Integricity Technology, the first baby of the Integricity Group has now learnt to walk, run, swim and hopefully fly in the days to come. Realising the needs of the market, we are segmenting our teams into IT outsourcing services and web hosting.

In line with the clear definition of people and services to serve our clients better, we are also taking the opportunity to brand ourselves as FatNinjas and FatServers, both by the good people of Integricity.

As of January 2013, the Integricity Group, under Alex Lam as Group MD, will focus on Technology, Visuals (Photography/Videography) and Events. Integricity Interactive, the award-winning full-service digital agency, will be rebranded as VLT in line with its new vision. Warren Tan, previously Managing Director of Integricity Interactive, will lead the new company as Chief Executive Officer.

While Alex and Warren, pioneer partners of Integricity are going along separate business paths, they remain friends, while continuing to work as neighbours within the confines of SStwo Mall.

The existing partners of the various Integricity companies are Grace Tan (Integricity Visuals), JS Chui (Integricity Technology) and Hui Mun Tzin (Integricity Events).

It was a time of food, fellowship and good mid-week fun. You can’t have a Halloween ‘do without costumes, of course! The office was abuzz with “Wah, nice costume weih!”, “What are YOU supposed to be!?”, and “Eh – come take picture!”.

When it came to dressing up, we went all out! From monsters to movie characters, we had them all. There were some really scary looking ones as well, the kind you wouldn’t want to stumble upon late at night *insert horror soundtrack here*.

The night began with some sharing: Interactive’s core value and vision, followed by updates from our various departments, Planners, Suits, Developers, Design and Content. What we talked about? That’s TOP SECRET (read: exciting times ahead!). ;)

Then it was time for food… Our table decorations were so cute! Worms in the ice-cubes were definitely the talk of the drinks bar. Check out our resident Jedi DJ doing his thing!

The highlight of the day: Mysterious Green Slime. Like a witch’s brew – it was gooey, icky, smelly and gross! Who dares put their hand in there…!? Everyone did! No one was spared. It was all in good, yucky, sticky fun. :D

We had a friendly competition among ourselves and played Dress The “JEWish” Mummy with Jason, Eugene and Warren. Don’t they look absolutely adorable? (JEWish because Jason, Eugene and Warren make up our JEW!)

And the winner is… Team Eugene!

To sum the night up – we had a wicked time (and we mean that in a good way ;D). If all TAP gatherings are as fun as this… we’re certainly looking forward to the next one!

“Kids will take a chance. If they don’t know, they will have a go…they are not frightened of being wrong. I don’t mean to say that being wrong is being creative. But what we do know is that if you are not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original.” – Sir Ken Robinson.

Fear of Failure

This is just one of many quotes out there on how fear of failure and fear of risk-taking will totally squash creativity from an individual or an organization. This risk-averse culture is now more prevalent than ever thanks to educational systems that stigmatise failure, and error-eliminating programs that are being introduced into multinational corperations such as Six Sigma.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not promoting total anarchy where the same failures are repeated over and over again without any consequences, because in all things there needs to be a balance. However, in this day and age our culture is leaning more towards one that is governed by fear of trying and of taking risk.

Logically it makes sense that for the creation of anything new or original there is always an element of risk involved, and with risk comes the chance for failure. This is all fine and well but is there any scientific evidence or are there any cold hard facts to show that taking risk, making mistakes and learning from mistakes have any effect on innovation and creativity?

The Science Behind Making Mistakes

The answer is yes. Professor Tom Ormerod from Lancaster University did one such study. In his research he found that people who are not only allowed to make mistakes but who actually make mistakes earlier on and learn from them, will eventually come up with better and more creative solutions to a problem.

Consider further what Carol Dweck, a Stanford psychology professor, has to say about mindset and achieving one’s true potential. According to her, the reasons some people achieve their true potential while equally talented people do not, isn’t about ability. Instead it is about whether a person looks at ability as something inherent that needs to be demonstrated or as something external that can be developed.

Dweck has shown that people with the latter belief are the people that achieve their true potential. Also according to her, how a person views ability is affected by a person’s view of failure – whether a person views failure as an opportunity to learn and improve or views it as something that tarnishes one’s image.

So in an organisation that only celebrates successes while failures are looked down upon and scorned at instead of being viewed as opportunities for learning, could potentially not be maximizing its employees’ potential.

Make It OK to Fail

Therefore, for an organisation or team that wishes to be truly innovative or creative, an environment where people feel safe to take risks and fail is a pre-requisite. An environment where it is acceptable to fail and learn from the failures is a must (repeating the previous fact?). In fact, having a safe environment might not be enough. Failures that are followed by learnings could perhaps not only be accepted but celebrated!

In the end maybe what we all need to do is to embrace this quote by Mark Twain.

Andrew has worked at the sharp end of innovation for more than a decade now. He has played designer, manager, consultant and researcher on various innovation themes from technology innovation to organisation design innovation across the US, Southeast Asia and the UK. Currently, he is Asia Partner for Social Innovation Camp Asia 2012, helping to bring together ideas, people and digital tools to build web-based solutions to social problems – all in just 48 hours. Call for ideas is currently open until midnight, Friday, 19th October 2012.

Social Innovation Camp, Edinburgh from The People Speak on Vimeo.

Want to help save the world, one social venture at a time? Try out some Social Innovation!

The original Social Innovation Camp was started in the UK in 2008. Its mission? To help catalyse and start technology-based social ventures that leverage good design.

SI Camp Asia 2012 brings this proud heritage to the Asian region via Kuala Lumpur, and we’re proud to say that we’re partnering with these amazing guys to get this up and running!

How it Works:

The camp matches experts of a social problem to solution enablers such as software developers, designers and business-minded folks. Ultimately, these great minds come together to build a technology-based solution to a social problem. They will hack together wireframes, code, work out a business and marketing plan and more – all in under 48 hours.

This is what happens before the 48-hour weekend:

Phase 1: Call for Ideas

Anyone who deals/comes into contact with social issues and might have a technology-based idea/solution submits their idea (however raw!) for consideration. Ultimately, 6 ideas will be selected for the weekend, and teams will be built around these ideas.

Phase 2: Team Building

Once the 6 ideas have been chosen, our SI Camp peeps will build teams around the ideas. Each team will help grow and nurture the idea! Teams can and will be made up of technologists, marketers, strategists, business people and more.

After the Camp

After the camp ends, the SI Camp team, sponsors and mentors will provide additional support to the weekend’s winning and runner-up teams. This will include:

- A month-long SI immersion in Singapore, hosted at Eden Strategy Institute’s office.

- Quality time with folks from Eden Strategy Institute, IDEO, GGV and AVPN. Ask them anything and everything to do with making your idea grow!

- Ad space and publicity from Malaysiakini.

All participating teams will also be provided with three months of mentorship by the SI Camp team should they wish to continue developing their prototypes.

Do you have an idea for social good? Idea submission ends at midnight on Friday, 19th October 2012, so get cracking! :)

Those are just some of the average numbers that encompass a day in my life as an account executive – give or take depending on the nature of the projects I’m on. Seven months into the job and I can testify that my experience has been extremely fulfilling, challenging and invaluable all at the same time!

From what I’ve observed, here are some pointers on what a great AE should be:

1. An excellent communicator – both written and oral. You’ve got to be good with paper and in person. I’m talking emails, decks, briefs, reports, presentations, conference calls and more!

2. Borderline OCD. It helps to be a perfectionist on the job. You’ll need to be extra meticulous when it comes to your work (and checking other people’s work too!) because you’ll want to avoid making mistakes at your client’s expense.

3. A real people-person. Not only will you liaise with multiple clients on a daily basis, but you’re also in constant communication with your colleagues.

4. A jack of all trades & multi-tasker. You’re replying emails. You’re on the phone with a client. You’re briefing the content team. You’re briefing the designers. You’re rushing out a report. You’re tweaking your presentation in the car. You’re presenting campaign ideas. You need to pee. And that’s just before lunch!

5. Curious, creative, collaborative. You need that drive, that hunger, to inspire and be inspired. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, suggest innovative ideas (no matter how outrageous) and pick the brains of your colleagues.

6. Support, core and leader. Yes, there are times when you play each of these roles within your team. Then, there are times you need to be all of them concurrently. Confused? Me too. :)

7. A lover of the industry and your job. If you don’t love what you do and the work that makes your job go round, how can anyone else?

There will be times you will have no social life. There will be times when you barely get any sleep. There will be times when your family forgets you live in the same house.

But it’s all about balance, knowing when to wind down and being proactive.

Fortunately, that’s never hard to do because I work with the craziest and probably the most brilliant people you’ll ever meet, I have the most understanding and patient boyfriend of 4 years a girl could ever be with, and I live with the most caring and supportive family a girl could ever have.

Alright, back to work. Blog post, check! ;)

If you’re going back to visit friends and family over the long Raya weekend, please travel safely and have lots of fun!

P.S. We’ve currently got an awesome copywriter working with us, and his name happens to be Zahir. So here’s a little extra greeting our Art Director cooked up, just for fun. :)

]]> http://www.integricity.com/blog/selamat-hari-raya-dari-integricity/feed 0 http://www.integricity.com/blog/top-10-digital-resume-recipes-part-2 http://www.integricity.com/blog/top-10-digital-resume-recipes-part-2#comments Fri, 10 Aug 2012 07:48:49 +0000 Sara Pang http://www.integricity.com/?p=6936 In our previous post we viewed 5 of the Top 10 recipes of presenting a digital résumé. Today, we continue the feast with 5 more to complete our Top 10! Continue reading →]]> In our previous post we viewed 5 of the Top 10 recipes for presenting a digital résumé. Today, we continue the feast with 5 more to complete our Top 10!

#6. Pinterest

Pinterest is without a doubt another interesting dish to consider.

With the help of an infographic or a tag cloud, posting your résumé via Pinterest will help potential employees spot you (especially if you get repinned!).

More sample designs can be found here!

*Tip: Create a resume with a click (if you like charts and graphs)!

Note: We’ve written about Pinterest too. Read on here!

#7. Prezi

Prezi is PowerPoint on steroids. If you’re a PowerPoint ninja, perhaps this résumé angle might be of interest to you?

John D. McCarty’s Digital Resume on Prezi

#8. Youtube

Creating a video résumé could add spice to your profile if done right. Click on the following links to get a glimpse of how you could present yourself:

#9. QR Codes

You’ve probably seen them in shopping malls or on the backs of books. QR codes can be used to present your résumé. Check out the following video by Victor Petit to see how he did it!

This ingenious idea might have its perks and disadvantages, but use your creativity to present yourself to the best of your abilities!

#10. Make an App

If you’ve got the chops, present your résumé as an app for smartphones. Click here to find out more!

*Tip: Create a QR code that leads people to your app. Or, let the app take you to a link which allows employers or companies to look you up!

There you go folks, our top 10 digital résumé recipes. Remember, each dish is unique, so add your own personal touch to make it shine. Roll up your sleeves and get started. Good luck!

Ever wondered what secret ingredient KFC adds to their chicken to make it taste so good? Or how you could eat that particular nasi lemak you had for lunch again and again?

A great résumé is like a recipe with a secret ingredient. If done just right, it makes potential employers come running back for more. But employers these days have appetites that the average résumé just can’t satisfy. What do we do then? Forget plain ol’ black and white. It’s time to hook employers by adding a secret ingredient to your résumé. And we’re going to teach you how!

But first, as with all great dishes, you have to cover the basics before spicing things up. Do you have what it takes?

You’ll need:

- Patience            (6 1/4 Cups)

- Hard work       (6 3/4 Cups)

- Honesty            (5 Cups)

- Digital Skills     (2-3 Cups)

- Creativity         (4-5 Tablespoons)

Why Digital?

It’s the 21st century! Now more than ever, we’ve got platforms aplenty to showcase résumés. A recent survey done by by Jobvite displays some facts and statistics in relation to how employers perceive digital and social platforms for recruitment purposes. For instance, an astounding 92% of job recruiters interviewed are currently scouring the social web for suitable applicants.

93% of job recruiters view LinkedIn profiles to find potential candidates, 66% Facebook and 54% Twitter, as shown below.

How would you showcase all you can do via a digital résumé?

#1. Social Media – LinkedIn & Facebook

Jobseekers are increasingly using these social media platforms to promote themselves to potential employers. LinkedIn is THE professional networking social media platform. From staying in touch with old and new colleagues to networking with potential employers, this platform does everything your professional self will need online.

Get started with LinkedIn:

1. Build your profile (edit your information, upload a presentable, professional picture of yourself).

2. Add your contacts (expand your network while you’re at it!)

3.  Start your search for potential employers (read profiles of companies, future employees/colleagues).

*Tip: Resume Builder helps you get your LinkedIn profile in tip-top shape. Are you a student or fresh grad? Click here for a tutorial video on how to build your LinkedIn résumé.

Facebook

Facebook is a social networking platform which helps you connect with friends and family. Social interaction online is made easy because users can share photos, videos, links, polls, text updates and more. All you need is a personal profile. Click here for Mashable’s Beginner’s Guide to Facebook if you need a little help!

Make use of Facebook Timeline to display your digital résumé in a chronological, pictorial format.

What you need to do:

1. Build your profile. Include details such as your place of work, achievements, etc. just like in a normal résumé.

2. Upload a professional picture of yourself. Remember that this particular Facebook profile differs from your personal one, so make sure it’s a profile photo you’re comfortable with showing future employers!

3. Upload a cover photo that strengthens the brand image you’re trying to portray. 4. Share your new résumé with friends and potential employers!

*Tip: Brazen Careerist Facebook App can help you out!

** Remember how we spoke about cover photos earlier? Stand out and be as creative as you can! Check out the samples below:

Need more samples? View them here and here!

#2. Auction Yourself on eBay

eBay is an auction website. Businesses and ordinary people buy and sell a large variety of goods on a global scale. The idea of “selling” or “auctioning” oneself to others as a method of employment is as ingenious as it is simple.

Take a look at some of the examples below. All you need to do is create a bidding (up to 7 days), offering yourself for “sale.” Send your auction link off to potential employers and see what they make of it. If you get the job, you’re sold!

This digital résumé is sure to whet anyone’s appetite. For more tips on getting started, check out eBay’s new seller’s guide or click on this video.

#3. Website & Blogs

What about building a website for yourself? Content is key, so make sure your website contains everything you want people to know about you, plus contact information. There are dozens of websites offering digital résumé services; whether its paid of free of charge. Here are a select few free services with samples of their designs:

OPResume

DoYouBuzz

Visual CV

Check out more samples here or here.

Lots of people also use Tumblr, WordPress or Blogger to display facets of their unique selves. Pick a template, customise your layout, add content, and you’ve got yourself an online presence!  Easily integrate tag clouds, infographics, and more content.

*Tip: WP Resume is a simple plug-in that helps you display your résumé on your WordPress site. Here’s a sample of what it can do.

#4. Word/Tag Clouds

Another interesting and simple creative résumé idea: tag clouds. Tag clouds (also known as word clouds) are visual representations of keyword tags on websites, or visualisations of freeform text. Order of importance is visualised via colour and font size.

Sites like Wordle help you build your own tag cloud, either by pasting your own text, or by pulling words from the URL of any blog or website with an Atom or RSS feed.

Wordle does everything for you. You can even change the layout, pre-set colors, positioning and more. Then save your masterpiece as a picture!

Watch this video to learn more.

*Tip: For those Excel ninjas out there, make a Pivot Tag Cloud on Excel.

#5. Infographics

If you’re a designer, create an infographic about yourself. Visually fun and eye-catching, they engage potential employers and provide them with key bits of info at the same time.

What you could use:

- Adobe Photoshop & Adobe Illustrator for the designers out there!

- Hagan Blount creates infographics for others. All you need to do is email him at his address in the link provided (check out his portfolio!)

- Piktochart helps you create an infographic even if you don’t have a design background

- Visualize.me pulls data from your LinkedIn profile

Stay tuned for Part 2!