Friday, October 07, 2005

# Where have our ethics gone?

I was shocked to discover that the main tactics used by friends in interview to apply for job/internship is by BLUFFING/LYING. Rather than using concrete examples which show qualitites needed for the job, people make up stories and 'invented' work experiences that make them look good. And most surprisingly, many are actually proud of themselves for being able to bluff through the interviews and get the jobs.

Suddenly I felt so ashamed for our fellow students. I just could not believe that the eagerness to get into a good company can encourage students to start making stories just to meet the requirements. I feel sad for the recent development of 'skills-targeted' employment procedures. As the companies state the 'perfect' qualities of prospective employees, suddenly everyone 'transforms' into perfect humans with lots and lots of wonderful experiences, or should I say, imaginative experiences.

Application forms are filled with bullshit and non-existence flamboyant words and accounts. Interview process, originallly aimed to get to know applicants better to assess their personality and skills, has transformed into a story-telling session. I am 'impressed' by such development in the career pursuing ratrace. Interestingly, with the increasing demands on human resource skills, the quality of worker does not exactly rise, but rather the skills of bluffing enhance.

How low can we get? How far can we compromise our ethics for material gains? How profit-minded can we be? How individualistic and materialistic can we be??

Today I felt disappointed with my own friends, and I felt sad for the society. I hope for a change, a change in culture, a change in mindset, a change in human nature.

14 comments:

@ロウ 。LOW@ said...

Every now and then, my japanese friend will start their year long job-hunting. A year long, trust me on that! And it might as well be another year long before they eventually start working!

Some bosses choose to spend time on their potential employee, some choose to trust the paper, or that hour "long" interview.

But hey, like those bosses, our friends have their own will. Sometime we give friendly advice, sometime we just wish them luck :)

Wow, my longest comment, perhaps, haha! Cheers!

YD said...

Wow, I shall return ur favour soon! thnks low..

ya i know cheating does occur in job application, i was just quite shocked to see how habitual it is among my own friends, and how proud they are with their own intelligence on that.

It depends on individual how we wanna pursue things. n i wanna do it the correct way.

Pandabonium said...

yd, I am afraid that the answer to your question of how low mankind can get in pursuit of material gain is astonishingly low.

I look at those who have taken over my homeland - the USA - one of the reasons I left there. They and their friends make billions of dollars from war, natural disasters, and controling the necessities of life for masses of people around the world.

It is sad and I wish I could understand why. They will die someday like all living things do. What good will it do them then? What good does it do them now?
How they must hate themselves inside. Or perhaps they are merely empty shells posing as human beings.

Good for you for thinking of such things at this time in your life. You are making good decisions that will bring you fulfillment and happiness throughout your life.

Pandabonium said...

yd, I posted this on an older blog of yours, so am bringing it up to date by moving it here:

I like the music on your blogs. I was very touched by hearing Pachabel's Cannon as my oldest daughter loves the music. I am a muscian and her mother and I used to play a recording of Paganini violin concerto before she was born, and she would keep time with her foot inside the womb! I think it gave her a feeling for music.

She had the Pachabel played by a string quartet at her wedding and a recording of it while giving birth to my granddaughter two years ago. So it is quite special to me too.

Thanks.

YD said...

dear pandabonium,

many thanks for your comments! i m impressed by such clarity of your thoughts and your principle. your cultivation of mindfulness and sila is strong. salute you for that!

it's great to find someone who loves pachabel's canon too! gosh, you know what, it has been in my mind too to have that piece of music during my wedding! (perhaps someday in far future haha... girls' dreams..) i have loved that music since the first time I heard it..

so u r a musician? cool... which instruments you are more inclined towards? strings? really nice to know you! thanks!

Pandabonium said...

Nice to know you too. You are too kind in your words.

I play the trombone. Not as a profession, but I have played with many excellent people in jazz bands, orchestras and brass quartets. Most recenty played a pops concert with the Kashima Symphony Orchestra.

@ロウ 。LOW@ said...

For nature death may create new life, and there's a saying in chinese : Crisis create Opportunity. But not diasater to money!

As one of friend said, don't get intimidate by the "normality" around you! I felt upset sometime, when some friends doesn't share the same thought with me. It's not something new now so i'll just go my way whenever possible!

So both of you are in the same "tune" now, haha! Nice one! And i don't know we have a muscian here! So Pandabonium my friend, you can play for yd during her wedding while i try to take some good pictures, enjoying the atmosphere at the same time!

Well, just a thought, hehe!

YD said...

Thanks low! I would certainly feel so honoured if i can have both a great musician and photographer in my important day!

I believe our paths will cross at some point in the future. It is really great knowing you both, and it's a bonus to have the 'perfect wedding' as described by Low! hehe...

Oh now you started my daydreaming. gosh... canon in D...

Pandabonium said...

YD - If a time comes (hopefully not too soon!) that you find someone you wish to marry, I'd love to see the wedding. While I did play in a brass quartet once for a wedding, the string quartet at my daughter's was a better idea I think. She also had a singer/guitarist.

low would be great with the camera of course. You can get someone to do the "formal" pics and low can cover the "people" pictures which are always the more interesting ones.

Don't plan too carefully. It's the person you marry, not the wedding, that counts in long run.

We need to be careful about crossing paths- low will have us climbing Mt. Everest if we're not careful.

((:-0

@ロウ 。LOW@ said...

Good idea about the crossing paths, pandabonium my friend. Perhaps if we don't born in the same time and date, we could die so! Haha!!!

I used to play guitar (like any other young lad!), but left out since i don't have the right environment. The guitar is with me all the time, and maybe, i was waiting for that crossing path, me and my guitar :)

I hope we don't need to wait till your wedding to have our friend perform, yd! Maybe we should plan to visit pandabonium at Fiji island first...the wedding? We'll talk about it when you found your boyfriend, ok? Haha!!! Of course, i(we?)'ll be there for you :P

The Moody Minstrel said...

If you do decide to put together an ensemble to play at YD's wedding, let me know. I'd be happy to play just about anything...even if I don't know how yet...

(New challenges can make life more worthwhile.)

YD said...

Join pandabonium in the orchestra! I bet you have flair in music!

Better not think in terms of future too much. hehe... but a little bit of daydreaming wouldn't harm, ya..

Canon in D it is then.

The Moody Minstrel said...

Canon in D? Pachelbel?

My mother played that at my wedding (here in Japan)! She's actually a church organist (was, anyway). Unfortunately, though, while playing that tune, her music suddenly slipped off the stand. She caught it with one hand while trying to continue playing with the other, which resulted in a hilarious muddle of notes. Canon in D suddenly turned into the sound of one hand banging on a keyboard.

I said I hoped it wasn't an omen for how my marriage would turn out...

YD said...

Fingers crossed... tightly :-P