Question of the week 36: Merit

Hi and welcome to this week’s question of the week! This week the word merit will be covered in the following question:

Which merits make you stand out?

The word merits stands for a person’s good qualities that make him or her attractive for a specific role. It is also an acknowledgement of that person’s capabilities. For instance, a person who is merited for being exceptionally good at mathematics would be more suitable and attractive for a number intensive role such as finance and accounting, engineering, or even information technology. A person who is merited for being courageous and brave would be an attractive candidate for police, fire brigade, or military roles. Of course a person does not have just one merit. Discovering what your merits are however is not that easy and takes some self-reflecting.

So how do you find out what your key merits are? Here are three ways of checking your own merits:

1. Since looking at oneself can be filled with bias, it is those close to you that may have a better view of who you are. Ask friends and family to see their positive aspects of you.

2. There is also the need to reflect upon oneself with feedback that comes from a more objective point of view. Ask your teachers, doctor, manager, or other person that reviews your performance about your key strengths. What these individuals say about your merits is also crucial as they act as references for potential employers or universities and lets them see your key qualities.

3. Whilst looking at oneself may present biases, it can also show what you have excelled at. Look at your own personal records, grades, trophies or awards, or any other written or visual indication that shows your strengths. Even by having just a high school degree can be seen as a powerful document as it is the school’s task of challenging your abilities. Thus achieving the final diploma shows your capability of learning something new. This counts for the same in university, and even during your career. So take pride in your achievements and let them show your merits.

In short: The term merit stands for a person’s key qualities. Thus, a person is merited for his or her abilities at doing a specific task or role. Three ways of exploring your own merits is to ask friends or family and teachers or bosses of your key attributes, and by looking at your own achievements through the years.

If you have any questions, doubts, or would like to contribute, then please do not hesitate to leave a comment!

Question of the week 35: Inspire

Hi and welcome to this week’s question of the week! This week the word inspire will be covered in the following question:

How do you inspire someone?

The word inspire is used to describe a person, a thing or an environment that influences a person’s thinking or work. It is used in plays, books, and movies, all of which are inspired by events, but can also be amongst people. For instance, the movie Black Hawk Down was inspired by events that occurred in Somalia in 1993. The granting of a terminally ill boy’s wish was the inspiration for setting up the Make-A-Wish Foundation that now caters globally to terminally ill children. Winston Churchill inspired many people to continue fighting in World War 2 despite the horrid conditions.

Inspiring a person is thus by influencing a person into doing an action or thinking in a particular way, which results in the creation of something new. However, to actually inspire someone takes doing something special. Here are some ways of inspiring a person:

• Sharing experiences of difficult circumstances (rappers tend to do this, showing their harsh upbringings and how they worked hard to achieve their success) 

• Being successful or an expert at a particular subject (engineers inspire each other by making mega structures such as the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates) 

• Saving a person from injury, from failure, or from depression, just to name a few (Police negotiators stopping a criminal and then persuading them to change their lifestyle and start clean)

In short: To inspire someone is to influence that person in such a way that it improves that person. Inspiration can come from people, from the environment, or from an object. Inspiring someone can come from the sharing of difficult experiences, being successful at a particular subject, or saving a person from harm or helping him or her succeed in something.

If you have any questions or doubts, then please do not hesitate to leave a comment!

Question of the Week 34: Freelance

Hi and welcome to this week’s question of the week! For this week, the word Freelance will be covered in the following question:

How does Freelance work contribute to work experience?

The term freelance stands for a person who works on his or her own, not being affiliated with any company. For instance, a person that sets up a business is considered to be a sole proprietor, not a freelancer. However, a person being asked to do a specific task would be considered a freelancer if that person is working alone and is not tied to any company. Some examples of freelance work include: freelance photography, freelance web designing, freelance journalism, and freelance editing. These jobs all have to do with short-term and project based commitments.

Unlike full-time jobs where there is a fixed income per month, freelance jobs are based on the number of projects the person takes. This means that it is up to the freelancer to create his/her schedule, attract customers, and provide the entire service. As such, it can be seen as operating a nameless mini-company where the person would have to cover all parts of the business (from acquiring projects, to finances and accounting for tax purposes, to external relations for keeping contacts, etc.).

One area that is not present in freelance work as opposed to a full-time job is the fact that no teamwork is created. The freelancer acts on his or her behalf and interests. Two freelancers may collaborate on a project, but they do not work for a company and as such do not share the same camaraderie as two colleagues working for a firm. It is this teamwork, working together to improve a company, which is non-existent in freelance work.

Thus, to answer the question, freelance work contributes to work experience by teaching the person to become independent in obtaining and doing projects. Freelancing emphasizes more on being entrepreneurial, managing every part of the work, whilst full-time work emphasizes more on working together, sharing tasks to improve the company.

In short: A freelancer is a person that takes on projects alone and who is not affiliated with any company. This type of role teaches a person to become independent, relying only on him or herself to create and do projects. It is basically being your own boss without having a company name.

If you have any questions or doubts, or comments to make, then please do not hesitate to leave a comment!

Question of the week 33: Hexadecimal

Hi and welcome to this week’s question of the week! This week I will cover the word hexadecimal, which I will include in the following question:

How do you count with hexadecimals?

A hexadecimal is a numbering system that counts to 16. Whilst the decimal system counts from 1 to 10 before it resets (e.g. 1–10, 11–20, 21-30, 211-220), a hexadecimal system counts from 1 to 16 before resetting. However, since it is not possible to show more than 10 numbers before resetting (i.e. not possible due to the fact that the decimal system is used to portray hexadecimals), letters are used to fill the remaining 6 numbers before the integer ends. Thus, the last integer in a hexadecimal before the number resets ends with 0 (e.g. f à 10, 4f à 50), just as how it would in the decimal system (e.g. 9 à 10, 49 à 50). This table shows how hexadecimals are written up to the decimal number 32:

A simplified way of describing the decimal system is by calling it a base-10 system, which means that it contains 10 digits. The hexadecimal system on the other hand is a base-16 system, containing 16 digits.

But what use does it have if we are following and accustomed to the decimal system? Well, it is mainly used as a convenience for large numbers. For instance, instead of writing ‘255’ in the decimal system, you could write ‘FF’ in hexadecimal format (FF = 15x16 + 15). This is commonly used in computer codes (e.g. color map, memory addresses, HTML, etc).

In short: A hexadecimal is a numbering system that uses 16 digits as opposed to the decimal system (10 digits) that we are accustomed to today. This system is meant to make large numbers more convenient to read and implement, especially in computers.

If you have any questions or doubts, or would like to contribute, then please do not hesitate to leave a comment!