EDU'CATION - IT'S LIKE A LONG STAY'CATION

I was never much of a student.

I'd be inquisitive and attentive for the topics that I enjoyed, which was English & Literature but a recalcitrant in other classes. I concluded my academic career with 2 O' Levels; an exuberant distinction in English & a hard earned credit in Mathematics.

Essentially, I had substantiated skills in reading, writing and counting from 10 sluggish years of formal education.

I didn't qualify for any further studies except with VITB, the precursor to today's Institute of Technical Education. Nothing in their extensive curriculum caught my eye.

I signed up for a certificate in computing studies instead. Got a job attachment, did well enough to get a full time job offer, made manager within 3 years and away I went. I ended my formal corporate career some 25 years later as a Recruitment Director managing an international portfolio spanning ⅔ of the globe. And since 2014, have been revealing all the insider secrets as a LinkedIn Branding Trainer & a Career Transitions Coach.

My lack of formal qualifications has never prevented me from pursuing my areas of interests or getting the job I wanted & my sense of self esteem didn't take a beating.

That is, until an online conversation in LinkedIn several years back. A chap had posted some sketchy thoughts about Employment & Employability which I felt were in error so I chimed in my perspectives, thinking my few years in Recruitment might offer another angle.

After several unexpected fiery exchanges, he promptly asked where I had graduated from. I nimbly side stepped that jab. In a flash he tabled his academic achievements and said that one needed to be educated to be intelligent, coherent and relevant. (slightly paraphrased)

He also commented with a picture of himself posing in front of his university main entrance to drive the point home. I wanted to reply with a blurry picture of me wearing my graduation gown in kindergarten but I didn't want to upstage him so I bowed out.

Don't get me wrong.

I don't deny that an education is important. My wife's banking & finance degree has proven very useful in getting our credit card fees waived every year. (She once demurely asked for a pair of scissors at the bank counter and the wide-eyed teller conceded defeat - I believe this is covered in year 2 as an elective)

That's also something I remind my kids often as they work out complicated formulas beyond my comprehension while I disappear into the study pretending to be engrossed on some complex article about why the earth is undoubtedly triangular.

In fact, one day I hope to spend some time studying the intricacies of Medieval English History and ponder why King Henry the VIII didn't just get his own name instead.

Imagine how much more respectable I will be once I get my name on that illusive parchment, which will of course be proudly displayed on the mantle above the roaring fireplace in my HDB flat.

I often hear from clients or potential clients that they worry about their qualifications, concerned that it lacks pedigree, which does baffle me. In the course of my work in Talent Acquisition, about 80% of the leaders I've hired come from run-of-the-mill or even mildly dubious universities. For those that come from the ivy league, the irony is that their candidacy is reviewed, approved or declined by an uneducated school reject.

I constantly remind my clients that a thirsty straggler in the desert seeks only water and cares not for it to be served out of a wedgwood crystal decanter. The secret lies in finding your way into that desert and then allowing that parched person to notice you.

That said, there are certainly times when a recognized degree comes in handy. When doctoring, lawyering, scientistsing and engineering for instance.

For those out there reading this, wondering if your supposedly flimsy credentials will hold up under scrutiny, it all boils down to how you share it and what you complement it with. In 25 years of working, I have literally been asked about my education background only once. (Which raised an eyebrow but I still got the job)

Now I'm so glad that I didn't relent to that slimy fella in a dark alley of an Asian country that offered to sell me any degree from any top university. Lamination provided for a small extra fee.

My vivacious wit aside, go do well in your studies. Get a proper education but don't believe for a moment it makes you superior.

Just because you have the qualifications & experience, doesn't mean you get the job. Getting the job requires you to know how to get the job. That's a separate skill in itself.

Fun fact - It is called a Bachelor's degree from the Latin "baccalarius" which referred to people of low rank in the feudal hierarchy. Over time it referenced the people who passed the baccalaureate exam. All single men, time to upgrade.

More information about the LinkedIn Branding Fundamentals program I run. You can read what others say about the stuff I do. You can follow my profile or if you are adventurous enough, you can ring my bell.

Send me a LinkedIn Message or email me at ben@thecandidateschool.com