Following my recent write-up in the Nairaland thread ‘'Top 10 Most demanded jobs in the oil and gas industry”, and other posts and articles I have written in the past, I have received several questions that indicate that some fresh graduates still have a few misconceptions about what it takes to compete and succeed in the labour market. I decided to write on 3 misconceptions that some fresh graduates make, and hopefully this will be beneficial to many.

Misconception #1: I must have certifications to get a good job in Nigeria
This is not exactly true. You do not necessarily need certifications to get a job in Nigeria. There are countless number of established and experienced professionals in the manufacturing, banking, construction, oil and gas, and other sectors who do not any certification at all. I personally worked in the FMCG industry before moving to the oil industry. I am on my third job. I do not have any certification whatsoever. Most of my past and current managers do not have any certification. All they have is their wealth of experience and the several trainings they have attended during the course of their career in same company. Maybe I will get some certifications along the way as I progress in my career. Being employable as a fresh grad in Nigeria is not about the number of certifications you gather. I know people with wonderful certifications who are still unemployed or underemployed. I am not entirely ruling out the relevance of certifications. It is important in the IT industry, for instance. Even then, a fresh graduate in an IT related course should be more concerned about his/her grade and ability to scale through various recruitment hurdles. A smart and employable grad in an IT related course will get a good job irrespective of whether he/she has a certification or not. Certification becomes more relevant as you gain experience.

Misconception #2: I must have a Masters degree to have an edge over others
Another misconception some fresh grads make. If you want a career in academics, then furthering your studies is essential, if not mandatory. But if you are looking out for a job, a Masters degree will not necessarily give you a significant leverage over others. If you are still young, you may consider a Masters before going for a job. Who knows? Maybe I would have considered a Masters degree if I had graduated at a much younger age. However, have it at the back of your mind that you will still have to compete with every grad out there to get a good and meaningful job. You do not even need a postgraduate degree to work in the respectable and prestigious oil and gas companies. I can say (with no certainty, just personal observation) that about 75-80 % of those in the oil industry did not have any form of certification or Masters at entry point. I can say (with all certainty) that about 75% of the fresh engineers recently recruited by my employers (a multinational oil firm) are fresh grads from school with no MSc.
You do not even need an MSc to get promotion at work. Promotion in organizations is generally based on your productivity and performance, and not your degrees. In most firms, you will even need to get a leave of absence if you want to embark on a full-time Masters after employment, and your job is not guaranteed on returning.
I am not saying a Masters is not important. I hope to acquire one soon. It may be helpful if I am aiming for a managerial role in another organization, or if I am looking forward to a political appointment sometime in the future. Masters degree is great, but grads need to know that it does not necessarily equate to employability. You may decide to enroll for Masters while you continue your search for a job.

Misconception #3: I must press buttons (know people in high places) before I get a good job in this “corrupt Naija”
Another lie from the pit of hell. No reputable private organization, even in Nigeria will risk placing its future on incompetent or untested employees. Every growing organization knows that its most valuable asset is its employees. Companies are always looking out to hire the best hands. Organizations in Nigeria usually have well-structured recruitment processes that make it difficult even for influential employees to slot in candidates. A few public firms, such as NNPC still recruit largely on merit (I know it will sound incredulous for some but that’s the truth). Nepotism is still a cancer in the Nigerian corporate world, be it public or private. But its influence is widely exaggerated.

[size=14pt]What then makes a graduate employable in Nigeria?[/size]
As competitive as the Nigerian labour market is, the attributes that make a graduate employable are still foundational - Good grades, aptitude test writing skills, interview skills, communication skills, basic computer skills. Get good grades. Ensure you are good and prepared enough to pass aptitude tests. Your communication skills (writing and speaking) should at least be above board. Practice well for all kinds of interview formats. You need not have excellent computer skills – just basic. Believe me, you will get multiple offers within a short period. If you have good grades but have poor test writing and communication skills, you will still struggle to get a job.

TRUE LIFE STORY:
I want to share the story of a particular lady who is 3 sets after me in school in the same engineering department. She is quite brilliant. She graduated with a CGPA of over 4 point out of 5, and also clinched a departmental award on convocation day. She was also the best female student in her set. She finished youth service at a relatively young age of 23 years. However, despite numerous job aptitude tests and interviews, she couldn’t get a job for over a year (1.5 years to be exact). She applied to so many firms but she never got an offer. She became so frustrated, and shared her problems with me. She felt she was not getting offers because she didn’t know anyone. I told her not to develop that mentality, if not, she will resign to fate and be defeated. At a time, she considered going for NEBOSH certification (at a cost of about 350k) but I discouraged her because I knew it wouldn’t add any value to her as a fresh grad. That’s simply a waste of resources. After relating with her, I found out that her test writing skill was just a little above average, while her interview skill was particularly awful. I encouraged her to practice sample job aptitude tests more frequently and to pay particular attention to improving her interview skills. She started working on both. Anytime she had interview, she would call me to review her level of preparations. I always found it a bit frustrating because I would need to spend considerable time to tutoring her on interview etiquettes; how to answer interview questions; what to say and what not to say; what to ask and what to ask; what to do and what not to do, etc. I am happy to say that after all the stress she made me pass through, she now has 3 offers she is considering (2 job offers and one scholarship offer). This made me realize her problem was never lack of intelligence, but basic interview skills.

N.B - I am NOT a professional tutor on interview questions and answers, neither am I planning to be professional career counsellor. The true life story was to further drive down my points and enlighten young grads.

Following

Nice piece...

I like the way you are touching lives, one person at a time. In a way you're winning mentees through your quest to make other people's life better. I wish to meet you as a person and I know I will one day.
Only I don't know what name to give when someone eventually asks "Who is your mentor?"
Keep up the good work Sir Xfire.

Thanks.

The number 3 point worked for me sha, but the help came from a low place.

Good job

Another nice one from Xfire. Book marked

xfire firing on all cylinders xfire firing on all cylinders

Nice 1

Noted

Xfire,
So good to hear from you again since the Nairaland crash took out that 'Career thread'.

Following...

I might not have a job right now as to know how well jobs are still reserved for relatives and friends but even for industrial trainings,I have seen a lot where spaces would still be reserved. Thanks anyway for increasing our hopes.

Book marked# Hope it's not too early to start practising all these as a 200l student?

Good morning all .



Nice and inspiring write up there.

God bless you sir! Thanks for the inspiration. I shall get there!

Very misleading consolation for job seekers....

GUYS GO AND GET UR MASTERS.....

Thought provoking.

I believe some but not all you listed e.g if you have an oga at the top, getting a job in Naija would be way way easier

rattlesnake: Very misleading consolation for job seekers....

GUYS GO AND GET UR MASTERS.....

Hey buddy, it is the truth, masters won't give you an edge, if you graduated with a 2.2, fine, your 2.2 and masters might land you test invites and interviews, aside that, your masters is a waste.

You're damn right. Spending on masters & you later join other graduates searching for jobs?? Go start a biz with that money unless you have an assured job

Awesome points

Mmm, very educating piece,. Especially for us undergraduates.. At least now we can plan well ahead,. And won't be making the same mistakes graduates before us made... Thankss for taking the time ||||

oga xfire, as much as I'm a big fan of u,I kinda disagree with ur last point. I agree that no firm will employ someone that won't deliver results cos he knows someone but in the Nigeria of today, when there is an opening for say 3 ppl in a firm,even after doing all the tests nd interview to screen ppl, they still end up finding like 20 ppl that proved super suitable for the job, at times like that someone that knows someone in the firm gets preference cos he is good for the job nd then he know person join.
bottom line,when you've qualified for a job nd passed the necessary screening pray that the ogas ppl don't scale thru the screening with u,else pray that God will clinch ur own job for u.

Although some of you are right, what xfire's post is trying to say is that just because you don't have what he listed above does not mean you cannot get a job. All you need is preparation,good grades and some certain skills.

We all know 'man know man' exists in Nigeria but that does not mean those who don't know anybody can't get a job. And we also know having a masters degree does not automatically gives you a job,it might give you an edge, yes but does not guarantee you having that job.

Whatever he wrote up there is just a reminder for us to put in our best,for those still in school ensuring you put in all efforts and come out with a good grade and those who well might be too late to do for them to do that,improve on your skills and abilities. Or rather focus on getting the experience no matter how little the pay.

With your experience,grade and quality skills,the sky is your starting point.

are candidates allowed to use calculators during job tests like dragnet exams?

Nice. Thanks for the enlightenment

Very brilliant stuff from xfire... I absolutely agree with all your points. While a Masters degree is a nice-to-have, it is not a must-to-have for a fresh grad. A sublime grade, fantastic communication skills and a measure of God's grace is all that is imperative

nitrogen:

Hey buddy, it is the truth, masters won't give you an edge, if you graduated with a 2.2, fine, your 2.2 and masters might land you test invites and interviews, aside that, your masters is a waste.

The most competitive jobs in the Market require Masters degree holder for entry level positions. Take it from me, a M.sc is an added advantage, it gives you more room to develop yourself, it gets you more prepared. No doubt you'll still have to compete with B.sc holders for most jobs.
You just have to agreee with me that on an average, an M.Sc graduate will beat a B.Sc graduate everytime.... The kill is having the M.sc in say USA, UK, Canada and the likes...

.

taiwolusol:

The most competitive jobs in the Market require Masters degree holder for entry level positions. Take it from me, a M.sc is an added advantage, it gives you more room to develop yourself, it gets you more prepared. No doubt you'll still have to compete with B.sc holders for most jobs.
You just have to agreee with me that on an average, an M.Sc graduate will beat a B.Sc graduate everytime.... The kill is having the M.sc in say USA, UK, Canada and the likes...

Who told you that the most competitive jobs require masters? please don't be a victim of ignorance.

I guess you have or will soon add masters to your collection, so its all consolation things.

@bolded, you are funny with that your assertion, wrong!

Thoughtful