Whaaaat?! What are you talking about? Just a few months ago you told us to make sure that we present ourselves as best as can be done on our CVs and today you tell us that CVs aren’t everything? Didn’t you say that people get to see your CV before they see you and so it needs to be the best representation of you? Isn’t it true that without a CV with impressive educational, work experience and applicable skills information, I am nothing? I mean, besides pay, the whole reason why I go to work and pursue further education is to further build my CV.
What, pray tell, are you talking about?
My, aren’t we worked up?
Yes, it is true that presenting yourself as best as possible is more likely than not, to get your foot into that interview room and yes, the greater your profile, the better chances of you being considered for that job but, no, your Curriculum Vitae (detailed description of your education, skills, experience and competence in specific fields) does not define who you are.
You are more than this.
Ask yourself, how it is that people are headhunted at their place of work when they haven’t even put their CVs out there? How is someone called back to a job from retirement or consulting when they show no interest at all of going back to a job? How does someone who has no experience in a specific field get called on to sit as board director or advisor of a reputable establishment?
How come my colleague who is in the same department, who holds the very same position as me is forever called on to participate in other areas and I never see anything outside my job description come my way?
Yes, there are minimum qualifications for any job and many strive to attain these but you know that director who made their way up from the position of a clerk? You know, that one that everyone calls on for direction and sound advice? How did she do it? I mean, you can’t fault the woman on anything. She is on point.
Catch my drift? Today, we’ll look at what, other than formal education, skills and length of experience, makes successful people stand out from seemingly equally qualified (yet still mediocre) peers.
You must present that which you have as best as you can because unless I see the minimum requirements on your CV, I won’t call you in. Yet there are people, by virtue of their profiles and recommendations from others, are eagerly invited for interviews even where they haven’t presented their CVs. Their reputation precedes them.
This is the type of person we should all strive to be. A person like this knows that their CV does not define them. It may open doors but after that, they must walk in and perform. This, ladies and gentlemen, and not on the formal qualifications, is where they place their value.
Before writing, formal educational certification and organisational structures, candidates were nominated according to character and only where previous record exists, also proven competence in the area.
It is your character, work ethic and execution that will have people calling on you for advice, giving opportunities for you to share your wisdom, appointing you to govern a certain area. We are told that “[a] man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great men.” Take that which you learnt through formal education, the application of technical skills at work and mix it with the all important attitude ( ‘I can (always) do’, ‘I am accountable’, ‘I will execute like I am the last check point before this is presented/published’, ‘I want the organisation to prosper, not just me or my department so I will endeavour to think the business and propose solutions with its future in mind’, ‘I will treat this as if it were mine and so remain honest and exercise due care with all I do because this is how I would have others deal with me and my property’ ). Your attitude, exercised over time builds character and character leads you to your destiny.
You must understand that success is a choice. The attitude you choose to develop into character in you will make or break you, regardless of how great your profile is on paper. Your destiny lies in your character.
One of the definitions for character speaks of “reputation: the opinion that people have of you, particularly of whether you can be trusted or relied on”. It gives an example of “a man of good character and integrity.
I kid you not. Choose your “essential qualities” to be integrity, moral strength, firmness of purpose as evidenced by your being honest, transparent, trustworthy, reliable, driven, executing with detailed precision and correctness and you will hear people describe you as being distinctive, unique, credible, a [wo]man with standing and you would be surprised as to how high and how fast you would soar. Everyone would want you on their team; not just those you directly deal with at the workplace.
You see, the problem with placing your all on your CV is that if I don’t know your educational background, where you worked and what you did for them or what other skills you carry, then I won’t know your ‘supposed worth’ right? But with the right character, CV or not, just the way you carry yourself, interact with others, execute on a thing, work related or otherwise, and I’ll get to so drawn to you as to want to know who you are, what you do and for how much would you leave your current job to join my team.
It is the attitude you choose daily and the way in which you apply it in and out of work, that will build the character that will take you to your destiny.
Do not be fooled, you will need to line up a lot more than just your certificates for you to achieve your dreams. Your formal qualifications are a bare minimum. So instead of looking for every opportunity to get more training, more degrees, more technical skills, ask yourself, how have a worked what I already have? Is my character worthy of my current profile? If you have a compromising work ethic and execute just well enough not to get fired, you are not made of the stuff of great men and women and nothing additional on your CV can convince any a discerning [wo]man otherwise.
Think of serving others with the best of you and you will in return receive the best acknowledgement and reward. Tune your mind to do well for others and your organisation and it is you they will choose to represent their best interests. They will sing your praises so loud that even neighbouring organisations will want a piece of you and before you know it, your gift would have ushered you into the presence of the great. Believe me, it works every single time. Look at history; what all the great people who made a great impact in their societies have in common is character and when you look at the essential qualities of that character, you won’t once miss out on ‘vision, integrity, tenacity, selfless service to others, excellence in execution’.
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