In order to fuel our rapid expansion, I have been involved in a lot of interviews in the recent past.
Over the past year or so when Retail was in the dumps, so to speak, there were a lot of people who were on the look out for jobs and ready to compromise on salaries, designation, area of expertise. Some of them had been without a job for a couple of months.
Whilst doing this, glancing through the resumes, talking to the candidates, many of them had ‘Skills’ mentioned on their resume or would say that I Upskilled my self during the past 3 months, which got me thinking to ask the question – Do people really understand the meaning?
Most describe ‘knowledge of computers’; ‘knowledge of tally’ as a skill.
Upskill meant ‘learning internet’; attending ‘seminar’ amongst others.
So I started asking
“What do you know in Tally?” – Data entry
“What do you know in computers?” – Email
“How did you upskill?” – attended so & so lecture
After wading through hundreds of them, I can conclude NO, people do not understand the meaning of Upskill.
I write, review, rant, rave, on a variety of personal things. Call it Mindcasting. The written word has been my long time friend – jotting down thoughts based on what I read, heard, saw or recording my own experiences for later reference.
Upskill need not necessarily mean learning something new, it can also mean learning to be better at something I already know.
Most times, job applicants try to second guess what the prospective employer might be looking for, and accordingly project themselves.
So, has the HR industry made an effort to set expectations? Starting with the concept of Upskill?
Anil – Exactly my point, my examples say the same thing. The HR industry does try to set expectations but most of the times it is crisis management, thanks to business needs. A lot of companies are moving towards the upskill bit; but with most companies still owner managed, it’s still an uphill task.