Yesterday I had dinner at my friends house. We don’t bother with doorbells or knocking so I just walked straight in. Usually I'm welcomed by two very cute toddlers, a big dog, a tiny dog and a cat so huge it could be pass for a cougar.
Last night everyone was upstairs so I was greeted by an empty hallway. On the wall next to the door was a framed certificate awarded to my friend for having “An Inquisitive Mind”. Apparently it’s been there for ages but I'm always distracted by the noisy welcome and had never noticed it before. It made me smile, what a brilliant quality to be recognised for! It really is a true reflection of her character. She asks a lot of questions, digests the information and 9 times out of 10 gives an answer that a) no-one else thought of and b) is a considered & valuable solution to the problem. In short, she’s a clever cookie.
An Inquisitive Mind got her through a law degree and has taken her to a very senior role, yet those achievements aren't displayed on the walls of her home. It was the “jokey” award which her husband framed for everyone to see, which takes pride of place. Clearly he recognises it’s special, along with hard work and determination it’s possibly the key to her success.
This gave me food for thought.
In high school, about 20 years ago, a new subject called Computer Studies was added to the curriculum. Someone in the Know realised that in the future understanding how a computer worked would be helpful in finding a job.
I suffered from a severe lack of motivation in this particular class, I was very bored which led to me talking, a lot, and my school report stated that:
“If Computer Studies was a “social” subject Annie would be an A student”.
This report landed me in trouble and after being grounded, or some other punishment familiar to teenagers, I buckled down and like every other kid passed the modules. I'm pretty sure most of the UK population now takes those skills for granted.
Could my ability to engage/ distract those around me have been an early sign that I should choose a career in communications? Well, no-one spotted that, I just into trouble, “people skills” didn't carry much weight and my chance to shine was cruelly quashed. Okay, so I've embellished that, but you know where I'm going with this.
Someone in the Know was right, we needed those skills but if everyone has them how do we stand out from the crowd when looking for a job? What is your unique selling point?
If I had to choose between a degree in x,y,z OR “An Inquisitive Mind” I know what I’d chose.
And you?
Not one for blogging, but with a new business venture that is opening its eyes to the potential of social networking, I came across your stuff while doing some research.
ReplyDeleteAs a 42 year old man with no formal qualifications to speak of, I have been fortunate and unfortunate at times during my career. More fortunate than not though, as over the years I have had the opportunity to work in and one some great businesses and products.
Despite my lack of a recognised "classical" education I was fortunate enough to have my drive, enthusiasm and determination recognised by a new entrant to the soft drink market while still in its infancy. That drink was called Red Bull and I went on to take a critical role in its UK launch, learning great business skills along the way. Had I not have the benefit of a great boss who recognised my "talents" most of which were not quoted as traditional skills, I would still probably be a nightclub DJ.
I now run a business which has global potential and when I am hiring staff, I rarely look at the CV, it's the person and the mind within that matters to me.
To reinforce my comment, at the weekend I was out for dinner with an educated man (now a Doctor) that I got to know extremely well when he shared a tent with me as we climbed Mt Kilimanjaro for a local charity. One of his other dinner guests was a man who also left school with no formal education. He is currently Global President of a multibillion dollar telecoms firm having worked his way up the old fashioned way.
Education is great and the certificates have a value. If I’m being operated on, I want to know that the surgeon is qualified but in life there is far more to things than this and sadly in many areas experience and life qualities are over looked by exam results because this is the safe and easy option.
Steve Roberts