Stumbled upon this and I thought I should share

Over two decades ago, someone had a grand plan. It was a road map to inevitable success. In the script, he/she was going to complete a Bachelor’s degree by age 19, masters by 20 and PhD at 23. The climax was, companies will lose their heads to get him/her, who will eventually settle for the one with the best package.
In my case, I added getting married to a figure 8, raising a family and living happily till my dying day.
That’s not a bad dream you’ll agree, but the problem is, actors in the real world interpret scripts quite differently…

You’re now in your twenties/thirties, and it seems you’re miles away from ‘there’, at least the part where companies come begging to have you.

You suddenly realize you chose the wrong course of study so you have limited chances of getting a job, that you have not the kind of ‘connections’ to land that big job and in fact, that there are no jobs.

This is actually one of the reasons you don’t have a job: YOU DON’T KNOW the real reasons you don’t have a job.

You get what you deserve. No more, maybe less.

Except you’re looking to work in a particular industry and as such selective in your job search, the real reason you don’t have a job is because you don’t deserve one…you can quote me.

First things first, what can you do? If the tables were turned, what would ‘you’ pay yourself for?

By the way, if you don’t have an answer to that question you may stop looking for a job. Find an answer first. When a good number of young people in this part of the world say they need a job, what they actually want (unknowingly, maybe) is someone to give them pocket money. Simple.

Getting a job requires that you have something to offer in exchange for money. Value for value. Not value for nothing.

Now let’s distinguish what you think you can do from what you actually can do.

You have a first degree in Mathematics, so we all believe you can teach secondary school mathematics but that’s not where it ends. You do think you can teach but truth is, in the real world, I mean in the employer’s world, you can’t!

It’s just like spending six years studying Medicine and graduating without a certificate – Validation. Whatever knowledge we claim to have is implausible without proof.

So, what do I mean by validation?

Yes, you guessed right. I was going to talk about ‘experience – the Nigerian university graduate’s nightmare. And just before you tag me – proud folk fortunate to have a good life, thinking every one without a job is ‘unserious’, let me make a submission:

A good number of us know what experience is not but only a handful know what it is.

Humans are generally of two kinds; those who spent most of their growing up years garnering experience- involuntarily maybe, and those who grew with little or no orientation of self-sustenance.
The vast majority of people being born since the late 20th century belong to the later, which is not bad if your parents/guardians have enough resources to groom you to such levels where you may not need to find a job, if you know what I mean.

From personal observation, and on a very general note, those that grew up having to earn a living for themselves from very tender ages have the least tendency to become job seekers. Most times, they tend toward owning businesses and when they choose to pursue career paths and get paid jobs, they never lack opportunities or, are better at creating opportunities for themselves, if that puts it better.

From whichever perspective we choose to see it, our upbringing regardless, truth is, We all can better position ourselves for that dream job, if we make use of the right approach.

At this point, it becomes very important to dis-abuse our minds of some wrong notions we hold.

First of all,

WORK EXPERIENCE IS MOST IMPORTANTLY WHAT YOU MAKE IT TO BE

Except in cases where the employer is only willing to consider candidates with experience in specific companies/organisations for job openings, you’ll be amazed how many prospective applicants CAN apply but DO NOT apply. This is particularly true for job placements requiring less than 4 years experience.

As far as experience goes, it isn’t simply about what you can do. Going further, the question becomes: WHAT CAN YOU MAKE OF WHAT YOU HAVE DONE?

Some people have served in varying capacities in fields of industry but don’t know how to present what they know in the light of the required relevance, for the particular job opening.

Many times, this is simply due to ignorance- the prospective employee not knowing what his/her experience translates to.

One may need the help of a career professional to get this right.

IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE ‘POST’ ANY ACADEMIC QUALIFICATION.

Except otherwise stated by employer (which most times is aimed at preventing applicants from claiming experience they don’t actually possess), pre-qualification experience is as valid as post-qualification experience.

The vast majority of multinational corporations in Nigeria bring in expatriate staff who garnered substantial part of their work experience ever before getting any academic qualification. This is particularly through for expatriates from Asia and the middle-east. In fact, most people in the early/mid twentieth century had work experience from jobs they got with High school certificates before pursuing further studies.

These days, much less than half the job openings requiring experience, make post-qualification experience a requirement. Majority will consider undergraduate experience if properly presented, yet, many job seekers don’t take advantage of this.

IT IS NOT NECESSARILY GOTTEN FROM PAID EMPLOYMENT. WHY NOT VOLUNTEER?

This is one of the most effective ways of gaining meaningful experience but sadly, still very alien to job seekers in this part of the world.

Truth is, hardly will a company refuse a volunteer.

For fresh graduates in this clime, volunteering is a very effective way to break into your chosen field and gain experience in the process.

I dare to say that cash spent on self-sustenance during this kind of volunteer work is more justified than that spent on heaping certifications, without experience. After all, certifications are meant primarily to ratify knowledge you claim to already have.

Lastly, for young graduates with little or no work history, there’s a good chance you’ll get hired through your efforts at gathering experience: for example, by volunteering. This is because what ultimately matters is being able to lend proof to what you claim to know and proof (of knowledge), is what experience gives.

Exactly a year after graduation, I went back to pay one of my lecturers a courtesy visit. Now, apart from the fact that NYSC was over and I had missed civilized people, I needed to seek permission to use him as a referee in my curriculum vitae. The very exposed academician said something that day, and in his very words, ‘you better proceed for further studies and not go running after jobs. With a master’s degree, you’re sure to earn more in the end’

I can imagine how many of us have been told the same thing.

It’s not a bad piece of advice, especially from someone who had lived the major part of his adult life in the academic environment; the question however is, does anyone ever ‘earn more’ simply by getting a higher degree?

I’d say yes, if only one acquires more skills in the process of earning it.

What is sure to better your chances at getting a job,expose you to greater opportunities and ultimately earn you more is possessing required skills.

Brian Tracy puts it this way: building success is like climbing a ladder, each rung corresponds to a new skill and good thing is, every skill can be learnt.

See, i have learnt never to engage in a tussle to make my opinion acceptable to anyone. You also should learn same. Reason is, wisdom is justified by her children. It really doesn’t take long to know who had always been right. Time will always tell, and it does sooner nowadays than in the past.This is why in every work environment; we have superiors who seem not as ‘learned’ or educated as the people under them. The truth actually is that they are the ones with the most relevant skills for the job.

At the tertiary level, the kind of educational system we run in Nigeria is largely British oriented. It lays greater emphasis on instilling soundness and conceptual depth. In the United States and Canada, higher education is delivered with the market place in focus.

Many people with first degrees in Nigeria have gone to the UK for further studies, come back and wish they had not committed that amount of resources to a ‘mere’ master’s degree (it usually becomes mere after it’s over). I am in no way against further studies in the UK. My annoyance however is, it means nothing without being adequately familiar with relevant practical processes.

To be relevant in the market place, you need to discover and learn skills germane to your prospective field of industry. Again, beyond conceptual depth, you need to develop skills- skills relevant to your field.

Show me an unemployed graduate, I’ll show you someone who does not have, has not developed or is simply ignoring his/her skills!

I can’t say this enough: employers will normally prefer a first degree holder with the right skills to a master’s degree holder with no skills.

Culled from jobcabal

i half head