This applies equally to those organisations seemingly doing well but desiring to gain some competitive edge to outsmart rivals. One way through which an organisation can overcome hurdles and achieve goals is to recruit the right people. The question that remains to be answered is what do we mean by right people. In an endeavour to outfox rival organisations increasingly place a high premium and faith on people possessing lofty academic credentials? But, looks as they say, can be deceiving and so are lofty academic credentials. This piece seeks to argue that the best employees are those who bring their hearts to work rather than those who merely flaunt academic credentials. Talent is a deep thing and does not necessarily go hand in hand with qualifications.
Organisations seeking to shed a deep-seated culture of under achievement are increasingly under pressure to revise and tighten recruitment processes in order to attract the right and capable human capital. The local education industry, with its notorious distinction of under-serving students, finds itself particularly under extreme pressure to get it right at least on the human recruitment side of things. It is believed that the so-called right people would have what it takes to change the education sector’s performance trajectory. The silver bullet, it is believed, would come from those possessing glamorous and glittering academic credentials. What makes the demand for high academic credentials appear more justified is not only the desire to ensure organisational competitiveness but also the need to avert the possibility of receiving overwhelming applicants. Setting the bar high eliminates many potential job seekers, assisting the organisation to receive and manage a handful of top notch applicants. As the job market continues to shrink, the demand for lofty academic credentials is becoming the norm rather than the exception.
