Are You Hired for Your Degree?  

This topic may seem strange, and even when I mentioned it to a few of my colleagues they were surprised and wondered ‘What is Chandani writing about?’ If you really would like to know what I’m talking about, please go read on.

A majority of the people in this modern era think they will get a job or start their business through having a good degree. What do you think? I wonder if people have the right answer for this query. There are many unemployed people in our society even though they graduated with a single or double degree. Why do you think is that? Some great achievers at University fail to get a reputable job. What do those people lack?

I personally think yes, you are hired for your degree. But along with a good degree, you are also hired for different personality-based traits that are expected by employers. Let’s see what these traits are:

Positive Attitude and Enthusiasm

A good attitude is one of the highest demanded characteristics in the market when securing a job. Don’t forget to behave well during your interviews and respect each and every person you face. You should always try to be positive and have a can-do attitude. Don’t talk badly about your friends, previous colleague or manager, but try to explain what have you achieved and developed during those harder times at school, University or at your workplace. Don’t be arrogant and always try to show your enthusiasm in the role.

Lack of motivation is another reason people are unsuccessful. There are lots of people who are always invited for the face-to-face interview because they are so good on paper, but they failed to secure the job due to lack of motivation and a positive attitude.

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Be Disciplined

We learn discipline from many places throughout our lives. Home, school, university, and the workplace are some of the places where we learn discipline and we shouldn’t forget to utilise it in our daily lives – it’s one of the reasons why people are hired. You are required to follow rules, regulations and guidance.

I would like to give you an example from my experience: One of my students was invited to interview with a reputable banking company, and he failed the interview even though he is one of the top shortlisted candidates. The reason why is that he neglected our guidance and didn’t wear formal clothing during his face-to-face interview. And the student with an average GPA got that role, who stayed in the discipline and followed the rules and regulations.

From this example, you can see that your discipline is calculated and monitored at each phase during the job process – you shouldn’t ignore the minor things your mentor advises. Perhaps, you could even say that discipline is a bridge between goals and achievements.

Knowledge is power

Of course the main reason you’re hired is because of the knowledge you have developed during your study and work. We can’t disagree with this at all. Students from a specific degree have knowledge of what they have studied and learnt during their studies. For example, employers obviously won’t expect someone to have Engineering knowledge if they studied a Nursing degree. Your knowledge and the skills you’ve built power your success at getting your dream job. It’s always good to sharpen your knowledge and never stop learning.

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Experience improves your ‘market value’

Apart from education, another top reason you are hired is because of your experience and the skills that you have gained from your exposure to any industry. It can be from a voluntary role, internship, retail experience, or experience from any other sector. You will develop a lot of soft skills from these experiences, like customer service, teamwork, time management and many more. These skills are most valuable and add value to your resume, which separates you from that person with 0 experience.

Actually, this topic really suits me (if I do say so myself!). I never gave up, and I took any opportunities I came across in my life. If you would like to know my career history: I used to work in the hospitality industry during my early studies, I have engaged in some voluntary work, and did unpaid internships, before successfully securing a role within the education industry. Here I am now with one of the top universities in Australia – UTS. This doesn’t mean you have to work in retail or do unpaid internships, but you shouldn’t avoid any opportunities you come across.

Be confident

Self-confidence is the key factor to success. I know many people struggle with this, yet we should always try to build our confidence and try to improve ourselves by doing the right thing. Everyone makes mistakes, but it’s learning from them that makes your more confident. Being yourself is hard sometimes, especially with new people and new environments, but it’s not impossible. Don’t forget who you are and what have you learned. Don’t be fake or vague, particularly in interviews. Perhaps a little preparation prior to any interview is a good option to help make you more confident.

Overall, what I would like to say is that employers don’t want robots. They are hunting for humans with a good attitude, and the right knowledge and skills. I am not a lecturer giving a lecture on this topic, but this is me sharing my thoughts and experience with my first ever blog post. Obviously, your degree is very precious but your soft skills and behaviour are equally valuable when securing your dream job. I would say they are related to each other as without one, the other can’t be achieved.  I really hope this article has helped you, and I wish you all the best in securing your dream job!

Featured image courtesy of Unsplash.