Lionel Messi and scoring goals with your CV

Imagine if Lionel Messi will ever have the misfortune to apply for a job through bdjobs.com what would be key strength of this CV? If you and I are singing from the same hymn sheet then we are right to say that it will be number of goals that he has scored throughout his career as the world’s best footballer.

Same goes for your CV too. The more CVs I receive and get asked by people I know for a quick glance makes me want to reiterate the fact that what you have achieved in your previous work experiences is more important than what you have actually done, the processes you have followed to achieve those results. In other words, results in a CV stand out than mere blabbering about processes and description of your role.

Having the PA factor

I am not sure if there exists any empirical human resource research on the skills and expertise of PAs (Personal Assistants) to the company chiefs in multinational organisations in Bangladesh or elsewhere. If there were any, I would have tried to find out if my assumptions regarding the skill-set of PAs are correct or not.

Due to popular beliefs or simple stereotypes of this being a clerical job, hardly any job seeker actively pursues the job of a personal assistant or prefers to keep this option lower in the priority list. Some also assume that this job is exclusively for female job seekers only and in a lot of instances, companies actively look out for all female applicants for such a position to aid the day to day work schedule of the head of the organisation. I believe very few PAs realise before they take up the job what kind of exposures they will get in the course of the assignment and the opportunities to develop their professional skills.

PAs seem to be the most privileged staff to be in the closest vicinity of the think tanks of the organisations. As s/he takes down minutes of important meetings and arranges schedules and activities of the chief executive, s/he notices the important dynamics that take place in board rooms. The way things are communicated, argued on, the rationales that lead to decisions being taken and the body languages of colleagues and counterparts – all are observed and recorded by none other than PAs. Moreover, they are the staff who get to observe the leadership brass from a close distance, often allowing them exposure to the thought processes and actions of an organisational leader – CEO. For a variety of these reasons PAs seem to be having a fast track route to developing core business acumen without actually having prestigious business degrees or actually having any real life business management experience.

Certainly the career growth for PAs might be limited – that is, its very unlikely that a PA, after developing business skills by merely being in the company of company heads, will be promoted as a CEO him/herself. But better still, there are examples that many of them have actually ended up being the owner of their own business ventures.

One of the TV programmes that I try to watch from time to time is the Apprentice, a show about which I have tried to convince a few friends in Bangladesh to emulate – without success. The winner of the last year's show was Stella English, who worked as a PA at a Japanese Investment Bank before being selected as one of the candidates of the popular British show. Similarly this year for series 7, one of the top four finalists in the process of becoming Lord Sugar’s business partner happens to be Helen Louise Milligan, who again works as an Executive Assistant to CEO.

Sure not all the fingers of the hand are of the same size, but surely having a PA factor can take you places and make you win big in business and in life.

In the search of young Bangladeshi entrepreneurs

The call to air more business based shows in Bangladeshi TV channels is nothing new for this blog. We have mentioned the need to make programs in TV channels not only to give dry commentary and stale news about recent business events and products but also to give young Bangladeshi entrepreneurs a platform to demonstrate their business ideas and possibly get some mentoring, funding, patronising etc. Its not news anymore that companies like HSBC and BATB regularly arrange business plan competitions every year and award financially the winners. But I have always questioned the outreach of such initiatives. Agreed that its an effort worth appreciation, by the very nature of the potential of that initiative, it calls for increasing its outreach especially outside Dhaka and other cities, where only the priveleged young people, may be belonging to private universities would get the chance to enter into such competitions. It certainly overlooks the vast majority of young entrepreneurs who might be already running small businesses in rural Bangladesh, with or without a well composed business plan and with or without any formal knowledge of how to run a business and how to seek more venture capital beyond 'love money' from friends and family.

Recently BBC has started the Junior Apprentice TV show. The six-week competition has candidates all aged between 16 and 17, battling it out through a series of gruelling tasks in the hope to become the first ever Junior Apprentice. The winner will be awarded access to a fund worth £25,000, which will go towards his or her business career and will be personalised to their individual prospects and development. If you ever get to see these shows, you will realise how practical and challenging doing business can be. But more interestingly you will realise how business skills are honed by 16 and 17 year olds who are yet to finish even their schools and still there is so much to learn beyond classroom based education and business plan competitions. Above all, the encouragement and inspiration such programs and initiatives create is tremendous, enabling likeminded young entrepreneurs to perceive their small business ventures more seriously and give all out effort.

When we are so fond of and quick in copying foreign TV serials and reality shows, I wonder why don't we copy the good things first. Also if the world of copying TV programs is open for all, why do we have to wait until an Indian version is aired through Bangladeshi TV space whereas the BBC programs are open for all to view and 'copy' the idea if needed. Lord Sugar is one self-made business icon in the UK, to compare someone with him in Bangladesh might be a step too far. But its obvious that we have too many speakers in presentations and trainers in workshops but very few business leaders in the true sense. A successful business leader is not only supposed to make more money for him/herself but also to educate, inspire especially the young in the society. How many of our business celebrities are doing something worthwhile to nourish the business talent and potential of the young entrepreneurs? How many of them have reached out to those who live outside cities?

There is no denial of the fact that reality TV programs for young business entrepreneurs of Bangladesh can never be the only resort to ensuring classy business cadres. But what is the problem in starting with it? Atleast it would bring back some viewers back to watching television which is so full of mundane drama serials and political dog and pony shows. A business show involving young entrepreneurs would give some much needed respite from the plagued drama serials and singing competitions. What do you think?