Banks, oil companies, and telcos like to hire at least Second Class Upper graduates. The reasoning is simple: those grads have done well on something. Yes, they scored a set-piece goal in that football game of university education. It is not really the grade that matters but the processes to get to the grade. Making good grades demand discipline, focus and mastering of time. So, if they can replicate those attributes at work, they would be good employees.
The biggest victory in life is victory over your time. If you master your time, you will win your future. Greatness has been achieved not because of special talent but rather via total dedication, perseverance and commitment through mastering of time. A man who cannot manage his seconds will wander through the boundless of time.
It is irrelevant that a Second Class Lower may be better as an employee. Current data before the HR officer has demonstrated he did not score the set-piece goal in university education. Perhaps, even though he seems talented, data via grade is showing he could not manage time and other elements to score better grades. Why do you think he will be better as an employee?
Young people, it is painful when I see brilliant people lost in the sea of career because of poor grades. Good grades open great scholarships. They bring good jobs. They give you options. And when you match the grades with capabilities, opportunities abound. Do not be shy on pursuing great grades – those outcomes demonstrate your commitment to succeed on a cause.
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The biggest misstate in life is when people fail to understand that while grades may not determine sustained winners, the processes to good grades have predictable outcomes. A student, who graduated with Second Class Lower (2.2) because he worked to put himself through school, managing many factors concurrently, will be fine. Those processes sustained will see him through in his career. He is different from another Second Class Lower who lazily cannot make time to study. He has the mind for First Class but being unfocused landed in 2.2. Unless he changes his process, he will struggle.
Life is not just defined by outcomes but the processes that lead to the outcomes. If your processes are great, society will reward you, not just in the specific endeavor but other areas. Yes, you may have 2.2 after putting your best with discipline and focus, but the cherished job is unattainable, relax because society will reward that work ethic. But if you made that 2.2 because you were exceedingly unfocused, your problem is not the grade, but your process. Until you fix that process, you will struggle.
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