Secrets to professional success
The LAU Byblos Dean of Students Office kicks off a new lecture series on professional development.
![[photo]](professional-development-career-guidance-presentations-01-big.jpg)
Samir Zehil, founder of Wydner Coaches & Associates consulting group, shares some tools for leading successful professional and personal lives.
![[photo]](professional-development-career-guidance-presentations-02-big.jpg)
The event marks the beginning of a new lecture series on professional development, organized by the LAU Byblos Dean of Students Office (Career and Placement Services).
“Goal setting is the most important skill anyone could ever learn,” Samir Zehil, founder of Wydner Coaches & Associates consulting group, stressed to students at LAU Byblos February 24 during the launching event of a new lecture series on professional development.
“But before setting any goals,” Zehil cautioned, “ask yourself: ‘Do I have the intense burning desire for this goal?’” If not, your goal will probably not succeed, he added.
The presentation, titled “New Thinking Patterns,” went beyond basic tips and tricks to improve your job outlook. In just over an hour, Zehil spread the feeling of assurance and confidence in his pronouncements, driven by conviction and supported by credible studies.
He told students to set goals that are both challenging and realistic, and perhaps most importantly, to write them down. “A goal that is not written down is merely a wish or a fantasy,” he said.
In order to achieve those goals, it is also critical to set measurements and deadlines. Finally, an individual must set goals in line with the seven pillars of life: peace of mind; health and energy; loving relationships; financial independence; personal desires; professional desires; and self-improvement.
He pleaded with students to invest in self-improvement, noting that a 1999 study conducted by Stanford University attributed 87 percent of success to character, and only 13 percent to technical skills.
“Your character is built in. You can’t change it, but you can fine-tune it,” he said.
Zehil challenged students to examine their characters through certain indicators, such as by checking how they deal with people in less fortunate circumstances or in lower social strata.
Those who disrespect their maids, for example, indicate a poor character whereas a high-ranking manager who can share a cigarette with a low-ranking employee indicates healthy character, Zehil said.
Other indicators of character include a person’s ability to see the good in every situation and person, and the ability to forgive.
The event marks the beginning of a new lecture series organized by the LAU Byblos Dean of Students Office (Career and Placement Services) with a special emphasis on professional development.
Recruitment presentations are a regular feature of the Byblos and Beirut Career and Placement Services offices, but the new series offers a higher-level of commitment and support.
“It’s not enough to help students find jobs,” says Rana Sakr, career guidance officer in Byblos. “We also need to do all we can to make sure they rise and succeed once they enter the job market.”
The next event of the series will take place on March 15 and will focus on non-verbal communication, followed by a presentation on interview skills and CV writing by the BLOM Bank Shabab Program on March 28, and another event on presentation skills by Procter & Gamble on April 19. More presentations may be scheduled in the future.
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