Independent University Newspaper
Copenhagen Business School

Popular searches:

Independent University Newspaper

Copenhagen Business School

Thank you, next

Blog |   22. Mar 2019

Madina Balgabek

Blogger

Being yourself has never paid off. I’m not talking about Van Gogh or Amy Winehouse. I mean ordinary people. The rest of us.

Even in the hour of promoting individualism and acceptance of all races, genders, nationalities, body positivism, wrinkles and freckles, we still cannot fully be ourselves.

It almost feels as though this movement didn’t reach the labor market. We’re all weird in our own beautiful way but still hide some parts that are not yet discovered and approved by the media or tons of psychological tests and studies.

Until then, it’s a very slow process of finding a company that places greater value on personalities rather than the top-performing 5% academics. I’m back to talking about job hunting and how it’s affecting my viewpoint on the process and how it makes me feel.

Being yourself has never paid off. I’m not talking about Van Gogh or Amy Winehouse. I mean ordinary people. The rest of us.

I decided to write candid motivation letters, speak honestly at interviews and follow the ‘just be yourself’ advice. I must admit it hurts when your true self is regarded as something irrelevant and that can make you feel ugly.

The first hurdle is to find a job ad that is unique and speaks you as an individual rather than addressing you like you’re one of a gazillion oxygen molecules floating around. The classic job ad for student positions, interns and entry-level positions has the exact same meaning: We want the perfect Barbie in our house.

They all want smart and somebody whose CV screams ‘I know what I want to be when I grow up’. But how many of us know exactly what we want to do after graduation?

Applying for jobs at the moment is making me feel insecure about who I am in this world and why I can’t be seen

In Kazakhstan, people say that if you don’t know what you want to be, go study economics, finance or business. So, unless the child in you has always dreamt of tapping on a keyboard and talking to people in meetings about how to make more money or save more money, you’re the same as everybody else.

Another quality that recruiters mention is a candidate with strong communication skills. But you also need to love Excel because you’re going to be stuck in it for 4-5 hours a day. You need to be service-minded and willing to help your colleagues as well as goal-oriented and good at making decisions fast – and execute, execute, execute.

Well, you all know there are many personality tests that can describe your employee-type in all sorts of ways and one of them is called ‘Insights’, which says that people can be differentiated by four colors: red for impatient and execution-oriented doers; yellow for ‘I hate doing the same thing every day’ creative minds; green for ‘let’s have peace’ people lovers; and blue for those Excel number-crunchers with a flair for analytics.

And execute, execute, execute

People can have all four colors in their personality and use them according to the situation. But people mostly have one or two dominating colors, and the main idea is that blue and yellow, and red and green are opposite personalities. So how can you expect a person to be great at crunching Excel all day, everyday and at the same time bring creative problem-solving to the table?

Applying for jobs at the moment is making me feel insecure about who I am in this world and why I can’t be seen.

I can attend dozens of CV and cover letter workshops at CBS and more, but I don’t want to be turned into an ‘everywoman’ as advised by this Japanese proverb: “The nail that sticks out gets hammered down”. Is there a new way to make people feel less miserable and irrelevant, and more motivated and happy?

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Thank you, nextby

  • News

    Why so sudden? The CBS financial crisis explained

    Employees and union representatives have posed many questions in the wake of the 17 August announcement of a firing round. In this interview, University Director Arnold Boon explains how Senior Management has been working with the budget and a change of financial strategy since the fall of 2022, and why layoffs are now necessary.

  • Blog

    Uncertain times: Essential for business schools to understand their market

    The alliance of European business schools met at CBS in June to enhance recruitment strategies, stay informed on industry trends, and analyse where the global economy is heading. The CBS MBA Programmes shares some key take-aways from Associate Dean and Professor Jesper Rangvid’s presentation.

  • News

    Working hard all summer: Bachelor Admissions

    The employees in charge of bachelor admissions at CBS are a small exclusive team. They ensure the validity of diplomas and the fulfilment of entry requirements for bachelor’s degrees at CBS – and, not least, that the applicants get the necessary help to upload the right documentation and find their way around the application procedures.

  • News

    Union reps want transparency about redundancy packages

    The unions are hoping for a fair process – and the AC club is calling for transparency about redundancy packages. Academic union representatives expect that actual dismissals can be avoided among faculty members, whereas administrative staff are expecting layoffs.

  • Gif of the week
  • News

    Snapshots: CBS staff busy preparing for a new semester

    For the staff at CBS, the weeks and sometimes even months leading up to study start are spent busily preparing for new and returning students and a brand-new semester.

  • Guide

    Those odd little words

    Some words of advice from CBS WIRE’s proofreader Helen Dyrbye, a British expat who has lived in Denmark for decades. Here she explains a few tiny words that can occasionally spell BIG trouble.

  • News

    Community is key for study start 2023

    This year, showing both new and returning students the concept of ‘community’ at CBS is a top priority. There is room for everyone, and you can find others that share the same interests as you. Those are the key messages from the Student Communications team. This is highlighted by two campaigns, during the introduction week and at the Bachelor Kick Off.

Follow CBS students studying abroad

CBS WIRE collaborates with Videnskab.dk

Stay connected

Close