Comments on: Diligence vs. Ability: Rethinking What Impresses Employers

By: Academic Productivity » Study Hacks on Rethinking What Impresses Employers and being a hyperspecialist

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:10:04 +0000

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By: BSnazzy

BSnazzy — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:04:53 +0000

i love this post, very helpful

By: The Fourth of July « Student in the States

The Fourth of July « Student in the States — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:01:24 +0000

[…] the case for lighter course loads and fewer extra-curricular activites in the recent post, “Diligence Versus Ability: Rethinking What Impresses Employers.” ▶ Comment /* 0) { jQuery(’#comments’).show(”, change_location()); […]

By: Jake

Jake — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:42:00 +0000

I find that being exceptional truly is what people psychologically go for and respond to. People want to be impressed and fascinated.

What I’d like to add, though, is that I find that even colleges are drawn to applicants in this way. Gone are the guaranteed successes of valedictorians who are also captains of everything. Nowadays, you’re more likely to get into Harvard if you were in a movie or if you wrote a book then if you had a perfect SAT.

The trend (and most ideal option for life in general) is to be focused on one area and excel rather than try to be jack of all trades and be mediocre!

By: Ryan Freed

Ryan Freed — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:22:28 +0000

@Eric R.

The talented people that don’t have a hard work ethic don’t always go as far as u think. Hard work is what makes a talented employee in my opinion. Although this person may not learn as “quickly” with hard work they can learn it just as well as a “talented” person if not better.

By: VTAMethodman

VTAMethodman — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 02:54:16 +0000

I had my own ‘diligence hypothesis’ epiphany in the middle of my first degree. I found it odd when I’d ask how people were doing and they would always respond negatively. “Oh and have this and this and this and THIS to do!”

Many of my friends got frustrated with me when I wouldn’t join their pity party. I came to the conclusion that being stressed out and busy was for some reason a sought after way of being in western society. Once I understood the roots of this philosophy (read your Weber) everything made sense and I now understand their weird fetish to be incredibly busy (which I pity them for).

Great post Cal!

By: Eric R.

Eric R. — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:23:11 +0000

Since the moderator is on vacation and I’ve read through most of the archives, I will attempt an answer. Talent is another misconception. You still need a strong work ethic. But the key to switching from diligence to ability is deep focus.

Sure there are natural abilities, but they only become true talents with refinement and practice. Becoming exceptional at one thing still takes time, but you have more time to work on that one thing by ditching all the other stuff cluttering up your schedule/life.

That’s the A* method in a nutshell, as I understand it.

By: Stefan | StudySuccessful.com

Stefan | StudySuccessful.com — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:14:13 +0000

I like this view. Hard workers aren’t a new thing. We aren’t always suprised by hard workers, but by guys who are successful, without hard working. Talented people.

But is there anything you can do about your talent?