A recent 'Town and Gown' seminar organized by the Department of Sociology, Covenant University, brought the importance of maintaining relevant networks and connections in the corporate world to the fore.
The Guest Speaker, Mr Shola Olaleye, who delivered a lecture titled 'The People Currency: Taking Advantage of your Network in the Money Market', said most business opportunity doors would only open based on one's network and connections base. This, he said, was different from cases of partiality or favouritism in recruitment.
According to the fashion designer and serial entrepreneur, "Your network, many times, proves the kind of exposure you have and how well you have learnt to manage relationships. It also points to your value as a person, and as the popular saying goes, your network determines your net worth," he added.
Mr Olaleye, a first-class graduate of Sociology from Covenant University, said many job opportunities went unnoticed to many because they had no one to hint them about their existence. According to him, the need to build meaningful relationships is not to push the agenda of using people to get what you want by being manipulative.
He noted that insincerity could be noticed from a mile away, just as people can sense genuineness and warmth, thereby striking meaningful relationships which will yield significant results down the road.
Mr Olaleye, an author of two great Christian literature, said the world of work was constantly recruiting and adding competent hands towards advancing the cause of an organization. However, these jobs are usually given out based on referrals, thus negating the notion that there were no jobs in the country.
On the human capacity development aspect of tertiary education, Mr Olaleye said there was an unhealthy obsession with getting great grades in schools. "I believe less emphasis is placed on building solid relationships and network, and this is rather baffling. There is no denying that the labour market in Nigeria is congested with recent graduates, some with great results with no job to show for it," he averred.
He posited that it is only wise to understand the concept of networking and to maintain good relationships, as this was one currency that, once obtained, cannot be exhausted. According to him, one asset man could have was a good relationship.
"Contrary to popular opinion, according to a survey conducted by GetSmarter, the most important skills for the future of work is not tech-related but people-related as the demand for social and emotional skills are expected to grow across industries in the US by 26% and 22% in Europe by 2030," he added.