As we put a step forth towards our next adventure in life and congratulating ourselves of this well-deserved victory nearly in complete completion. We deserve all the congratulatory sentiment geared to us, as this is yet but another of the battles we won so far in life. But this one ushers us into a victory of a different realm of reality. For some among us will become fathers, others becoming mothers and many the care takers of our respective families joining the ladder of the elite. Whereas some will go on to becoming a living motivation and an inspiration to the society, others will be an example of a pinpointing finger of disappointment, life wasted among many to the ones coming up; I don’t hope and pray any among us turns out to be the latter, but the sad truth is it will be if we do not guard ourselves towards self-improvement and growth beyond certification and gratification.
As we take this next journey together, allow me the indulgence of sharing this insight with you dubbed ‘’The 10 Cardinal sins of Today’s Graduate’’ by Albert & Comfort Ocran in their book CAREER STARTER PACK…
They are referred to as sins because they are habits that are archaic, absurd, meaningless in today’s fast paced world, and a graduate of today having such is a recipe for disaster of which each and every one of us MUST do well to avoid and let go of as soon as possible.
The first major sin of the today graduate is being trapped in the world of yesterday, having the feeling and dreams of the scholars of yesterday. Hoping for the reality of men in the past and the glorious moments they had afterwards forgetting that realism even changes to the passage of minutes. Gone are the days when firms would be competing to have a graduate among their team with some going as far as enticing young graduates with fancy accessories and promising good working conditions as we heard. This is not the case of today, as I know brilliant graduates of about a decade ago who still have little or no contribution at all to the society. And some, to even have a complete daily meal is a battle. Yet the graduate of today is still in a deep slumber, failing to awaken to the realities of life, perceiving the world outside as three decades ago and believing the mere acquisition of a piece of paper comes with special privileges.
Another ill perception dubbed a sin about the todays graduate is the classification of institutions and the courses of study. Thus, the graduate of today holds the perception and beliefs that they are in a privileged position either because of the university they attended or the course they read. The world of today has revolved a several hundred miles away from this miniature whims. Albert & Comfort Ocran again in their book CAREER STARTER PACK made mention of a friend who was voted the Marketing personality of the year working with a particular telecommunication company in Ghana though the said person read Biological chemistry (Biochemistry) in his first degree. I myself have encountered several personalities who read and were specialized in the field of practical and social sciences now ended up thriving in financial management whereas others trained as professional teachers but are now great politicians in this country. The examples are many, hence the ideal paradigm in the real world here is not necessarily about the course you studied or the university you attended but the enthusiasm of the personality to succeeding in any field he/she ventures into.
The third sin secretly eating up the vibrant brains coming out of the tertiary institutions is the over-emphasis on the mere passing of examination and the honors they graduate with. Majority of us students rather than developing themselves universally channels greater percentage of their energies on just passing examinations. And hence a lot of graduates believe that earning a first-class honor undoubtedly guarantees their career success, which is very far from the realities today-there are several examples I can give even to an extent where a Senior High School leaver impressed an interview panel over a certain class graduate who was overly emphasizing on the honor awarded him. Our intelligence Quotient (IQ); which is the measure of our ability to comprehend, solve mathematical problems, memorize things and recall subject matters is reported to be of less contributor in terms of our productivity debunking yet again the myth of the graduate today that the most brilliant are those who turns out to be very successful. A study conducted at Bell Laboratories revealed that the most valued and productive workers were not necessarily those with the highest IQ’s or academic achievements. Again also, Daniel Goleman in his book EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE asserts that IQ contributes only 20 percent to the factors that determines success in life. That is why you will see a complete illiterate employing financial gurus to manage his/her assets.I personally believe that the university community is an institution of universal education that should go beyond certifications of honors. It has to be a sandwich of a whole lot; ranging from personal and skill development to the establishment and strategic management of businesses & finance as well as having a positive impact on the society and providing solutions to today’s problems, of which the graduate today is in contrast view with.
To add to the above, I bet you- ask any of the potential graduating scholars on the state of the nation; the impact of Ghana going to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for bailout has on their lives and careers in the next five years- an approximate 90 – 95 percent might not know what to tell you. This clearly informs us the level and extent of the disconnections of the graduate today from the realities outside the lecture halls. These approximate 90 – 95 percent scholars disassociate themselves from issues of global concerns, politics as well as worldly economic discourse and many others thereby depriving them of valuable universal information.
The fifth sin of the graduate today is impatient and the short-sighted attitude towards life, though it is the habit of the average human being. A chunk majority of the graduates today eagerly yearns to living by the microwave principle, not ready to investing in our growth but are eager to live the life of those who spent several decades building what is seen today. Most among us are not ready to starting small and do not appreciate the value of small beginnings. As stated in the CAREER STARTER PACK, we are a generation of fast-track young people who wants to literally race up the ladder of success and not willing to learn how to crawl let alone walking.
Sixth is the sin of trying to beat and outsmart the system, the ‘’ I know it all and I am a graduate of so and so university with so and so class” and not ready to learning and improving attitude. the habit of looking for the back door, skipping procedure and the protocol mechanism to our everyday endeavors is killing the prestige of our universal education.
Just as similar as the fourth sin, many of us have narrowed and shallow perspective on personal development. Like during the early days of our university education where many will shun career and personal development seminars over partying and jamming, similar attitude is sent outside the world of school by the today graduate. Several courses and books as well as other resources to enhance our financial literacy and strategic thinking are neglected giving preferences to Ponzi schemes and making it big overnight.
The eighth cardinal sin of the graduate today is the communal and general outlook on life. We get so much used to the African society’s general perception of doing everything together in order to succeed and not being exposed to certain realities that - for some roads, one needs to travel them alone and hence we are not build to identify them. Though doing most things together has some positivity it comes with, the today’s graduate has to stand out of the crowd and be identified uniquely. We have to be willing sometimes to climbing the mountain alone creating a variety of paths to guide those that follows. Several inventions were borne by this principle where scientist of the past tried different approaches to dealing with a particular problem and ending up discovering an innovation. I know a very good friend of mine and colleague ISSAH MUNTAKA will have a contrary view to this assertion as we have been debating over this in every chance we get!
The ninth which is one of the sins that touches my hearts, pricks my mind and tries to beat my imaginations is the over dependency and inclination towards excuses- the blame game. That attitude of not being able to submit an assignment on time or even taking part in it simply because the lecturer or the course representatives did not release the question(s) in time is sent to the world outside the lecture hall which does not even care who is at fault but the result. Majority of the graduates of today have the habit of blaming others for our mishaps or failure to deliver rather than looking thoroughly within us for the problem and ways of handling it. If we must blame at all, then we got to develop the attitude of blaming ourselves first, only then can we be exposed to the habit of versatility in our thinking. Take responsibility for every action of yours!
Final is our casual approach to opportunities; a lot of us have a lazy and disreputable attitude towards opportunities to learning and developing ourselves. I remember in one of our third trimester for field practical program (TTFPP) where colleagues will prefer to choose the easy way of doing things instead of actively involving in the process to learn; simply because no one is monitoring them to ensure the right thing is done. This same graduates with such attitude will send it into an institution and when there is a slack in management and supervision; because the said graduate is already used to the habit of irregularities and shambolic approaches to dealing with responsibilities leading to low productivity.
To conclude, I will leave with you a quote from one of Australia’s great psychiatrists and writer.
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and freedom”- Viktor E. Franki
The power to achieving lies greatly within us, our zeal, willingness to growth and the response to life’s hurdles encountered along the way
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