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

By: Vickie

Vickie — Mon, 14 May 2012 05:22:34 +0000

I differ in definition, mostly. I think diligence is mis-defined if it is characterized by busy-ness. People who are genuinely diligent understand that to truly be diligent one must be able to finish what one starts, or at least to be consistent in the effort. Busy people usually have so much going on that they barely finish and rarely create quality. True diligence cannot be half-hearted and those who seek to achieve diligence quickly learn to count the cost of any project they undertake. So yes, succeeding at keeping oneself ultra-busy during school is not an admired quality among employers. Employers like myself want to see the ability to balance, focus and make reasonable choices. The way I see it, to have practiced and proven ability, one must have diligence (by its proper definition). Talent without diligence of character is over-rated. Skill developed through perseverence is admirable.

By: itsouttahere

itsouttahere — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 13:15:34 +0000

Unfortunately all this is bunk. I went to Swarthmore and graduated;however, since that time I have a had a succession of clerical type jobs. I worked in the accounting field for a major news network, and now work in a school doing clerical accounting work. I go to recruiters who say that without a CPA I can expect to go nowhere. So my Swarthmore education was useless, and I am trapped

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Mon, 27 Sep 2010 16:21:58 +0000

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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

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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!