Looking Good at the cost of Being Good?

A conversation with a student studying in a premier B-School:

Student: Most of my batchmates are taking on-line courses for building skill sets. They say it’ll help having these skills on the CV during placements. What should I do?

Me: How much free time do you have from your curriculum?

Student: Free time? With the reading to be done for the next day’s classes, case discussions, assignments, extra reading, and going over what was done in the day - there isn’t enough time to complete all this. So weekends are spent in covering up.

Me: If you think you don’t get enough time to cover your curriculum requirements, then how will you find time to take these additional courses?

Student: I guess I’ll have to skip something from the course to find the time. They’re all saying it’ll look good on the CV and help in placements.

Me: Why did you join the course?

Student: To do the MBA.

Me: Then focus on the Program. If companies visit your institute for hiring MBAs, should you not focus on doing justice to it? You yourself are saying that there’s a lot to be done in the curriculum. Do it. Judiciously. Work hard on the course. Leave no area for choice just because you don’t like it, or you think it doesn’t interest you. At work you will have to deal with varying situations, which may or may not be of interest to you. Concentrate on getting your fundamentals clear.

Student: But my CV needs to look good in the placements. The extra courses will show that I have taken initiative beyond the requirements of my course.

Me: Always remember, life is not a 100 m race, it is a cross country; sound fundamentals will help you run it well. Make being good your priority.

My daughter’s in the XII grade. Since she wants to keep options open, she’s preparing for two possible career opportunities in areas which interest her. Her hands are full, and she’s working hard to manage it all. Some days ago, she told me that many classmates are doing online certificate courses in various fields. They say it’ll help in the college applications. My advice to her was to take up something extra only if she had the time to spare after doing her current subjects and other preparation.

People are so caught up in trying to look good, they forget what they’re supposed to be doing. For what? Getting a certificate that say’s I’m literate in a particular subject doesn’t make me an expert. Only intense experience will. And to get that certificate, if I compromise on what I’m supposed to be doing, then is that certificate worth it? I may get an additional certificate, but most likely I will not be a complete student of what I am pursuing.

It is only our responsibility as experienced professionals and also as parents to stop our children and others from getting into this mad race for “CV padding”. We’ll have to consciously work hard to make this change.

And what do we get – professionals in their respective fields who “Are Good” instead of just “Looking Good”.

(this was shared on LinkedIn in 2020).