General Awareness - The 6th skill set recruiters look for

Candidate in an interview: Good morning Sir, I have completed my MBA with specialization in Finance.

Interviewer: OK good. So tell me what is the impact of fiscal deficit on the economy of the country.

Stumped……

Are you reading economic times…..?

Human beings have seen 3 ages, the agricultural age when wealth was defined as ownership of land. In the second wave of the Industrial age it was defined by the ownership of capital such as factories, machinery etc. I was born in this era so when I look back, I remember bustling factories and huge manufacturing set ups. Post 1991 we have entered in the knowledge workers age where wealth is based on the ownership of knowledge and the ability to use that knowledge to create and improve goods or services.

The best of fortune 500 companies have two things in common, they are all born out of unique ideas their founders had in their minds and they made fortunes without really manufacturing anything, technically speaking just their idea which was a child of knowledge made billions for them from thin air. Microsoft, Facebook, Google, Yahoo and Apple all began this way.

So evolving from the Industrial worker to knowledge worker there is a need for a new kind of workers and managers. Sadly our education system is promoting the academic knowledge which was required in the industrial era and the fact of the matter is that what we are teaching our kids has no relevance. Kids today need application oriented knowledge and skill sets. Moreover what is taught in 9^th is not asked in class 10^th in other words our education system itself promotes short cuts and cramming. No wonder when I ask MBA’s and M.Com’s class 9^th Commerce questions like “What is the formula of Cash profit?”Or “What is amortization?” Most of them draw a blank.

Lack of general awareness shows lack of intellectual curiosity indicating mediocrity. How will you shine out of 70 Cr. young Indians searching for a good job?

You got it…….. Knowledge….. Start reading Economic Times from today and chew on whatever application oriented knowledge you can get. Happy reading.