10 Things That Requires Zero Talent

5 am in the morning the first thing I pick up as every regular millennial is my phone but what I did differently today was to click on my LinkedIn app instead of Instagram; The welcoming post was Barry Newman’s article on “How to Get that Job” where he explained more on Molly Fletcher’s concept of ’Things that require ZERO talent’.

As an HR practitioner, I have heard discussions and attended round-tables centered on how millennials have positioned themselves in the job market with demands in high perks, flexibility, and control of their time, request for attractive offices.

Generation Z is approaching the employment market with more employee disruptive strategies based on the evolution of digitalisation and a mindset that leverage both offline and online extensive access to information. According to McKinsey & Company, ‘the members of Generation Z are true digital natives who are creating and interpreting new trends to suit their integration into the job market’.

Majorly shaped around the perception/principles that made the ‘Boomer Parents’ achieve a lot in less prosperous times the digitisation of the world and the capital inflow to back the biggest innovations in almost all areas of the technology ecosystem.

An opportunity for every graduate or smart individual in the Nigerian market is the opportunity gap between refined skill set and the informal market which rules a large portion of the economy because technology and innovation have not diffused into all areas of the market except the principal cities.

Below are 10 things that require zero talent for you but are the most profitable things to invest your life in and guidelines that guarantee you success in every individual.

Being on Time: Approaching an economy where the old few rules the vastly populated young people. Respecting time and strictly being punctual is a sign of respect/seriousness that will always give you a foot in the door in all engagements. And it’s noted that there are 2 clocks; the normal time and the Nigerian time.
Work Ethic: Your work ethic is mostly built around your passion. The work ethic at different times outshines talent, it shows hunger and fire to succeed and this is most times self fueled.
Effort: Ability to try despite all odds and uncertainty makes people place a bet on you. Lots of outstanding testimonies have come by people putting in an effort in widely uncharted territory.
Energy: according to Benjamin Franklin “Energy and persistence conquer all things’. No matter the hurdle, challenge and aspirations, positive energy has been seen as a connecting dot between you and your goal. A little bit more energy the closer the glory.
Body Language: The most intuitive people understand their environment and individuals in the first 5 minutes they arrive in a new space. Body language is the conscious and unconscious movements and postures by which feelings are communicated. Its important people understand you always have a positive mindset.
Passion: As defined by Cambridge dictionary ‘passion is an extreme interest in or wish for doing something, such as a hobby, activity’ Though the word passion is overused because it has a strong in-debt meaning but its a skill that will pick you out of the lot if its channeled to effective output in any project you find yourself on.
Doing Extra: An established leader once told me at an entry-level or graduate-level competence is not a defining factor because your competence can be questioned based on the result but the ability to outwork others by doing extra work builds your capacity and output. The bible says “show me a man diligent in the ways he will sit with kings and not mere men’ always put in extra when you find the platform to outwork the rest.
Being Prepared: The most common quote that welcomes you into Adulthood is “if you fail to plan then you plan to fail”. Abraham Lincoln popularly said ‘ I will prepare and some day my chance will come”. All you need to do is always be prepared and BE READY! When preparation meets opportunity… success is inevitable.
Being Coach-able: At the early career stage your ability to gain positive feedback is a core for progress, you must have an open mindset and be coach-able in an environment like Nigeria. The school curriculum teaches you to learn but the society/ job trains you on essentials skills to survive and succeed in a given circumstance.
Attitude: The only skill that can’t be transferred is your attitude, you don’t learn it you exhibit it, that’s who you are. No matter how skilled you are, a bad attitude will always make your talent irrelevant because it is an essential recipe for success. Attitude simply shows your mental fitness in different situations.