Olushola

I want to start this second part of the spiritual side of job search by saying a big “thank you” to all that read the first part and said a word of prayer for me. I believe so much in your prayers because I know it came from your heart and I know God heard you when you typed that prayer in your mail or in the blog. It is a load of blessings for me and I put all the prayers together and I say God will honour them in the lives of everyone that reads this too, Amen.

Talking about prayer, the lessons I want to pass across in this piece will not be complete without saying that prayer is the foundation of my story. If you will ever doubt anything I tell you, make sure you do not doubt this – GOD ANSWERS A SINCERE PRAYER.

This is the beginning of my story. When I was in my final year, it dawn on me that I will soon graduate and start looking for job and there was this fear that always come to me anytime I think about what happens after graduation. Looking back now, I think it was just right that I was having that fear because my expectation of help was in man and not God.

I had an uncle then who used to work in a Federal Ministry directly with the Minister. I used to think that he was there for me and I could expect that with his connection I would be able to get a job. My perception was to change later when one of my elder sisters who had graduated was still not gainfully employed after waiting for help from the Uncle. This sister of mine was smart and had a second class upper. She was the ‘effico’* type, those people that used to represent their secondary school in quiz and JETS competitions (Junior Engineers, Technicians & Scientists).

I became more fearful of what my post-graduation days held for me and I began to get worried. I was telling myself that if my uncle didn’t get my sister a job, it means that I would come and join the queue of those he needed to help. Meanwhile, I had another sister ahead of me who was in National service. Automatically, my tally number would be 3.

In the midst of these worry and confusion, I decided to pray and fast. I prayed to God that;

I never wanted any man to take His glory in my life concerning how I would get a job
I didn’t want to be without a job when I finished service
And that I surrender my career to Him

I prayed until I had a feeling of peace within me and I continued those prayers till I started experiencing the answers. God answered all the prayer points as things would later turn out in my life. If for this alone, I know God answers prayers and He can answer yours too.

As mentioned in the first part of this piece, let me tell you about my first post NYSC employment as you see how God does things in His own way.

During my service days, I identified with the Nigerian Christian Corper Fellowship (NCCF) and they organised a personal development programme in which an external speaker who was a Management Consultant was invited. The external speaker spoke so intelligently and eloquently that everyone in the meeting was charged up. It was such an inspiring delivery. While all the talk was going on, I told myself that I must discuss with this man one on one about my career before I left Warri, my place of primary assignment.

I had developed interest in human resource management since I was in my final year when I was writing my dissertation and I had a desire to work in a consulting firm. The interest and desire came up when I was reading management textbooks for my literature review. Here was a Management Consultant who ran his own firm, so I thought it will be nice to take counsel from him about how to start off in my area of interest.

The personal development programme took place in April, which was four months into my service year. When it was November and getting to the end of my service year, I got his contact details from NCCF secretariat and I called his office line to talk to him about seeing him. He agreed to see me and I went there with my list of career questions. We had a good talk and I left.

My passing out parade was in December so I decided to travel home end of November with some of my things so I could travel light after the passing out parade, I was getting ready to leave Warri. I came back early December and I was told that the Management Consultant came looking for me and dropped a note. When I checked the note, he asked me to come and see him. He came looking for me at the residential camp where most of the guys in NCCF stayed.

I went to his office the following day to see him. I had no idea what the meeting was about until I got there. He told me he submitted a proposal for a consulting project, that it was going to be huge and he would need additional staff to join his team to execute the project. He said he was wondering if I would be interested in joining the team. That sounded great as what I really wanted was starting my career in a consulting environment. I had that opportunity offered to me without writing an application letter or submitting a CV nor attending a job interview. I managed to contain my excitement at his presence; behaved calmly, asked few questions and he said he would send me an e-mail on further communication.

When I got out of his sight, I screamed “thank you Jesus!” In the last month of my service year, I was offered a job in a consulting environment, the type of environment I wanted to start my career.

Is God not a prayer answering God? The job did not come through any man’s connection and it came before the end of my service year. These were my prayer points when I was in my final year being answered by God in a way I did not expect.

That job really started me up in my career. By January of the following year, I was on the project; I travelled from one location to the other conducting job analysis and writing reports on the finance department of a top government parastatal in the oil and gas sector. I had my first opportunities to facilitate training programmes to corporate organisations; I represented my boss in public speaking engagements to the youth just like the one where I first met him. All these came with learning fast and being tutored by my boss.
The first time he told me I was going to represent him to speak at an engagement; I wished the day never came. I was so scared because he was a known figure, featuring on TV programmes to speak on economic and political issues. I was thinking who would listen to me when they knew he was supposed to come and talk. He taught me what to do and the speech went well.

That was how God started me up in a consulting environment. Thank God I prayed, thank God I had a desire and thank God He granted my desire.

Here are the lessons for you from my story;

God answers prayer. He is a merciful and compassionate God. He is not greedy and He is always willing to give. If you cast your burdens upon Him, He is willing to help you. He answered my prayers about my job, He can answer yours today
God wants you to trust Him for your life, not a man that He created. Man can fail you but God can never fail you.
God does not want you jobless, so do not accept joblessness
God leads you every day, you only need to be sensitive and do what He asks you to day.

The lessons in this second part of the Spiritual Side of Job Search can be summarised in this passage from the bible, Pro 3: 5-7 (Message Version);

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything you do, everywhere you go; He’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil!

In part three, I am going to tell you about my exit from my first post NYSC job for no job and prove to you that God does not want you jobless.

Do me two favours;

1. Do not just read this, be bold enough and take a step of faith to trust God for your career

2. If you know anyone this can be a blessing to, forward it to them. They can also read this part and the first one here

Cheers.

Akindele Afolabi

esbjaygmailco:
Olushola

I want to start this second part of the spiritual side of job search by saying a big “thank you” to all that read the first part and said a word of prayer for me. I believe so much in your prayers because I know it came from your heart and I know God heard you when you typed that prayer in your mail or in the blog. It is a load of blessings for me and I put all the prayers together and I say God will honour them in the lives of everyone that reads this too, Amen.

Talking about prayer, the lessons I want to pass across in this piece will not be complete without saying that prayer is the foundation of my story. If you will ever doubt anything I tell you, make sure you do not doubt this – GOD ANSWERS A SINCERE PRAYER.

This is the beginning of my story. When I was in my final year, it dawn on me that I will soon graduate and start looking for job and there was this fear that always come to me anytime I think about what happens after graduation. Looking back now, I think it was just right that I was having that fear because my expectation of help was in man and not God.

I had an uncle then who used to work in a Federal Ministry directly with the Minister. I used to think that he was there for me and I could expect that with his connection I would be able to get a job. My perception was to change later when one of my elder sisters who had graduated was still not gainfully employed after waiting for help from the Uncle. This sister of mine was smart and had a second class upper. She was the ‘effico’* type, those people that used to represent their secondary school in quiz and JETS competitions (Junior Engineers, Technicians & Scientists).

I became more fearful of what my post-graduation days held for me and I began to get worried. I was telling myself that if my uncle didn’t get my sister a job, it means that I would come and join the queue of those he needed to help. Meanwhile, I had another sister ahead of me who was in National service. Automatically, my tally number would be 3.

In the midst of these worry and confusion, I decided to pray and fast. I prayed to God that;

I never wanted any man to take His glory in my life concerning how I would get a job
I didn’t want to be without a job when I finished service
And that I surrender my career to Him

I prayed until I had a feeling of peace within me and I continued those prayers till I started experiencing the answers. God answered all the prayer points as things would later turn out in my life. If for this alone, I know God answers prayers and He can answer yours too.

As mentioned in the first part of this piece, let me tell you about my first post NYSC employment as you see how God does things in His own way.

During my service days, I identified with the Nigerian Christian Corper Fellowship (NCCF) and they organised a personal development programme in which an external speaker who was a Management Consultant was invited. The external speaker spoke so intelligently and eloquently that everyone in the meeting was charged up. It was such an inspiring delivery. While all the talk was going on, I told myself that I must discuss with this man one on one about my career before I left Warri, my place of primary assignment.

I had developed interest in human resource management since I was in my final year when I was writing my dissertation and I had a desire to work in a consulting firm. The interest and desire came up when I was reading management textbooks for my literature review. Here was a Management Consultant who ran his own firm, so I thought it will be nice to take counsel from him about how to start off in my area of interest.

The personal development programme took place in April, which was four months into my service year. When it was November and getting to the end of my service year, I got his contact details from NCCF secretariat and I called his office line to talk to him about seeing him. He agreed to see me and I went there with my list of career questions. We had a good talk and I left.

My passing out parade was in December so I decided to travel home end of November with some of my things so I could travel light after the passing out parade, I was getting ready to leave Warri. I came back early December and I was told that the Management Consultant came looking for me and dropped a note. When I checked the note, he asked me to come and see him. He came looking for me at the residential camp where most of the guys in NCCF stayed.

I went to his office the following day to see him. I had no idea what the meeting was about until I got there. He told me he submitted a proposal for a consulting project, that it was going to be huge and he would need additional staff to join his team to execute the project. He said he was wondering if I would be interested in joining the team. That sounded great as what I really wanted was starting my career in a consulting environment. I had that opportunity offered to me without writing an application letter or submitting a CV nor attending a job interview. I managed to contain my excitement at his presence; behaved calmly, asked few questions and he said he would send me an e-mail on further communication.

When I got out of his sight, I screamed “thank you Jesus!” In the last month of my service year, I was offered a job in a consulting environment, the type of environment I wanted to start my career.

Is God not a prayer answering God? The job did not come through any man’s connection and it came before the end of my service year. These were my prayer points when I was in my final year being answered by God in a way I did not expect.

That job really started me up in my career. By January of the following year, I was on the project; I travelled from one location to the other conducting job analysis and writing reports on the finance department of a top government parastatal in the oil and gas sector. I had my first opportunities to facilitate training programmes to corporate organisations; I represented my boss in public speaking engagements to the youth just like the one where I first met him. All these came with learning fast and being tutored by my boss.
The first time he told me I was going to represent him to speak at an engagement; I wished the day never came. I was so scared because he was a known figure, featuring on TV programmes to speak on economic and political issues. I was thinking who would listen to me when they knew he was supposed to come and talk. He taught me what to do and the speech went well.

That was how God started me up in a consulting environment. Thank God I prayed, thank God I had a desire and thank God He granted my desire.

Here are the lessons for you from my story;

God answers prayer. He is a merciful and compassionate God. He is not greedy and He is always willing to give. If you cast your burdens upon Him, He is willing to help you. He answered my prayers about my job, He can answer yours today
God wants you to trust Him for your life, not a man that He created. Man can fail you but God can never fail you.
God does not want you jobless, so do not accept joblessness
God leads you every day, you only need to be sensitive and do what He asks you to day.

The lessons in this second part of the Spiritual Side of Job Search can be summarised in this passage from the bible, Pro 3: 5-7 (Message Version);

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything you do, everywhere you go; He’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil!

In part three, I am going to tell you about my exit from my first post NYSC job for no job and prove to you that God does not want you jobless.

Do me two favours;

1. Do not just read this, be bold enough and take a step of faith to trust God for your career

2. If you know anyone this can be a blessing to, forward it to them. They can also read this part and the first one here

Cheers.

Akindele Afolabi

You deserve more than thanks for this write up but all i can give now is thanks . Its reallY a blessing to read this . Although am in need of a Job , i will now look unto him cuz he's always been good to me too . I startaed working before and after my service year , which was a contract Job . The contract will expire by Febuary but your write-up has add to my faith that God will continue his good work and bless me .

Thanks

Great write up. Weldon!

Yes........God indeed does answer prayer!

Yes, he answers prayers

I completely agree. God is one who makes impossible- possible. I connect to your testimony my career path will change for good.

prayer works i will never forget that day in my life doing my industrial attachment in a village, i climb a mountain in a bush,stay there and pray all night, no food,no water,i prophesied to my future that night,it was an awesome experience,i know my my background so i have no option than to speak to my future that night,but today God has put smile in my face,a life of no struggle,wish i can go back to that mountain,wish i can go back to that mountain..........Prayer is key.

Just in case...op I no even read am,cos e too long and jam packed.

@Op . . . With this sound write Up i believe you are way too sane to leave your PP the way it is.
BTW, I should print this out for some folks to read.