18 Traits That Employers Want?

Today, the world is becoming very competitive. In a recent article that appeared in the STAR on Sunday, 11^th November with a headline of Need For A Truer Test – Instead of hiring graduates based on their degrees – which puts pressure on a few to fake one – companies should devise better ways to gauge if they can do the job.

When we read the article we could not agree more. Today there are just so many graduates around! We always tell this in our talks. Throw a stone into the crowd and if it hits somebody, ask that person whether or not they have a degree. Chances are they will answer yes! That is how tough the competition is today.

But from what we gather from people in the industry and employers the main challenge is not finding a candidate with the academic qualification, the bigger question is whether or not that person can actually do the job. The following is a list of 18 traits that employers are looking for in a candidate. Go through them and see how you rate yourself.

The best way to do this is ask yourself, on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being the worst and 10 the best, how do you rate for each of the 18 traits. J

   

1. Ability to Communicate

·        To have the ability to organize your thoughts and ideas effectively.

·        To express them clearly when speaking or writing.

·        To present your ideas in a persuasive way.

·        Even the Batman can have problems communicating. J Check out this funny video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xef7lHlkUI

2. Intelligence

·        To have the ability to understand assignments.

·        To be able to learn details of operations.

·        To be able to contribute ideas to your work.

3. Self-Confidence

·        To demonstrate a sense of maturity that enables you to deal positively and effectively with situations and people.

4. Willing to accept responsibility

·        To have someone who recognizes what needs to be done and is willing to do it.

5. Initiative

·        To have the ability to identify the purpose for work and to take action.

6. Leadership

·        To guide and direct others obtain the recognized objectives.

7.  Energy Level

·        To demonstrate forcefulness and the capacity to make things move ahead.

·        To maintain your work effort at an above-average rate.

8. Imagination

·        Confront and deal with problems that may not have standard solutions.

9. Flexibility

·        Be capable of change and being receptive to new situations and ideas.

10. Interpersonal Skills

·        Be able to bring out the best efforts of individuals so they become effective, enthusiastic members of a team

11. Self-knowledge

·        Realistically assess your own capabilities.

·        See yourself as others see you.

·        Clearly recognize your strengths and weaknesses.

12. Ability to handle conflict

·        Successfully contend with stress situations and antagonism.

13. Competitiveness

·        To have the capacity to compete with others.

·        Be willing to be measured by your performance in relation to that of others.

14. Goal Achievement

·        To have the ability to identify and work toward    specific goals.

·        Will such goals challenge your abilities?

15. Vocational Skills

·        Do you possess the positive combination of education and skills required for the position you are seeking.

16. Direction

·        Have you defined your basic personal needs?

·        What type of position will satisfy your knowledge,     skills and goals?

17. Common Sense

·        Ability to see the big picture.

·        Ability to see what is missing.

·        Finish what you start.

·        Willingness to help.

·        Being nice to everybody inside & outside the organization.

18. Team B.U.L.A.T.

·        Are you a team player or a destroyer?

·        If you are a team player, you need to be B.U.L.A.T.

§  B ~ Boleh Buat

§  U ~ Boleh Ubah

§  L  ~ Boleh Lari

§  A ~ Boleh Ajar, Diajar dan Mengajar

§  T ~ Boleh Tahan

How do you rate yourself? In short what you need to do is add value to yourself. The more value you add to yourself the more valuable you become. Eventually you want to become an asset and not a liability.

Keluarga Bahagia! Amalkan 7P!

It’s really early in the morning and in about a couple of hours from now we will be doing a training session. While getting ready we switched on the telly to catch up on the latest news and we found a channel that was talking about morning motivation. We thought to ourselves, this is awesome!

The speaker shared an amazing talk on how to cultivate and have a Happy Family. He was speaking in Bahasa and he spoke about the 7Ps strategy to a Happy Family. So here it is.

1.   Perhatian – Give Attention

Most family fail to establish a good relationship is because the parents and the children do not give attention to one another. Especially parents now days that are very busy with day to day chores and always focusing more on their career. Their children are left with the maids. The only time the family get together is probably when they are out having dinner or lunch but that also is just a routine as everybody is busy with their own electronic device either texting or face booking or gaming away. Nobody takes notice of anybody in the family. This will result in a strained relationship. In short we have to take notice. As parents we need to acknowledge our kids. Talk to them, ask questions, get involve in their lives and really build a relationship with them. Trust us, we have three kids and they really grow up fast!

Always remember that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care! The best way to show people that you care is to give them perhatian or attention J

2.   Puji & Peluk – Give Compliments & Hug Them!

This a bit of a challenge especially for the majority of us as it is not in our culture to neither give compliments nor give out hugs. When we were young we were not brought up that way but as we build our own family we realized that it is so important to complement each other and our children. Praise and an encouragement can really go a long way to develop a positive attitude and confidence especially for our children. Let’s face it; we all love to get a compliment especially from the people we love. So make a point right NOW and find something nice to compliment your partner and children.

The other thing that is very important is physical touch. For family members it is essential that we hug each other. This is especially very important if a family member has physical touch as their love language.

  

3.   Pendidikan – Education

As parents we need to provide our children with the best education possible. Knowledge will ensure that they can survive and contribute on this planet and also prepare them for the world after.

We need to invest in their education, not just academics but also developing their soft skills and leadership skills. You can never go wrong in investing in yourself.

What we can do is to attend courses together. One of the best ways to do this is by building a business together. There are certain business opportunities out there that allow you to develop yourself and you can do it with your family. If you are looking for that kind of opportunity than go to http://www.peaklifestyle.com/real

The other important education that we need to invest in is religious education. Your faith needs to be nurtured and developed so that your heart and soul is protected.

4.   Penghargaan – Recognition

Recognition is so important. The problem is that most of the time we wait for something huge or big to happen to give recognition. We fail to recognize the small steps it took to get there.

Just the other day, the principal at our kid’s school shared with us that the school has started a new recognition program whereby all the students who have performed in their studies and sports are it a monthly test or just s mall competition everyone is recognized immediately. He said that this has inspired students to do better because they know for every effort they put in they will be recognized regardless of the test or the results in a competition. They will be recognized just by participating.

It is the same in a family. We must recognize our partner and our children. We can do this by having a special dinner together or doing something special to recognize an achievement. It could also be symbolized with a simple gift. Anything to commemorate the effort and achievement.

5.   Pukul – Discipline or Punish

We need to discipline or punish our loved ones because they need to know what is right and what is wrong. We cannot simply keep quiet and ignore. Remember, if we do not take action and if we just remain silent they will think that we approve what they are doing.

If it’s wrong we must say it! We can share our own experience in raising our children. The other day we came upon an IPhone in the car park at one of the shopping mall that we visited. Obviously somebody must have dropped it. We took the phone and gave it to the information counter and we hoped that the owner might come looking for it. For us it was the right thing to do. That afternoon we received an SMS from the owner thanking us for returning his phone.

We shared what happened to our children. We got a surprised when our son said that why did you return the phone. You should have kept it. In fact it is REZEKI! We were shocked and we immediately scolded him for having such thoughts. We explained to him why it was wrong. The lesson here is that we need to discipline each other. We need to tegur one another. What is wrong is wrong and what is right is right. There is no grey area. For Muslims it is easy; just ask yourself if you do it would you get pahala or dosa. J

6.   Pujuk

One of the most important act in building a happy family is that after scolding or punishing someone you must pujuk them. Do not leave them. The best way to pujuk is by bringing a glass of water. Drinking water will soothe the anger and will allow for better communication. Than you follow up with words of encouragement. Forgive them and move on. Give a hug and ensure them that they are moving in the right direction. As they say, learn from the past, live in the present and plan for the future.

That way we can ensure that today will better than yesterday and that tomorrow will be better than today!

7.   Pantau - Monitor

Finally, we need to monitor. Especially today, with the access and availability of technology we are more exposed and easily influenced by people around us. It could be through social media or advertisements and through our family and friends around us.

A strong and happy family will always be on the lookout for each other. If you have kids you need to know who are their friends, what do they do. If they have Facebook, make sure that you are added as a friend. Your role is just to monitor. That is why it is so important to have a strong and trusting relationship with your family. Trust is the foundation of all relationships.

One of the best ways to monitor is by showing that you care. Remember, people don’t care what you know until they know that you care. 

Mendidik Anak, soalan pertama perlu ditanya, 'Sudah Solat?'

Alhamdulillah, pada hari Jumaat baru-baru ini sekolah anak kami menganjurkan program solat Hajat untuk anak-anak kami. Pihak sekolah juga menjemput kami, ibubapa untuk bersama dengan anak-anak.

Selain solat hajat, kami membaca Yassin beserta tazkirah ringkas dari Ustaz Mohd Asri. Hari ini saya just nak berkongsi apa ilmu yang kami dapat dari tazkirah tersebut.

Tanggungjawab kita sebagai ibubapa pertamanya adalah menyuruh anak kit solat, beribadat dan belajar. Kerana kalau tidak disuruh ketiga-tiga perkara ini tidak akan dilakukan oleh anak-anak kita. Jadi apabila kita berjumpa anak kita, soalan yang patut ditanya adalah, Sudah Solat? Sudah Mengaji? Sudah Belajar? Bukannya Sudah Makan? :) Ini adalah kerana makan, kita tak perlu suruh. Dia lapar dia akan cari makanan. Bersamalah kita mengamalkannya. InsyaAllah.

Rezeki kita semua telah ditetapkan Allah SWT. Tetapi ianya boleh diubah dengan usaha dan doa dan keredhaan Allah SWT untuk memberikannya kepada kita. Doa adalah senjata orang Mukmin.

Sebagai ibubapa kita mesti memberi masa kita untuk anak-anak kita. Kalau kita rasa susah dan tiada masa pohonlah kepada Allah SWT agar kita diberikan masa. Doalah untuk anak-anak kita. Jangan putus berdoa untuk mereka agar mereka menjadi anak-anak yang solleh & sollehah. Sebutlah nama mereka di dalam doa kita. Mulakan doa dengan memuji Allah SWT dan diikuti dengan selawat ke atas junjungan besar Nabi Muhammad SAW.

Terdapat banyak waktu berdoa yang mustajab. Di antara yang telah dikongsikan oleh Ustaz Asri adalah:
1. Tatkala hujan turun - Allah SWT turunkan rahmat & rezeki, jadi berdoalah kita.
2. Tatkala kita mendengar ayam jantan berkokok - berdoalah
3. Di sepertiga malam - bangunlah di tengah malam, solat tahajud & berdoalah.
4. Di antara 2 khutbah di waktu solat Jumaat - ini adalah waktu yg baik bagi bapa-bapa untuk berdoa.

Bagi anak-anak, pastikan kita menghormati ibubap kita. Kasihilah mereka kerana kita tidak tahu berapa lagi kita dapat bersama mereka. Jangan malukan mereka dengan tindakan kita kerana apabila ibubapa kita malu maka Allah SWT akan murka dengan kita.

Pastikan kita jaga solat kita. InsyaAllah solat 5 waktu dan Allah SWT akan uruskan segalanya untuk kita. Percayalah. Solat tandanya syukur & kita mendapat keredhaan Allah SWT. Solat itu tiang agama. Dirikanlah solat.

Akhir sekali Ustaz ada berkongsi tentang hikmah 7 'Mubin' di dalam surah Yaasin. Setiap kali selepas membaca ayat 'Mubin', berdoalah dan mintalah apa yang kita hajatkan. Berdoalah untuk kesejahteraan anak-anak kita. Khususkan permintaan kita. Dengan kata lain be specific.

Begitulah sedikit sebanyak perkongsian pada kali ini. Semoga kita semua mendapat manfaat.

The 4 Seasons of Life!

We came across this video while we were searching for videos on ‘4 Seasons of Life’. It was a simple video but what touched the most were the story and the lesson that we got from it.

The story was about an old man and his four (4) sons and how he wanted to teach them about life. He called all his sons to him and told them that he would like to see a pear tree. But he wanted to see the tree during the 4 different seasons. His sons agreed.

The eldest son went during winter, the second during spring, the third during summer and the youngest went during the fall season. When all his sons had seen the pear tree, he called them up together to share what they saw.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent and twisted.

The second son said that it was covered with green buds and full of promise.

The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most grateful thing he had ever seen.

The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfilment.

The old man than explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen only ONE SEASON in the tree’s life.

He told them that they cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season. That the essence of who they are the pleasure, joy and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

He continued to say that if you give up when it’s winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer and the fulfilment of your autumn. Don’t let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest. Don’t judge life by one difficult season.

Persevere through the difficult patches, and better times are sure to come in time.

The lessons that we learned from this story is that throughout our life we will encounter all the 4 different seasons. We will have spring, summer, fall and winter. What we need to do is to be prepared and plan our lives so that we take the opportunity when it comes and we develop ourselves so that we can live through the winters.

Aspire to inspire, before you expire,

Live simply, love generously,

Care deeply, and leave the rest to GOD.

Happiness keeps you sweet,

Trials keep you strong,

Sorrows keep you human,

Failure keeps you humble,

Success keeps you growing.

But only GOD keeps you going.

Koleksi Kata Kata Hikmah

While seraching online for some Kata Kata Hikmah for my son's homework came across the following list. Thought I just share it on my blog as well. Enjoy!

Kata-kata hikmah ini merupakan koleksi kata-kata mutiara indah yang sesuai dijadikan motivasi dan pengisian jiwa.

Jangan berputus-asa kerana biasanya anak kunci terakhirlah yang dapat membuka kunci.

Kemahuan yang tinggi akan mengubah persepsi seseorang terhadap sesuatu sehingga yang mustahil pun boleh terjadi.

Lebih baik berusaha menyalakan lilin dari menyumpah kepada kegelapan.

Jangan takut dan segan untuk setiap tindakan yang anda lakukan.Seluruh kehidupan adalah satu ujian. 

Orang yang berjaya ialah orang yang melakukan tindakan yang tidak mampu diimaginasikan oleh orang lain, malah tidak mampu dilakukan oleh orang besar sekalipun.

Sebelum mencela pasangan hidupmu, bayangkan mereka yang masih menghiba untuk dikurnia jodoh.

Manusia yang berjaya akan memperolehi keuntungan daripada kesilapannya, dan mencuba lagi dengan cara yang lain.

Berani Berkorban dan Berubah, Kejayaan adalah Ganjarannya

Setiap perkara ada gantinya. Setiap perlakuan ada ganjarannya. Setiap kejadian ada hikmah di sebalik kejadiannya.

Tiada jalan singkat untuk kita sampai ke sesuatu destinasi yang sememangnya jauh. Perjalanan tetap melibatkan langkah demi langkah dan tingkat demi tingkat.

Nabi Muhammad pernah berkata, (Amal yang paling disukai Allah adalah amal yang dilakukan secara terus menerus sekalipun sedikit (HR Bukhari dan Muslim daripada Aisyah)
Kegagalan bermakna bahawa anda belum berjaya lagi. 

Orang yang gagal adalah orang yang tidak mampu mengurus masalah.Hanya manusia yang mampu mengurus masalah sahaja yang boleh berjaya. 

Orang yang berjaya juga mampu menimbulkan perasaan kagum serta takjub orang lain kerana kejayaan dan kehebatannya

Orang yang berjaya tidak hidup di pinggir peristiwa, bukan orang yang kosong tanpa nilai dan bukan orang yang hanya menjadi pelengkap

Belajar dari pengalaman adalah guru yang paling baik. Jatuh pada lubang yang sama adalah suatu kebodohan.

Sayidina Ali menyatakan “Kalau engkau ingin menjadi raja, maka pakailah sifat qona’ah (puas). Kalau engkau ingin syurga dunia sebelum syurga akhirat, pakailah budi pekerja yang mulia”.

Apabila anda kaya,fikirkanlah saat-saat anda pernah miskin dahulu. 

Antara akhlak orang yang berjaya adalah optimis dan tidak berputus asa, mampu memperbaiki kesalahannya dan keluar daripada krisis serta mengubah kerugian menjadi keuntungan

Baik kaya adalah kaya hati, sebaik-baik bekal adalah takwa, seburuk-buruk buta adalah buta hati dan sebesar-besar dosa adalah berdusta

Kecantikan yang abadi terletak pada keelokkan adab dan ketinggian ilmu seseorang, bukan terletak pada wajah dan pakaiannya.( Hamka).

Orang yang takut menghadapi kesukaran selamanya tidak akan maju. (Home)

Yang dikatakan kawan bukanlah orang yang sentiasa memuji-muji kamu, tetapi adalah orang yang dapat menunjukkan kesalahan kamu.

"Dan berbuatlah kamu akan kebaikan supaya kamu mendapat kemenangan." (Surah al-Hajj:77)

"Maka sifat sabar itu adalah sikap yang baik, dan hanya Allah sahajalah tempat meminta pertolongan" (Surah Yusuf:18)

Berunding cerdik dengan pandai, faham dua menjadi satu.

Yang paling kita perlukan dalam kehidupan ialah adanya seseorang yang selalu memberi semangat untuk melaksanakan hal-hal yang dapat kita kerjakan. (Davey John Schwartz)

Sabar penghilang penat, tekun pembawa dekat.

Lebih berharga mutiara sebutir daripada pasir sepantai.

Terbang bangau sepanjang hari, ke tasik jua akhirnya dicari.

Biar kamu tidak cantik di mata penduduk bumi tetapi namamu menjadi perbualan penduduk langit.

Siapa yang banyak bicara, banyak pula salahnya; siapa yang banyak salah, hilanglah harga dirinya; siapa yang hilang harga dirinya, bererti dia tidak warak; sedangkan orang yang tidak warak itu bererti hatinya mati. (Saidina Ali Abu Talib)

Sabda Rasulullah s.a.w: "Akhlak yang buruk merosakkan amal seperti cuka merosakkan madu."

Kita sering mengimbas kembali kenangan lalu tetapi jarang sekali berusaha untuk mengejar impian hari esok.

Manusia yang berbuat baik dengan mengharapkan sesuatu balasan bukanlah manusia yang jujur. Ketahuilah sesungguhnya pertolongan Allah itu dekat, asalkan kamu bersabar dan berpegang teguh dengan agama Allah. (Surah Al-Baqarah:214)

Kekitaan yang erat tiada yang berat.

Jika pada awalnya anda tidak berjaya,cubalah cari kembali arah haluan yang pernah anda lemparkan ke dalam tong sampah.

Tunjuk menjadi telaga budi, ajar menjadi suluh hati

Belajarlah berdiri dahulu sebelum cuba untuk berlari.

Kekayaan yang hilang boleh dikejar dengan usaha yang bersungguh-sungguh.

Kesihatan yang hilang boleh diperoleh dengan ubat-ubatan yang baik tetapi masa yang hilang sekali hilang akan terus hilang.

Jadilah seperti pohon kayu yang berbuah lebat, dibaling dengan batu dibalas dengan buah.

Are you green?

Alhamdulillah today we are so blessed to be able to share with you once again our latest experience. This week we had the wonderful opportunity of attending a seminar on Green Technology.

It was a great experience as we learned a lot of new things. One of the things that we understood was the importance of being green. Being green does not mean that you are wearing a green shirt or blouse or cap or shoes for that matter. In fact it has nothing to with the colour green but it has everything to with your relationship with the environment.

Today almost everybody is talking about the environment. The number of people on the planet is increasing by the day and the resources that we have is depleting faster than we could replace or reproduce it. The world is changing with global warming on the rise, pollution and natural disasters happening all around the world.

Today we had the opportunity to listen to the Green Man, Mr Matthias Gelber from Germany. He is an International Environmental Speaker and was awarded the Greenest Person on the planet by 3^rd Whale Canada in 2008! He shared with us a lot of opportunities in the Green Technology.

Basically, Green Technology is the biggest business opportunity available to everybody right now. In fact, based on the talk given by Green Technology Malaysia, it seems that the first question people will ask of your company is, “Is your company Green?” And by 2035, people will be asking you “Are you green?”

We have been involved in Green Technology for quite some time especially when we have our own Green Technology which is our Compostech. You can visit www.compostech.com.my to get more details. Basically it is a technology that can recycle food waste into compost in just 24 hours!

Other than that we have always been very mindful and aware to do our part so that we can contribute towards making the environment better and ensuring that the earth is still liveable for our kids and later generations.

Today there are so many ways that we can contribute towards being green. It is not just technology but how we run our daily lives. We can start by saving more on the use of electricity and water. Drive less and walk more. Buy recycled and reusable products. Basically the thinking must be towards reuse, recycle and reduce. Every little thing that we do can make a difference!

For example, today we do not buy garbage bags anymore. We recycle all our plastic bags. We do not use air cons at home, we walk as much as we can to the shops. And whenever we can we make sure that every power supply is switched off. In terms of business, we will always find ways to design materials that can be reuse, recycle and reduce. In fact when you do this, by being green you can actually increase your profits!

All you have to do is start to think differently. Ask yourself this; is there another way that I can do this? Is there another way that I can reuse, recycle and reduce? When you start to ask the questions you will find the answers.

We have to make a change and we must do it now. So let’s do our part. Let’s help to save our planet. We need to have a great relationship with our planet and our environment. Let’s become green!