Why Should We Hire You?

Believe it or not, this article was inspired moments after I spoke to Olufemi Adewumi for a few minutes earlier in church today. I went back memory lane and recalled the first time he walked into Airtel Nigeria 's Service Desk room back in the day - sometime in 2008. If I am not mistaken, Ademola Adedeji , Tomi Ijaola. MBA, PMP?, ITIL Expert, CSM , Nkechi Obigho and Nkem were there too. Olufemi Adewumi had such a warm presence that after he spoke to us and walked out, Nkem commented "He's so sweet!" (I hope I don't get tracked down by macho men for exposing this). I responded with one of my "smart" wordplays around the word "sweet" to which Nkechi Obigho responded, "Hei! And you are a Pastor!" I am not even about to write down what I said.

Like most of us, Olufemi Adewumi had something closer to six packs compared to today, an awesome smile and an endearing presence. Moving on from the Service Desk room, I once had a ride in his car and I remember me subtly asking me about my faith ever so gently. I was inspired he could bring up such a profound conversation with a colleague in the modern workplace. He was not just being religious, he was being authentic.

I began this article with focus on a person which is likely unexpected given the way I have chosen to title it. The unfolding thoughts in subsequent sections will show why, hopefully. What might Olufemi Adewumi say about himself if he were asked any of the following questions in an interview:

• Tell us about yourself
• How do you handle feedback and criticism?
• How do you handle stress or pressure?

Do you think he would say something close to what I have indicated in the first paragraph? If he did, he would again be demonstrating authenticity. He wouldn't need to rehearse for the interview. He wouldn't be too nervous about certain types of questions such as those three above. He has something to say about who he is because who he is is just that: who he is.

How was Your Last Interview?

Step back a bit and reflect on the three questions. It is likely that you already know the "right" answers based on something a "Career Coach" or better put, a "Resume Coach" told you or shared on the internet. I think the best way to respond is not the way the template demands but the way you really are. It makes more sense to become what you aspire to be before you declare it or at least stick with declaring what you are becoming.

The Authentic Opinion of Former Colleagues

Imagine if we, Ademola Adedeji , Tomi Ijaola. MBA, PMP?, ITIL Expert, CSM , Nkechi Obigho and Nkem were in a position to write a public recommendation for Olufemi Adewumi . What would we write? Would it be difficult to cook up something? Would we second-guess ourselves? We would obviously write our experience working with him, even though it was from a distance of sorts. We didn't directly report to him, he didn't create our KPIs, we didn't even know his academic and professional qualifications. But he made an impression.

If we had the opportunity to work with him again, how would we respond? Likely we would all be elated. We would not ask one another how many additional PhD's he has aquired. We would not worry too much about his technical skills. We are not likely to scrutinize his LinkedIn profile except to determine which organization we were discussing. We are most likely to jump at the opportunity based on the impression he made on us.

You are Being Tracked from All Sides

In that last interview, it is likely that the panel was trying to find out whether you are a great person to work with. Academic and professional qualifications are great but every hiring manager wants someone that they would be comfortable working with. Recall the RESPECT acronym from Career Growth Strategies in Information Technology? It is really important to hiring managers. Human Resource experts like Folayemi BALOGUN would want candidates who will not create problems in the workplace. Incidentally, she currently leads Human Capital Management at NSIA INSURANCE LIMITED where my younger brother Ijioma Igiri works . That last sentence was deliberate, to reinforce the message that history always finds a way to tract us. What kind of records are you accumulating?

Do You Have the Attitude We Require?

Most job postings on LinkedIn and similar job platfoms focus on the technical skills of the desirable candidate and a high level outline of the job description. But if you have been around for a while you will realize that the job description when you take up the job slightly deviates from the written description. Another nuance that unfolds in the workplace is are the unwritten attitudes, cultural environment, norms and so forth that "the candidate we want" must imbibe. Maybe adept professionals end unable to adapt and unsuitable for the environment when the chips are down. You are who you are and time has a way of revealing it.

A Great Attitude Works Wonders

We successfully solve many problems in information technology support as an example because we are skilled. But we discover by experience that we often solve many other problems faster because we have the right attitude. A can-do spirit, a collaborative disposition, commitment to excellence and the likes. An IT Manager would rather hire an average specialist who is always available than an arrogant expert who has to be coerced out of his bed when he is needed.

We Can All "Fix" Things

As humanity advances, the knowledge required to solve many problems becomes more and more available. Support structures, documentation, online forums, Generative AI and so forth make delivering value in IT and many other jobs a littler easier. (Recall the article, It's 2023! IT is No Longer a Secret Cult). More emphasis is therefore laid on your attitude than your aptitude in the modern workplace when choosing the right candidate.

Wrapping It Up

Let me wrap up this short piece by reminding you of the payment hierarchy that is likely to be in force at your organization. I am focusing on the information technology industry particularly. Do you notice that it is not the engineers who keep bringing up "down" servers and databases that are paid most. It is their bosses who often know little about the details of commands such as shutdown -Fr and alter database <dbname> set offline with rollback immediate that get paid more.

I am here making the assumption that the skills that are more important to the organization are the ones they are more willing to pay for. Leadership, empathy, strategic thinking and the likes might just turn out more valuable than config t and so forth. The message is not that pure techies are not valuable. The message is that pure techies can become more valuable by honing more profound human-like skills as opposed to the esoteric commands written on black screens. These commands are now being generated by GenAI.