Ali baba dishes out tips on how to stay relevant

A comedian is a good as his last joke. Staying on top of your game is the best way to keep your career in shape. If you joined a bank in 2008, with a BSc in Economics, and you are yet to add value to your curriculum vitae, you have not accelerated, nor added value, neither have you advanced your value propositions. Met an AGM of a bank in 2010, who wanted me to introduce a guest at his bank’s dinner, but did not get the guest’s details, just his last name. I was surprised I wowed him when I googled it. He asked how I got so much info on the man when I didn’t know who he was. So I showed him on my Ipad1. I saw him recently and I said hope he has caught on with the google thing, his reply was no surprise. “My brother no be google be my problem now. I have been out of work since 2012. I need to get back into banking”. Ironically, what a lot of people count as irrelevant turns out to be one very reason they can remain relevant. After the reggae play the blues. Life is always changing. You can’t use your 3310 for WHatsapp. Most device makers make sure they make allowance for upgrade of their software, for improved performance, reduce battery consumption, allow for apps to work better and increase value of their products. Same thing applies for every human being. Most times, people stop growing and that is when frustrating realities hit home. While you were sitting tight, the person you joined an organization with, has an MBA, a certificate of proficiency in different relevant and core sectors of your industry. Even if you had a first class, the person becomes more indispensable by their increasing value. You become a liability. Activate your skills. Increase your worth. Embrace technology. How many people still take pictures, develop the negatives and prints? When I started engaging social media, someone told my wife I was jobless. Some months back, same person, tails between her legs, asked if I could help promote something she was doing on my platforms. I smiled. Joseph was relevant to Pharaoh. David was invited to play the harp. If the water isn’t constantly flowing, Pharaoh’s daughter won’t swim there. Stagnancy is not growth. Growing makes you relevant. QED!