Thavybe:
Sir, you have said it all. I am a fresh graduate from OAU and it is this same perception of focusing on academics alone that is ruining intelligent colleagues.

Albeit, we cannot mitigate the impact of graduating with a good cgpa, it should however not be seen as the golden ticket to having a successful career.

I think more emphasis should be made on skill.

Getting a good grade is good, but you should not rely on it. The streets is already over saturated with 2.1 and even 1.1, so if you think that your 2.1 is anything special then think again. The real issue is that employers are looking for people who can show that they got more than certificates, they want people who can produce results.

Ernst and Young recently said they were removing class of degree from their recruitment process, because they have found no relevance between grades and performance. Look at all the peeps that have been successful in their careers, you will discover that beyond grades they had that extra special something, that stood them apart from others. We want students to learn, not acquire paper they might never even understand how they got it in the first place.

A girl walked into my office for interview, and I looked at her CV it says Project management certified, then I ask her what's a project charter, and she is looking at me like am speaking chinese.

Skills come in different forms be it soft or technical, or management or IT, just develop yourself and keep learning, then when you walk into an office with a 2.1, you will have the attitude to back it up.

Thanks a lot @kaycodes

kaycodes:


This is the misconception that makes Nigerian universities produce 2.1 that can't defend their results.

We need to seriously remove this focus on class and grades. We need to focus more on skills and abilities.

Sorry, 2.1 don't put food on your table, skills do.

I can cofidently tell you that no one will employ you because you had a 2.1 or first class. Quote me anywhere.

Read my post well... Like I said, except you have legs or you have a friend that referred you to the firm. Most employers won't give you the chance to come and showcase your skills when you don't have the minimum requirements for the job advertised. No one is saying skills is not good, but if you no get the result, its a set back go a good candidate.

AltarBoy1:
Read my post well... Like I said, except you have legs or you have a friend that referred you to the firm. Most employers won't give you the chance to come and showcase your skills when you don't have the minimum requirements for the job advertised. No one is saying skills is not good, but if you no get the result, its a set back go a good candidate.

Again I reiterate, skills matter more.

I don't understand what people mean by having long legs, in my job search I discovered two important factors.

Experience counts a whole lot
Networking is very essential.

Securing the first job is usually where the challenge is, but securing experience is quite easy.

I don't know the industry you work in, so let me not speculate, but if you're still a student, irrespective of how wonderful your results are, start learning some real life practical application of your choosen field. Develop the needed skills in your choosen job/profession.

Network and get to know people within the industry and human resources field.

What people refer to as "Long Leg" is actually a very vital part of job searching, ignore it at your own peril. It's actually called networking.

I got a friend who just got a job in a multinational firm through someone she met at a seminar who she didn't know from Adam.

We keep having this stereotype of how things work, and dish out advices we have absolutely no idea about, that's my point here (Misconceptions).

Let me paint a scenario here as an example.

A young graduate with a fantastic result, keeps applying for positions within the customer service industry, now this graduate has anger issues, and has failed to work on it over the years. After passing all the written tests and exams he/she gets to the interview stage, and knowing our Nigerian HR personnel with their knack for trying to corner you he is asked a very annoying question (remember he is applying for CUSTOMER SERVICE) he gets pissed and gives the reply that might be expected in such scenario. He will loose the opportunity, because he lacks the NEEDED soft skills.

I am very confident that results play a minimum role these days in regards to your earning potential. Once you are willing to start from somewhere and gain experience 2.1 2.2 3rd class soon becomes rather irrelevant. It's all a matter of time.

Now to those who came out with 3rd class and 2.2, listen everyone will tell you to give up, some might even tell you to go back and write Jamb, listen to them at your own peril.
What you must understand at this point is that the system will never give you a chance, rather you need to find a way around the system.

People will pay you for the value you bring, find a way to add value to yourself, and you will find a way out.

I once wrote a letter to 23 CEO's of all the top firms I wanted to work in guess what, I got a call from the Acting HR Addax petroleum, their MD actually asked her to give me a call. Yeah, I didn't get the job and guess what? It wasn't because I did not have a 2.1 it was because I did not have the experience.

Your opinion is your's; reality is another thing entirely

Have a nice day.

kaycodes:


Again I reiterate, skills matter more.

I don't understand what people mean by having long legs, in my job search I discovered two important factors.

Experience counts a whole lot
Networking is very essential.

Securing the first job is usually where the challenge is, but securing experience is quite easy.

I don't know the industry you work in, so let me not speculate, but if you're still a student, irrespective of how wonderful your results are, start learning some real life practical application of your choosen field. Develop the needed skills in your choosen job/profession.

Network and get to know people within the industry and human resources field.

What people refer to as "Long Leg" is actually a very vital part of job searching, ignore it at your own peril. It's actually called networking.

I got a friend who just got a job in a multinational firm through someone she met at a seminar who she didn't know from Adam.

We keep having this stereotype of how things work, and dish out advices we have absolutely no idea about, that's my point here (Misconceptions).

Let me paint a scenario here as an example.

A young graduate with a fantastic result, keeps applying for positions within the customer service industry, now this graduate has anger issues, and has failed to develop them over the years. After passing all the written tests and exams he/she gets to the interview stage, and knowing our Nigerian HR personnel with their knack for trying to corner you he is asked a very annoying question (remember he is applying for CUSTOMER SERVICE) he gets pissed and gives the reply that might be expected in such scenario. He will loose the opportunity, because he lacks interpersonal skills.

I am very confident that results play a minimum role these days in regards to your earning potential.

Now to those who came out with 3rd class and 2.2, listen everyone will tell you to give up, some might even tell you to go back and write Jamb, listen to them at your own peril.
What you must understand at this point is that the system will never give you a chance, rather you need to find a way around the system.

People will pay you for the value you bring, find a way to add value to yourself, and you will find a way out.

I once wrote a letter to 23 CEO's of all the top firms I wanted to work in guess what, I got a call from the Acting HR Addax petroleum, their MD actually asked her to give me a call. Yeah, I didn't get the job and guess what? It wasn't because I did not have a 2.1 it was because I did not have the experience.

Your opinion is your's reality is another thing entirely

Have a nice day.

Sound practical advice.

Bottomline: Ensure you develop yourself and acquire life long skills that will position you for the top.

Thanks.

kaycodes:


Again I reiterate, skills matter more.

I don't understand what people mean by having long legs, in my job search I discovered two important factors..

Just like you said. Having a network of people that can refer you to a firm or for a job.

Experience counts a whole lot
Networking is very essential.

Am with you on this

Securing the first job is usually where the challenge is, but securing experience is quite easy.

The bolded is where the problem lies. In this age where most job are advertised online and those who didnt meet the minimum requirment, mostly 2.1 wont be called up for an interview. What then do you want the candidate to do. Just take a look at most recruitment thread here on nairaland. When invite starts rolling, you get to see people who were not invited. Not because they dont have the skills, but they didnt meet the minimum requirment. At times, they might even have the specified experience, but the firm wont even ask of it. That is why I said, if you dont have long legs networking as you call, it will be difficult to secure ones first job.

I don't know the industry you work in, so let me not speculate, but if you're still a student, irrespective of how wonderful your results are, start learning some real life practical application of your choosen field. Develop the needed skills in your choosen job/profession.

Network and get to know people within the industry and human resources field.

What people refer to as "Long Leg" is actually a very vital part of job searching, ignore it at your own peril. It's actually called networking.

I got a friend who just got a job in a multinational firm through someone she met at a seminar who she didn't know from Adam.

We keep having this stereotype of how things work, and dish out advices we have absolutely no idea about, that's my point here (Misconceptions).

Let me paint a scenario here as an example.

A young graduate with a fantastic result, keeps applying for positions within the customer service industry, now this graduate has anger issues, and has failed to work on it over the years. After passing all the written tests and exams he/she gets to the interview stage, and knowing our Nigerian HR personnel with their knack for trying to corner you he is asked a very annoying question (remember he is applying for CUSTOMER SERVICE) he gets pissed and gives the reply that might be expected in such scenario. He will loose the opportunity, because he lacks the NEEDED soft skills.

I am very confident that results play a minimum role these days in regards to your earning potential. Once you are willing to start from somewhere and gain experience 2.1 2.2 3rd class soon becomes rather irrelevant. It's all a matter of time.

Now to those who came out with 3rd class and 2.2, listen everyone will tell you to give up, some might even tell you to go back and write Jamb, listen to them at your own peril.
What you must understand at this point is that the system will never give you a chance, rather you need to find a way around the system.

People will pay you for the value you bring, find a way to add value to yourself, and you will find a way out.

I once wrote a letter to 23 CEO's of all the top firms I wanted to work in guess what, I got a call from the Acting HR Addax petroleum, their MD actually asked her to give me a call. Yeah, I didn't get the job and guess what? It wasn't because I did not have a 2.1 it was because I did not have the experience.

Maybe you help us with the tricks on how you were able to write a letter to CEOs of different companies. Is it a hard copy letter or soft copy. Cos I know pretty well that during my active job search days, I accessed almost all the websites of companies in Nigeria, picking their HR/email address and sent a mail to them. Only few responded that they will get back to me, but till today I havent heard from them. On the experience part, I know how many company I visited in Warri, Sapele and some part of Lagos seeking for the position of a volunteer staff in other to gain some experience, yet, non granted me that chance.

Your opinion is your's reality is another thing entirely

Have a nice day.

In as much as I understand your POV, on a normal basis, not all the candidates will be able to have the chance/opportunity to express/present their-self before a an employer in other to show case their skills/talent due to one reason or another. Hence, their in ability to secure a job.

But if your result meets the minimum requirement, even if you are not all that sharp. By the time you attend like 3-4 recruitment exercise for an entry level position, you must have learnt enough lesson/experience to ace the next exercise esp as these days most interview questions can be found online and it seems like most HR just want to hear their candidates blow big big grammar and thats all.
Skills is good, but result covers a multitude of sins in the Nigerian labour market.

Nice day too.

Yeah I get your point, I faced all that as well.

What, I just want others to take note of is that, poor grades ain't the end of the world.

Recruitment processes are the way they are, and things might not change for a long while.

However, you need to study the system and find a way round about it. If you can tell yourself the truth, and figure out why you failed
in school rather than blaming lecturers or the very corrupt system, you stand a better chance of getting things right.

Now to the part of my writing letters to the CEO's I knew it wasn't gonna be easy. I searched for the company's CEO on Google, then I found out the way their company's email was formatted. Gbam, I created their email addresses, and it was correct. So I sent the email out, and some bounced back of course then I would reverse the first and last name, and it would go through.

Here were two things that happened from that experience.

1. The CEO of Addax forwarded my mail personally to the head of HR. she called me and quoted the title of my piece, I said yes, I wrote that. She asked me some questions and said, "Well if you had gotten some years of experience in the oil and gas sector I would have been able to fit you in. Anyways send me your email and I'll talk to a few people" This gave me hope, not because I got the job, but because someone up there who didn't even know what I looked like, saaw my piece and took some interest, no matter how little, now that gave me hope.

2. I got contacted directly by the vice president of HR for Schlumberger on LinkedIn, and she said "Hey kingsley, Paul Kipsgaard, forwarded your email to me, now (Paul is the CEO of SLB) while I have no doubt that you have what it takes, it won't be fair to leave all those who have met the minimum requirements" Men I was thrilled. Now for the VP HR of SLB to take a tiny time to view my profile and write me a personal note, that was something else. I was inspired. I made more effort to develop myself, and I got better with time.

Today the story is different. Am not exactly where I want to be (cos I really like to aim high) but yeah, I love my job, and I work with the best team in the world...

So yeah, there is hope, but only if you are ready to work at it.

Finally don't ever ever ever forget the God factor, remember the race is not to the swift neither the battle to the strong, it's the Lord that showeth mercy.

Peace

To God be the glory.

http://hire.jobvite.com/CompanyJobs/Careers.aspx?c=qdR9VfwS&s=LIz1159&nl=1&page=Job%20Description&j=o4Rl1fw1

Okay guys, please check this out.

Advice: Re write your CV to reflect your interpersonal skills, and please add your skype accoun to your details as well.

If you've got some customer service skills, do try this out.

Peace.

kaycodes:
http://hire.jobvite.com/CompanyJobs/Careers.aspx?c=qdR9VfwS&s=LIz1159&nl=1&page=Job%20Description&j=o4Rl1fw1

Okay guys, please check this out.

Advice: Re write your CV to reflect your interpersonal skills, and please add your skype accoun to your details as well.

If you've got some customer service skills, do try this out.

Peace.

On second thought am gonna share the link to all the available positions.

These roles are mainly Remote positions so you can work from anywhere in the world.

If you've got concrete IT skills, then consider yourself a great candidate for most of the roles.

Wishing you all the best.

Remember this is the information age, focus on skills.


Finally on these jobs, no one wants to see your results or grades, just make sure you highlight your skills very well, and use the right keywords on your CV, otherwise the ATS will overlook your profile.

I'll await your success stories.

http://hire.jobvite.com/CompanyJobs/Careers.aspx?c=qdR9VfwS&s=LIz1159&nl=1&page=Jobs

kaycodes:


Again I reiterate, skills matter more.

I don't understand what people mean by having long legs, in my job search I discovered two important factors.

Experience counts a whole lot
Networking is very essential.

Securing the first job is usually where the challenge is, but securing experience is quite easy.

I don't know the industry you work in, so let me not speculate, but if you're still a student, irrespective of how wonderful your results are, start learning some real life practical application of your choosen field. Develop the needed skills in your choosen job/profession.

Network and get to know people within the industry and human resources field.

What people refer to as "Long Leg" is actually a very vital part of job searching, ignore it at your own peril. It's actually called networking.

I got a friend who just got a job in a multinational firm through someone she met at a seminar who she didn't know from Adam.

We keep having this stereotype of how things work, and dish out advices we have absolutely no idea about, that's my point here (Misconceptions).

Let me paint a scenario here as an example.

A young graduate with a fantastic result, keeps applying for positions within the customer service industry, now this graduate has anger issues, and has failed to work on it over the years. After passing all the written tests and exams he/she gets to the interview stage, and knowing our Nigerian HR personnel with their knack for trying to corner you he is asked a very annoying question (remember he is applying for CUSTOMER SERVICE) he gets pissed and gives the reply that might be expected in such scenario. He will loose the opportunity, because he lacks the NEEDED soft skills.

I am very confident that results play a minimum role these days in regards to your earning potential. Once you are willing to start from somewhere and gain experience 2.1 2.2 3rd class soon becomes rather irrelevant. It's all a matter of time.

Now to those who came out with 3rd class and 2.2, listen everyone will tell you to give up, some might even tell you to go back and write Jamb, listen to them at your own peril.
What you must understand at this point is that the system will never give you a chance, rather you need to find a way around the system.

People will pay you for the value you bring, find a way to add value to yourself, and you will find a way out.

.

GOD BLESS YOu sir, YOU said it all. Pls sir what advice can YOU give me i study mechanical engineering in one of great polytechnic goin to ND2,i intend to go into automobile engineering as a career sir what advice can YOU give me to make my dream come to pass thou i have no skill experience yet i will be glad to your respond

deewon56:
GOD BLESS YOu sir, YOU said it all. Pls sir what advice can YOU give me i study mechanical engineering in one of great polytechnic goin to ND2,i intend to go into automobile engineering as a career sir what advice can YOU give me to make my dream come to pass thou i have no skill experience yet i will be glad to your respond

The trick is to start early. You still got time, how passionate are you about cars, can you drive? It's not about having a fancy idea of what you wanna do, you must be really into it.

As a student of mechanical engineering, you're in the right path, academic wise. When you go for your IT, visit an automobile shop, I mean like a mechanic shop. If you get the opportunity to do your IT in a top notch automobile company, then you're very lucky but if not, then our local Kazeem's won't be a bad idea either. Now you have to couple your practical study with online resources. Learn the basics, and then apply your engineering knowledge to solving problems. Now if you spend one year, at a mechanic's workshop, you would have gained valuable knowledge and skills. If you visit automobile blogs, sites, and get books on engine repairs to add to your knowledge, you would have learnt what an average roadside mechanic would learn in 3yrs.

By leveraging your engineering knowledge and your Internet skills, and your practical traininig, you would already be ahead of your course mates that went to a fancy company where they never did anything of real importance.

Study about various cars, and know what makes them different, their pros and cons etc. The key to becoming the best in any industry is by learning your craft. People will pay for what you know, but you must learn, learn and learn.

Hello Everyone,

I really must apologize for my very long absence here...

I got married quite recently and it is one of the many reasons I was "away"....

I do have a lot more stories to tell-and I have learnt a whole lot (Life, really is a learning ground). Thanks, again to xfire for starting this and inspiring many people.

As we keep saying on this thread, you do not need to "know" anyone or be a "big man's" child to go far in life.
I will keep you guys posted.

Regards,

Me

kaycodes

Yours really is an inspiring story. Thank you so much for sharing.

Of Course, getting good grades can help get your CVs noticed, it is definitely no GUARANTEE that you will get a job or be more "successful" in life as a whole. Those of you still in school, do not, ever despise or look down on anyone you "think" you are "smarter" than (who even defines smartness self?). Although I made stellar grades in school, I am one who strongly believes that grades are not always a true reflection of a person's abilities.

Wish you all the very best through life

darellrivers:
Hello Everyone,

I really must apologize for my very long absence here...

I got married quite recently and it is one of the many reasons I was "away"....

I do have a lot more stories to tell-and I have learnt a whole lot (Life, really is a learning ground). Thanks, again to xfire for starting this and inspiring many people.

As we keep saying on this thread, you do not need to "know" anyone or be a "big man's" child to go far in life.
I will keep you guys posted.

Regards,

Me

Wooh! Happy Bountiful Married Life, MD. Can't wait for those stories o.

darellrivers:
Hello Everyone,

I really must apologize for my very long absence here...

I got married quite recently and it is one of the many reasons I was "away"....

I do have a lot more stories to tell-and I have learnt a whole lot (Life, really is a learning ground). Thanks, again to xfire for starting this and inspiring many people.

As we keep saying on this thread, you do not need to "know" anyone or be a "big man's" child to go far in life.
I will keep you guys posted.

Regards,

Me

**Clears throat**

So, you got married and "we" didn't get to hear.

Is that good?



Happy married life darellrivers.

We hope to 'see' you here more often.

pls someone should help me on what to do. I can no longer comment or quote people's comments in some thread. am I banned or what?

petengine:
pls someone should help me on what to do. I can no longer comment or quote people's comments in some thread. am I banned or what?

How about you mail seun or any of the mods

beau49:



How about you mail seun or any of the mods

how do I mail them pls? God bless!

petengine:

how do I mail them pls? God bless!

That's the issue I don't know their emails but you can try this,click on any section or the ones you visit most. At the top where the number of pages are I think there is a 'mail a mod' link there. Click on it and see where it takes ya.

darellrivers:
kaycodes

Yours really is an inspiring story. Thank you so much for sharing.

Of Course, getting good grades can help get your CVs noticed, it is definitely no GUARANTEE that you will get a job or be more "successful" in life as a whole. Those of you still in school, do not, ever despise or look down on anyone you "think" you are "smarter" than (who even defines smartness self?). Although I made stellar grades in school, I am one who strongly believes that grades are not always a true reflection of a person's abilities.

Wish you all the very best through life

Thanks,

Unfortunately, I was one of those who always asked "How do people fail?"

Life taught me some lessons. I am glad I went through all that, today I am better for the experience.

Happy Married life, hopefully I'll join you soon.....

Remain blessed.

Happy Married Life, DarellRivers.

May God grant you all you wish in it..

Happy Married life darellRivers. Coming from a fans of yours. Cheers!!

kaycodes:


Firstly am not an accountant, and am not a counsellor either, so am not gonna pretend I know what you need to learn. So am gonna give a general advice, learn your craft. It's a good thing you want to come out with a good grade, but before you finish your studies, make sure you are proficient/very good in at least 3 different accounting packages, this ensures that you got at leastt the basic skills to start from anywhere.

Start now to chart your career, and know the industry you want to practice in, accounting is a very wide course and there are many paths I believe. Plan your ICAN well in advance, and network with people in your field. Research further to know some juicy areas within the accounting field that you can specialise in. Now is the time to plan and chart your course. Don't wait till you are looking for a job. If I had someone tell me things I know today early enough, I probably would be at Microsoft by now. Nevertheless, am getting there

I currently do something totally different from what I studied in the university, and I am good at what I do because I love what I do. It's very easy to give your best when you are in love with your job. So dig deep, and discover your self, then align it to your course and see where it fits in. Your passion is actually your career, certficates are just a proof that you went to school, sadly todays' school system leave so much to be desired.

I have learnt alot from Nairaland, and I hope you can too.

Didn't want to quote your other post about efficiency. You said it all about not writing JAMB again cos the same course you're studying, so many peeps want to study it. Writing JAMB again is not a good idea. Like you said, develop your interests. I love your admonishment.

seal123:
what advice can you give to those who studied the "non marketable or lucrative courses" especially in the Arts and Humanities so has to enhance their employment and career prospects. I need a quick response. Cc. Xfire,darellrivers and others

. I still need an answer to this. Kaycodes, Big dreams, Xfire

kaycodes:


Again I reiterate, skills matter more.

I don't understand what people mean by having long legs, in my job search I discovered two important factors.

Experience counts a whole lot
Networking is very essential.

Securing the first job is usually where the challenge is, but securing experience is quite easy.

I don't know the industry you work in, so let me not speculate, but if you're still a student, irrespective of how wonderful your results are, start learning some real life practical application of your choosen field. Develop the needed skills in your choosen job/profession.

Network and get to know people within the industry and human resources field.

What people refer to as "Long Leg" is actually a very vital part of job searching, ignore it at your own peril. It's actually called networking.

I got a friend who just got a job in a multinational firm through someone she met at a seminar who she didn't know from Adam.

We keep having this stereotype of how things work, and dish out advices we have absolutely no idea about, that's my point here (Misconceptions).

Let me paint a scenario here as an example.

A young graduate with a fantastic result, keeps applying for positions within the customer service industry, now this graduate has anger issues, and has failed to work on it over the years. After passing all the written tests and exams he/she gets to the interview stage, and knowing our Nigerian HR personnel with their knack for trying to corner you he is asked a very annoying question (remember he is applying for CUSTOMER SERVICE) he gets pissed and gives the reply that might be expected in such scenario. He will loose the opportunity, because he lacks the NEEDED soft skills.

I am very confident that results play a minimum role these days in regards to your earning potential. Once you are willing to start from somewhere and gain experience 2.1 2.2 3rd class soon becomes rather irrelevant. It's all a matter of time.

Now to those who came out with 3rd class and 2.2, listen everyone will tell you to give up, some might even tell you to go back and write Jamb, listen to them at your own peril.
What you must understand at this point is that the system will never give you a chance, rather you need to find a way around the system.

People will pay you for the value you bring, find a way to add value to yourself, and you will find a way out.

I once wrote a letter to 23 CEO's of all the top firms I wanted to work in guess what, I got a call from the Acting HR Addax petroleum, their MD actually asked her to give me a call. Yeah, I didn't get the job and guess what? It wasn't because I did not have a 2.1 it was because I did not have the experience.

Your opinion is your's reality is another thing entirely

Have a nice day.

With respect, I hate the fact that you are evading the operative question, which is

'' How do you get to the interview in the first instance so as to prove your worth and showcase your skill given that firms like KPMG ,in the main, take applications online and will emphasize 2:1 on the website.
So how do you scale through that stage and be invited first to an interview if you don't have the 2:1 of a First but have good skills.
Thanks.

seal123:
. I still need an answer to this. Kaycodes, Big dreams, Xfire

Hi,

To be very candid with you, I don't see any course as non-marketable or non-lucrative.

The question is this, what is your passion?

What are you created for?

Throughout this thread, you would have discovered several nuggets of golden advice laying emphasis on what you can do.

You are what you make of your course.

I studied Management Technology (Project Management Option) in school not because that was what I wanted to study but what I found myself studying.

I have always loved to study music from my young age but circumstances of life deprived me of this.

I'm back studying professional music now in Peter King College of Music, Oko-Afo, Badagry in Lagos.

I abandoned my search for job and made a great sacrifice going back to what I should have studied about 15 years ago.

Friend, no course is non-lucrative and non-marketable.

There are loads of information that abound on the internet about that course.

You can give that course life and make things better for yourself.

Even if no one has done something tangible with that course, if you are truly passionate about it, you can be a pioneer starting new things.

I reiterate, you are what you make of whatever course you are studying.

God bless you.

SpeedyConnect:

With respect, I hate the fact that you are evading the operative question, which is

'' How do you get to the interview in the first instance so as to prove your worth and showcase your skill given that firms like KPMG ,in the main, take applications online and will emphasize 2:1 on the website.
So how do you scale through that stage and be invited first to an interview if you don't have the 2:1 of a First but have good skills.
Thanks.

I am very confident that results play a minimum role these days in regards to your earning potential. Once you are willing to start from somewhere and gain experience 2.1 2.2 3rd class soon becomes rather irrelevant. It's all a matter of time.

The bolded from the post you quoted answers your question.

Start from somewhere, it doesn't necessarily have to be with firms like KPMG as you mentioned.

Once you gain experience, your class of degree as he rightly mentioned becomes rather irrelevant.

You can work your way from where you are to where you will be.

TheRealAdonye:
Happy Married Life, DarellRivers.

May God grant you all you wish in it..

When is our own?
I have dates all picked out

Bigdreams:


I am very confident that results play a minimum role these days in regards to your earning potential. Once you are willing to start from somewhere and gain experience 2.1 2.2 3rd class soon becomes rather irrelevant. It's all a matter of time.

The bolded from the post you quoted answers your question.

Start from somewhere, it doesn't necessarily have to be with firms like KPMG as you mentioned.

Once you gain experience, your class of degree as he rightly mentioned becomes rather irrelevant.

You can work your way from where you are to where you will be.

Not necessarily KPMG? Why not? Because the requisite grade is not there. Isn't it? Now you go over to some other place. The person with the 2:1 can come to that place too but you can't go to KPMG with him. He has applied to KPMG and also applied to that place you with a lesser grade wants to apply to.

It's needless living in denial or delusions of grandeur.
The importance of good grades shouldn't be underestimated as it affects many things ranging from securing a cushy job to getting scholarships.


As an aside, it should be noted that lack of 2:1 or a First isn't the end of the road as many have used that as a stepping stone to greatness. Methinks, only in scenarios like this should skill be emphasized or placed above good grades.

darellrivers:
Hello Everyone,

I really must apologize for my very long absence here...

I got married quite recently and it is one of the many reasons I was "away"....

I do have a lot more stories to tell-and I have learnt a whole lot (Life, really is a learning ground). Thanks, again to xfire for starting this and inspiring many people.

As we keep saying on this thread, you do not need to "know" anyone or be a "big man's" child to go far in life.
I will keep you guys posted.

Regards,

Me

Happy married life, (may) God bless your union.

SpeedyConnect:

With respect, I hate the fact that you are evading the operative question, which is

'' How do you get to the interview in the first instance so as to prove your worth and showcase your skill given that firms like KPMG ,in the main, take applications online and will emphasize 2:1 on the website.
So how do you scale through that stage and be invited first to an interview if you don't have the 2:1 of a First but have good skills.
Thanks.

Hate what you want, I am not here to give you a magic wand, on how to be called for interviews.

How many 2:1 get the job after being called for interviews?

Or can you point to any company that has ever said "Hey we employed this dude because he had a 2:1"

So no one is avoiding any questions.

Read my answers one after the other, maybe then you might get something out of it.

Skills differ, and the way I display mine might and will be different from yours.

Find what works for you, there is no magic to success, you have to keep working at what you love to do.

There are two ways to most big firms, Graduate entry, and Experienced hire.

There are also plenty of firms without grade restrictions that still offer a decent pay.

Study your industry and know what works and what doesn't but one thing that works in all field is experience.

I know peeps who came out as mechanical engineers, with poor grades, they went and did apprentice-ship with Heavy duty truck mechanics aka Diesel techs, for about a year today the story is different. While peeps were advising him to do PGD and masters, he realised that practical experience will be of more benefit than PGD in a technical course like mech engr. How Mr A navigated the waters of job search will be different from how Mr B did it, but take two things seriously,

1. Your Network.
2. Gain some form of experience.

Again this advice should not only be followed by guys with poor grades, this is actually what every graduate irrespective of your grades that wants' to succeed should do. While waiting for your dream job/career, continue learning your craft, all it takes is your determination.

This does not in any way support poor grades, rather we are just tryinng to point out the fact that your grades are in no way a correlation to your success in life, especially not with the kind of educational system that is obtainable in Nigeria.