Nobody will deny that one of a country’s sustainable growth pillars is quality education. However, how do we explain when very well educated professionals with extensive experience can’t be placed in new jobs?
How about recent M.A. and Ph.D. graduates who find it hard to get rehired? So what’s this story about lack of qualified professionals all about?
Maybe the big issue is that when the market says it can’t find skilled professionals it’s not about technical or academic qualifications (especially when we’re talking about managing or executive roles). Currently, there’s a lack of professionals in the market who possess competencies solely and exclusively learned from applying what they’ve learned in quality academic education.
To put it in simple terms, check out the movie clip below:
“Slumdog Millionaire” tells the story of a boy who grows up in an Indian slum and wins a television game show by giving the right answers to general knowledge questions based on his own life story. In sum, his entire life, his entire story provides him with the right answers.
Drawing a parallel here, this is how excellent executives get made. They’re those who learn from their daily experiences and consider everything as a learning opportunity. Of course we can’t ignore the relevance of academic education, but what corporations actually look for are the answers that practice has taught professionals.
When you look at it this way, your professional experiences (good and bad), when well used, may help you win “one million rubies” and make you successful.
Taking professional experiences and turning them into learning moments require a lot of resilience, emotional intelligence, empathy, patience, humility, and hard work. This type of competence is hardly learned in grad school.
And success—in my experience—might even be fortuitous, but luck usually finds those who are well prepared.
So, take a chance. The greater the risk, the higher the return. And know that everyone is afraid of making mistakes. After all, is there anyone out there who truly believes they’re ready for life?
GOOD LUCK!!
