As a student you probably would not believe us if we
tell you that are absolutely naive and no, you are not
on top of the world.

You will soon graduate from the university, service
year is going to be awesome (at least according to the
stories you’ve heard).
After service, you are going to get a job, have a family,
build a home, become a millionaire and live happily
ever after.

There is just one problem with your plan. The only
problem with your plan is the real world.
This article is to lets students know things to look out
for before they graduate so they don’t get railroaded.


1. A DEGREE DOES NOT ENTITLE YOU TO A JOB

We all know getting a degree means a lot of hard work
and commitment but because you have a degree does
not mean somebody is going to grant you an
automatic job offer.
Gone are the days when all you needed to get a good
job was a university degree.
We were all told the same lies in secondary school,
get a university degree and a mouth watering job
would fall on your lap.

The smart people are the ones who figured out this lie
early in school and made sure the time they spent in
school would separate from other students who were
busy enjoying school life to the fullest.
It’s time to get your head out of the sand.


2. START THE JOB SEARCH BEFORE YOU GRADUATE

Job hunting is a complicated thing and there is no
almighty formula for you to acquire a job. Job seeking
is not something you can “cram” for and pour out
everything during an exam. There are no cheat notes
for post-graduation experience.
The job hunting business is an on-the-training
experience and the best way to get ahead of your
colleagues is to start your career exploration during
your service year or better yet during your university
days.

You can research branches of your field, do internships
(industrial trainings), find out what size of company is
for you, and practice job searching techniques.
Put these tips in play and by the time you’re done with
service, you’ll be prepared for the next phase of your
life and it will be quite tricky for reality to hit you with
tons of bricks.


3. FACEBOOK IS FOREVER

Not just facebook, but twitter, instagram, and every
other social network that you decide to be a part of.
What does this mean to an average student? Well it
means that every obscure joke you post on Facebook,
every explicit picture you share, every inappropriate
comment will be visible to the world when you become
famous or when you go job hunting.

At the very least, know how to manipulate your social
media privacy settings and restrain yourself from
littering your social media accounts with unfitting
content.
Being appropriate on the web is just as important for a
political career as it is for finding employment. Your
binge drinking photos might be funny now but they
won’t be so hilarious in five years time.


4. LIFE IS EXPENSIVE

You are probably surviving on the allowance you
receive from your parents right now and you’ve
realized that life can be expensive, EXPENSIVE.
Just wait until you have to live on your own, probably
during service year or when you get your first job.
By the time you pay for house rents, transportation
fare, recharge cards, light bills, water bills, food,
utilities, and every miscellaneous expense. It won’t
take long before you realize that life is expensive.

Everything would suddenly become so expensive that
you would sometimes feel like crying.
This is one of the most painful things to learn.
EVERYTHING costs money.
Anytime from now, you should learn how to create a
budget for yourself. Otherwise your rent will be due,
your kitchen will be empty and you will be busy
dodging from the people you owe money.


5. NEVER BE SCARED TO TAKE CHANCES

This is probably the most important lesson you have
to learn before you graduate, never be scared to take
chances. You’ll never get anywhere you want if you
don’t take calculated risks every now and then.
No one is telling you to jump out of a plane or go
swimming with crocodiles (which would be awesome if
you survive), but nothing in life comes easy. Yes, it is
cliché, but it the hard truth. After all, nothing can
deputise experience.

When you become a graduate, the best option is not
becoming a boring office robot whose life revolves
around work.
Your twenties and thirties are the some of the best
years of your life, we kid you not.
Do not be afraid to face the real world with open arms,
explore opportunities, and take chances. You’ll be
surprised at what fate has in stock for you.


6. LEARN HOW TO INTERACT WITH PEOPLE

Learning how to interact is a very valuable skill you
need to have in your belt. It is a “street smart” skill.
You could read a million books on how to interact with
people but the only way to develop your interaction
skill is to put it into practice constantly until it
becomes a part of you.
This skill will surely be tested each time you go for a
job interview. Heck! You even need this job more if
you are an entrepreneur.

Learn to greet people with a smile. Say “thank you,
please and I appreciate” whenever the situation deems
necessary. These small gestures go a long way to
make a huge difference. Don’t be so quick to dismiss
the power of appreciation and courtesy.

Make small talk, get to know anyone you have to
spend more than thirty minutes with, help them if you
can. Who knows? You might meet your own saviour.
Don’t know what to talk about? You could talk about
the TV shows you watch, the cool blogs you visit on
the net, the weather – hint hint : ).
Learn to be always positive, make sure people smile
after talking to you.


7. A SKILL WILL GET YOU FARTHER THAN YOUR CERTIFICATE

What we recommend is that you pick up as many
skills as possible, as long as you have a passion for
it. Do not say “I am studying English Language, why
do I need to learn HTML?” If you are computer major,
take a couple of management trainings. It will help you
in the long run.

The skills you acquire do not necessarily have to be
educational; you could learn tailoring, baking,
programming, carpentry . . . anything. You never know
when your minor skill will become your added
advantage, or your primary source of income.
Not only that, you will be able to converse with a
larger variety of different people, plus it shows your
employer that you are a fast and versatile learner.


8. SAVE SOMETHING – ANYTHING

Start saving now and you’ll be setting the foundation
of your financial future.
There is always a need to save, even if it is the tiniest
bit each month. Like we said earlier, life is expensive
and the best way to be prepared is for you start saving
right now.
Whether it’s for a big purchase, an emergency or for
your future it’s important to have a little money for fall
back to during rainy days. Trust us, those days will
come.


9. YOU ARE GOING TO NEED A LOT OF HARDWORK

You are now a graduate, you no longer need to read
through the night, attend boring lectures and write
difficult examinations. Your life should be an easy pie
from here. Right?....Wrong!!!

In fact, this is the time that you need to work harder
than you imagined, if you want to be successful.
Although you could relax; get a federal government
appointment, and retire on your pension. This is
perfect, if you want to be mediocre.
We are you are among those that want to be
successful. In order to do that, you are going to need a
lot of brain work, stay up late at nights and lots of
reading if you are going to be among the 1%.
Even if your father is a billionaire, it’s a lot of hard
work maintaining all that money.


10.SUCCESS TAKES TIME

After applying all these, do not expect to become a
millionaire overnight, or in a week or in a month.
Success takes time.
No matter the amount of hard work, Success takes
time.
If you are in a hurry to be successful, you will either
fall prey to money swindlers or get yourself entangled
in something highly illegal. Neither of them sounds
good.

That’s all for now!
You don’t have to wait until you graduate to gain these
little nuggets of wisdom. Put them to use! Then start
collecting some of your own
Already have something to add? Leave them in the
comment section below.

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Noted

nice post...it pays to be "street smart" as well as "book smart" crowned with good social skills as this can come handy somedays...