ADD SKILLS OVER DEGREES

Skills over degrees is the mantra for success!

Students and career aspirants devote intense efforts to acquire higher academic degrees for a more successful professional journey, although majority of them don’t focus much on developing diverse skillsets. This bookish approach is what holds back even the most enthusiastic from emerging as outstanding performers, and therefore needs to change.

SKILLS DEFINE WORTH

The worth of a job seeker to his prospective employer is primarily the productive value he can add with his expertise, and not the shades of academic brilliance one has achieved. Yes, it is skills over formal qualifications that matter in the professional world. That’s because, while academic certificates define the quantum of study and knowledge, proficiencies indicate your abilities to deliver.

A simple logic is, higher the quality, the more is its price. This explains why the salary of an employee or a professional is directly proportional to the talent he holds in his area of work. Thus, it is only natural that any employer would like to pay those service providers more who can deliver highly skilled value, irrespective of their academic background.

THE MISTAKE

Unfortunately, the mistake most students and young professionals make is they pursue degrees in continuation of higher education but ignore developing aptitude in their execution abilities. While there is nothing wrong in embellishing one’s curriculum vitae with more qualifications, what they equally need to work on is developing job-oriented as well as others skills.

PERFORMANCE IS KEY

The catch lies in the fact, that even if you end up being selected for non-government jobs with fancied academic credentials, that does not guarantee a secure employment because one has to prove his abilities with their performances.

VALUE OF DEGREES

However, we are in no way claiming that degrees are inconsequential. Qualifications, and especially those from premier institutes carry considerable, academic, social as also professional prestige. Or for that matter, any academic certification adds strength to a curriculum vitae.

That apart, since degrees state your academic background, subjects studied, institutions enrolled at and scores obtained in those academic courses, these credentials help in getting interview calls and even in clinching a job.

Again, there are areas where degrees are a statutory requirement, and must be obtained. No matter how much skillful or knowledgeable one is, without appropriate qualifications or certifications one is not legally entitled to practice the profession or be chosen for specific jobs. These fields include auditing, healthcare, engineering, law, higher education, positions in government organizations and many more.

Even to work as full time or freelance in large organizations, factories and residential estates, workers like contractors, plumbers, electricians, masonry need to have certain certifications, which are mandatory as per government rules.

BUILD MULTI-DISCIPLINARY SKILLS

The corporate world today expects as also requires multi-tasking employees, much beyond their areas of core expertise. That’s primarily because technology being at the centre of disruptive business dynamics calls for exploring more efficient inter-disciplinary possibilities, identifying newer opportunities to create value rather than being a static worker in an execution role.

Thus, as we live in a more functionally integrated world, single domain knowledge and expertise stand outdated. Now every career aspirant should develop multiple associated professional expertise as also inter-personal skills, so essential to motivate colleagues and clients.

THE LESSON

Being a skilled innovative professional with a multi-dimensional vision should be the priority, though building on one’s academic profile and degrees are always welcome.