As a member of academia, it is mandatory to attend graduation rites. Graduation is the culminating activity for students after completing all requirements set by the university; offering the promise of a good life after exiting the portals of their alma mater. However, despite the influx of new graduates, why are there are still unemployment issues? Why are there job mismatches? Then, there’s the perennial question, is there a reality after graduation?
After being bombarded with different theories and practices for future employment, do you think you are now prepared for the next phase of life?
Unfortunately, things outside school are different from what is learned – essentially, the world is fake.
We believed that everything we learned can be used to prepare us for future employment, equipping us with the right skills to prepare us for the challenges as employees. However, since I said “the world is fake,” let me remind you of four things I learned after leaving student life several years ago.
Employers are looking for people willing to learn, not those who learned a lot
I always impress this maxim upon my students: Every master was one a disaster. In the working world, you must unlearn all you know from school and begin learning something new.
You should always remember how to socialize with people; in school, we are taught not so socialize, but how to compete. In the workplace, employers want employees who can work together as a team, wherein their collective effort can make the company grow.
One must also stop being too idealistic – you need to adjust in every situation. Theory may help, but remember, the downfall of every theory is that it is not applicable in every context; most theories are derived from a western perspective.
You must be willing to learn. Just like in school, before you start, you must be teachable. Willingness to learn is a basic requirement for workers. Graduates often say they learned everything from their internship rather than inside the classroom; it speaks on real world experience, focused on being teachable and how adaptable one can be to acquire a job – it’s not the “how” or “what,” but the “who.”
Grades, achievements, and medals don’t matter once you leave school
In this age of social media, why must everything be posted online? People want to show the world their achievements, especially after four years of struggling in school.
Although, what goes on in the academe, stays in the academe.
People are often attached to school achievement. In the workplace, however, people will notice skills, not high grades of academic achievements, but work ethic. Grades don’t measure social skills or how to cope with stress, they are only an objective measure to compare students to one another.
Life is not a competition, or a race; the more you live a relevant life, the more you appreciate things. It is about touching other people’s hearts and changing their lives.
Emotional quotient is better than intelligence quotient
Life is not about memorization or numerical problems, it is about understanding others.
In the working world, people who earn promotions are the ones with a high emotional quotient (EQ). They become leaders. For example, you need more than an impressive intelligence quotient (IQ) to become a good engineer, but to lead engineers, your EQ matters more.
IQ is the intellectual ability to manage ideas, knowledge, and thoughts; while EQ is the ability to manage relationships with people. IQ helps making good intellectual decisions, while EQ builds relationships – the sky is the limit. In the workplace, it is not about being the smartest guy in the room, what matters is being the key person who can unite the room and make them feel work is not about competition, but cooperation.
A smile is the most important asset of every graduate
What never goes out of style? A smile. A smile offers a positive vibe all around. It increases your face value and is considered a mark of the highest positive emotional content.
Why did the Mona Lisa become the most unique painting of all time? It is because of her smile.
In the real world, it is hard to smile if encountering stress and problems. The very reason people fail to smile is because they are bombarded with a busy world.
In academia, we are not taught how to smile but how to solve problems, memorize facts, and think only of higher grades. Why is smiling not part of the curriculum? Why the emphasis on suffering and painstaking tasks? To the point where students quit, preferring to be alone without a secure future ahead of them.
Life is not about the problem, it is knowing there is a master plan.
Think about this, can we laugh at the same joke after it was told a second time? No. Can we cry over the same problem when it happens again? No. Then why worry? All we have to do is smile. Smile for a brighter tomorrow and for a good, positive morning – life is always changing. What you take seriously today will change tomorrow and the only thing that does not change is wearing a smile in the face of those things.
Those are the things I learned after graduating.
Life is full of complexity and challenges but one thing is for sure, always prepare yourself and think: This too shall pass. Never leave the portals of your alma mater without dignity and integrity because you’re not carrying yourself alone, but also your school identity.
You must learn how to serve the people and our nation. You will became the master of your own field someday, but always remember our nation is very grateful if your serve your fellowmen.
To all the graduates: Congratulations!
Before I end, let me allude to the words from the new “unofficial song” of UP, “Naming Mahal” by Gary Granada (1998): “Malayong Lupain di kailangang marating, dito maglilingkod sa bayan natin.”/WDJ