A recent Harvard Business Review article entitled, “Higher Education Is Overrated; Skills Aren't” includes several common sense explanations for the title’s premise that “great knowledge doesn't confer great skill.” The points made are equally important and relevant for consultants, job seekers, and small or large companies who are trying to land a new client engagement or a new job.
The article states, “While higher education itself isn't marginal or unimportant, its actual market impact on employment prospects may be wildly misunderstood. In ‘Econ 101’ terms for job-hunters: time spent cultivating your Facebook / Linked-In network(s) may be a better investment than taking that Finance elective.”
Adapting to new ways of finding and cultivating connections has value for consultants in all fields when we consider that the best sources of new clients have always been through our various referral networks. Today, those networking contacts are often found online and maintained through emails and social networking sites.
For consultants, linking to blogs, published articles, PowerPoint presentations, podcasts and webinars will help create an impression of "purported knowledge" that goes beyond their own websites and social networking.However, long-time consultants know that their “purported knowledge” matters less than demonstrating what has been done successfully for other clients.
This “vast structural shift in the human capital marketplace” has made clients much more selective in hiring consultants. According to the HBR, proven skills, the distinctions between them, and their value in landing a new assignment “aren't subtle; they're immense.”
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Contributed by PATCA member Carole Edman, of HR Manager to Go.
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