Job Definition (AUDIO) – CLICK HERE
As I covered in last week’s editorial, one of the biggest problems with our education system is the student’s inability to apply the information they learned in school to solve problems.
This problem solving step is the only reason for learning anything and the only purpose for our education system. If someone can not solve a problem that is costing their employer money, they will not have a job for very long.
If a student can not apply what they learn in school to solve problems, the time and money invested for that education was completely wasted.
The only reason a job ever exists in the first place is because there is a problem that is costing money with the pay always less than the money saved by having that problem solved.
No business owner will not pay someone $15 per hour if the problem is only costing $10 per hour. The sad part of this principle is many minimum wage jobs do not have a $15 per hour problem. This means the job will go undone or a computer will do it instead for less than the $30,000 per year prescribed by a $15 minimum wage.
On the other extreme if someone can make the business owner $100,000 more per year, their pay will be something less than $100k. This explains why executive salaries often seem high. It is because they are making the company much more than their pay.
I have hired hundreds of employees during my career and I would always look for two things. One did they completed their education, showing they were not a quiter and Two they could tell me what problem they could solve for the company.
When I give lectures in high schools and colleges I would tell them what the world’s best question to ask the interviewer is: What problem do you want me to solve for you? If a potential hire asked me that, I hired them on the spot.
This is Keith Kube wishing you the best in making the world a better place.
Keith Kube, of Crofton, is a business analyst and author of two books on business management. During his career as an engineer, investment banker and business analyst he identified traits commonly overlook that are vital for all successful business operations. You can hear all his past editorials or review his books by going to his website: www.keithkube.com
