A Latin maxim says “Nemo dat quod non habet”, you can’t give what you don’t have. It is more succinctly and invariably affirmed with the doctrine of garbage in garbage out. There is no gainsaying the fact that value is earned and achieved and until you have it, you cannot offer it. In times past, possession of Degree certificates and its likes was the mainstay and the sole ticket for job employment. Captains of industries did not blink their eyes neither did they lose sleep because the quality of Education was of great standard and comparable with that of Europe and America. Fast forward to this era, the crave for degrees is now intense while the value continues to nosedive. We ‘struggle’ to get these Certificates at the expense of the expected value content. When weighed on a scale, these certificates far outweigh their expected value underlying with the bearer(s) i.e the ability trait. Practical examples are the shambolic performances we experience daily in our Job interviews. It underscores the extent to which our educational system and values has eroded away and drifted from being value oriented to certificate oriented.

This continued embarrassment has made employers of labour to shift the goal post in other to stay afloat in the competitive global market as we are aware that an intelligent and vibrant workforce is a value laden asset to any organization for growth and success sustainability. The hurdles of shortlisting, job tests and interviews is an arduos task no organization wants to be seen as an activity in futility. Therefore, they have unwritten and clear expectations desired beyond that your degree certificate. Once you have them, be assured of a place on their table of men. These 3 necessary qualities that are subject to test are;

1. Persuasiveness

This is your ability or power of conviction, i.e convincing someone to believe in you and the stuff you are made of. The Cover letter or Expression of interest is your window of opportunity to perfect thus art. In writing this, you need to tailor your career objective with the company/organization’s Vision and Mission. Tell them how much you know about them and their manpower needs and how you stand as the suitable one to fill the gap.

Capture their interest with your past working experience in similar or diverse capacity. Where there is none, think of those non-profitable services or work you did in your youth and students associations, and NYSC group or personal CDS. Those experiences count. Be firm to make that bold statement ‘I am the right Candidate’ with convincing points. It will register in their conscious minds that you possess the persuasive skill to attract business deals, contracts, and to build PRs.

2. Ambition

Its becoming a general belief that showing or expression of Ambition to Employers kills ones chances. The reverse is the case here, Ambition in this context goes beyond the wishful thinking of ‘I want/intend to become a Director in the next 5 or 10 years’ when asked what you want to become in the foreseeable future in the organization.

What then expresses your Ambition better? It is the additional values or what I call the marginal value you’ve added to yourself aside your degree certificate. It is that your NIM, HSE, PMP, ICAN, ACAA, and Computer Proficiency and all other Institutes’ Programmes Proficiency Certificates you got trained and certified in. Multiple evidences that summarizes your ability in one bit is what they seek. So if you are lacking in all of these proficiency skills/knowlegde without having one or two, you will pass easily as one without any AMBITION and one who is less hungry for success and self development.

As Christopher Morley puts it “There are three ingredients in the good life, learning, earning and yearning” So if you wish to be a valuable asset to your prospective workplace, show disposition to learning and yearning, seek to add more value to yourself so as to stand out as that beautiful bride.

3. Smartness

The most important attitude and quality that drives success is smartness. It cuts across brilliance to dine with wisdom and intelligence. A colleague of mine once asked me teasingly where I prepared my ‘medicine’ for hardwork that I always get commended at work. In response, I told him simply that I don’t work hard rather I work smart. By working smart, I told him that I think ahead and devise means to ease the workloads for myself.

Job aptitude tests are primarily, test of smartness than of knowledge. They are usually power tests with incommensurate time duration. Be informed that you are not expected to attempt all the questions neither are you expected to answer the questions in sequential order. Its interesting to note that the test items are usually mixed up with items of High difficulty index and low difficulty index. Those with high difficulty index usually have high distracter index. Don’t waste your time fiddling around the difficult test items as they are meant to distract you while time ticks away. Take on the ones you are most knowledgeable with and hit the mark. The time duration always allotted is usually enough for the number of questions you need to answer to hit the expected mark. Be smart.

Also, during interview sessions, sell yourself by asking smart question whenever the panel demands for any. If you are caught up in the web of ‘how do I ask smart questions in an interview?’ George Bernard Shaw has this to say on the power of questions “Some men see things as they are, and say, ‘why? I dream of things that never were and say, why not?” So tailor your question in the light of George Bernard Shaws submission.

Remember to ‘wash’ it when you land that job and parcel my bottle of Nestle water to my dormot.

GOODLUCK and SUCCESS
Source==>http://acadajobs.com/beyond-degrees-3-qualities-you-need-to-meet-industry-expectations/
Cc: Lalasticlala , Seun

I love dat smartness part of ur write up. Even in job search be smart. One tin is to get d job anoda is to do d job well.

HenryThegreat1:
I love dat smartness part of ur write up. Even in job search be smart. One tin is to get d job anoda is to do d job well.

Yes

Wow..nice writeup.

promo4:
Wow..nice writeup.

All credits go to acadajobs.com

good ones

olafum1:
good ones

thank you

God bless you and acadajobs.com

ademasta:
God bless you and acadajobs.com

Thanks Ademasta

hmmm

My recommendations goes thus,
1. Learn additional skill every quarter I.e 4 skills a year. for example, International Language other than English.
2. Start a community development program (Volunteer ) in your area of interest.
3. Searching for international grants /fellowships /scholarship online. for example, and opportunitydesk.org
4. Lastly Set a goal in order to achieved the aforementioned.

All these wahala to much,if it is not about a "winning CV",it is something else...the poster above me said you should aquire 4 skills a year,so In 4 years you would have learnt 16 skills,because of what?...

Bsmartt:
My recommendations goes thus,
1. Learn additional skill every quarter I.e 4 skills a year. for example, International Language other than English.
2. Start a community development program (Volunteer ) in your area of interest.
3. Searching for international grants /fellowships /scholarship online. for example, and opportunitydesk.org
4. Lastly Set a goal in order to achieved the aforementioned.

I like your recommendatons

Lanretoye:
All these wahala to much,if it is not about a "winning CV",it is something else...the poster above me said you should aquire 4 skills a year,so In 4 years you would have learnt 16 skills,because of what?...

You are funny, additional skills are vital

...

Nice!

virtousB:
Nice!

yeah

...

Very helpful post. Thanks Op

Fortune02:
Very helpful post. Thanks Op

thanks