Certificates and Survival of the Fittest in Careers

Recruiter’s objective is to get the “most fit” candidate for the advertised role. Note that I didn’t say the one with the highest CGPA. About three decades ago, organizations were visiting some reputable institutions to request appointments with the best three students in certain courses – that is no longer the practice these days. I perceive they have come to the reality of the fact that high academic grades don’t always result in high productivity.

Charles Darwin was right when he said, “It is not the strongest of the species nor the most intelligent that survives, it is the one that is most adaptable to change.” In a fast-changing world like the one that we currently live in, adaptation is a very essential attribute. The fact that organizations don’t just rank applicants according to their grades but conduct a series of assessments and interviews, suggests to me that they want something more than grades. Graduates need to get this clear that employers are scouting for the most fit candidate, as such, they need to add certain skills to their certificates in order to be at competitive advantage over others. The earlier it sinks deep into you that you are competing with a global audience, the better for you. Avoid the error of getting satisfied with being a “local champion”.

Employers are often fascinated by the under listed qualities/skills, as such, I will encourage you to spend time developing them:

• 1) Effective communicate
• 2) Teamwork
• 3) Problem solving skills
• 4) Ability to plan, organize, and prioritize work
• 5) Ability to obtain and process information
• 6) Quantitative data analysis
• 7) Job related technical knowledge
• 8) Proficiency with computer software programs
• 9) Report writing
• 10) Ability to sell or influence others.

I have this jocular saying that no one masters the act of riding a bicycle just by watching someone else riding. You need to learn through practice.

This is to say that technical presentations and group assignments that were given to us in schools were not necessarily for the grade, but were meant to help us develop life transforming skills. Religious activities are another of such opportunities for self-development, as such, I will encourage you to take front seat in such fora.

The A4 certificate given to you by your university is as good as your ability to transform it into a problem-solving skill. Putting it in clear terms, I will say that the certificate only qualifies you to become a certified learner, which is the reason why it is called “qualification”.

You are rated according to the problems you can solve and often, your earnings reflect the same.

Identify the things you need to learn, then go all out learning them as soon as possible, even if you must learn from someone with lower academic qualification – remember, there is no end to learning.