Trinbagonians felt a sense of jubilance and great pride for home grown Anya Ayoung Chee’s phenomenal win on Project Runway. Those who followed the entire series till its climax would surely have been impressed with the abundant talent that Anya had to compete with. She was not trained as a designer nor did she possess qualifications similar to her competitors. As a matter of fact, she got a crash course as a seamstress four months prior to entering the contest. These overwhelming odds, coupled with an industry standard that is very unkind to beginners – far less those with no experience – is a testimony to Anya’s tremendous accomplishment.
Or is it?
Formal Education vs. Talent
One begs the question, if Project Runway was an idea conceptualised and played in Trinidad, how different would the results have been for Anya? Local organisations, industries, small and large businesses, even NGO’s, constantly overlook talent and determination, and set a benchmark that is set mainly by educational qualifications and experience, consistently disregarding other intangible qualities. Had this show been held here, with our “standards” of how we judge the most competent, I doubt very much that Anya would have won.
Project Runway’s selection of the least practiced in the designing field as the winner should set a standard for many of the above mentioned organisations to change best practices in selecting roles and functions for key individuals when recruiting. Many of these organisations were the first to give standing ovations privately and publicly, praising her again and again for her valour, reminding us how important determination was, and how by extension we should emulate her. True, but they also need to follow this methodology of selection.
Impact on Hiring
However we digress. Why should organisations change the practice of “textbook style” recruitment? Doesn’t it seem fair that the most educationally qualified person be selected for the job? If this is the case, then Anya’s win was just an anomaly, an “ever so often” kind of event, a railroading of a core belief that only qualifications and experience matter. Truth be told, I believe the most exciting part is that our creative juices have just been stirred.
We as employers, recruiters etc. need to look beyond the resume, and focus on the spark, the innate quality of each individual. That takes a special flair and extra effort and time. For key individuals to create a true paradigm shift, they should probably call Heidi Klum for advice.
