that can be used to discriminate against you can be left out, unless it was a requirement stipulated.  Having said this, many people tend to include their photo's, wanting to allow the employer to 'put a face to the name'.  If you find it essential for the employer to see what you look like, make sure you choose an appropriate photo.  Any excessive pouting, plumber cleavage, dirty clothes or hair, prison death stare, does not work in a professional environment.

Always keep your CV focused on the job you're applying for.  Keep it simple and to the point.

Madrid | Spain
 (Photo:  W.Tsai)

Since air travel has become a lot cheaper in recent years, more and more people are travelling abroad, and with the likes of vacation packages for a 5 night, 7 night, 10 night all inclusive deal to almost anywhere in the world, one doesn’t even need any travel experience or company.  Package deals are great and easy ways to travel as there would be a set itinerary, so the only planning you’d need to make is for someone to take you to the airport.  Which is also hassle free nowadays with the help of Uber.  

However, if you’re anything like me and enjoy planning your own vacation and deciding when and where to go in your own time, then this article is for you.  Last spring I planned a 16 day trip around Spain from my laptop.  All you really need is 3 Apps (Skyscanner, Booking.com & Dropbox), Google Map and a credit card.

Keep in mind, if you're not planning to visit abroad, all these Apps are still as useful for domestic getaways.  Studies have shown that holidays and breaks are necessary for the well-being of the working class, and one should take these times off even if you don't believe you need it.

STEP 1

Decide where in the world you would like to go.  Open Google Map and view nearby places or use street views for specific area’s.  Street view comes particularly handy when looking for accommodation, as you should have a look at your surrounds before committing to the reservation.  You can also calculate distance with Google Maps, so you can see how far to travel between cities or even just from the Metro Stations to your apartment.

STEP 2

After you've decided on your destination, go to Skyscanner or download the App.  Enter your destination and dates and Skyscanner would search all possible flights and arrange them by price.  You can also filter by airline.  If you don’t know where you’d like to go, you can also select ‘Everywhere’ as your destination and Skyscanner would search for the cheapest flights to various destination.  There is also car rental and hotel options on the site.  

STEP 3

Once you’ve decided on your dates, go to Booking.com or download the App.  Enter your destination and dates and select the price range, accommodation type, etc.  Booking.com would then search and feed you with a list of options.  The more detailed you complete the filters, the smaller the list would become.  It is advisable to read reviews from other guests so that you don’t get fooled by the marketing material the owners have loaded.

STEP 4

When you’ve made your decisions, reserve, reserve, reserve, this is where the credit card comes into play.  Most online purchases or bookings require one to use a credit card, so if you don't have one, this might be a bit more challenging.  Keep in mind, many banks offer free travel insurance with plane tickets purchased on your credit card, which is a score.

STEP 5

All your reservations, plane tickets, accommodation, etc. would send you a mail.  Open a dropbox account and upload all your confirmations, and additional documents for safe keeping in case you loose your hard copy.  I usually scan my passport and upload that as well, just in case I loose it.  Most companies work on a digital system nowadays so it's not even necessary to print out your confirmations.

Make sure you have checked the visa requirements for your destination, and if all is in place then you are ready to go.  Happy travelling!