I want to crave the indulgence of everyone to read this story carefully and share it if possible because it concerns everyone. Those planning to enter university (jambite), those in the university (undergraduates), those that have finished from the university (graduates), those serving the nation (Corpers) and those done serving the nation (job seekers). I promise you if you will read this carefully, your problem is 50% solved. Everything stated here are real and practical steps taken and lessons learnt along the way. For the sake of confidentiality I would not mention the names of the companies involved and would rather use fictitious names.

I begin. Several factors influence ones choice of course into the Nigerian university system. Its either you write jamb and you are frustrated then you just pick any random course that can get you into the four walls of a university or polytechnic or you write jamb and you don’t get the cutoff for the course you applied for and the university decides to give you a course to pursue. Sometimes even when you get the actual course you want, for those that make merit list or go to a private university several factors influence your choice of that course. Maybe you saw how doctors and lawyers dress and you were moved to study the course so you can dress like that. Probably you had a childhood ambition to pursue a particular discipline and you just want to fulfill that ambition without minding your areas of strength or weakness, your areas of gifting’s or talent. The reality of it all is that most of us do not have a career path.


Now you are in the university. You are an undergraduate. Understand that the Nigerian university system is to everyone’s advantage. How do I mean you might wonder? It provides everyone with a level playing field. Most of what we are taught is theory so do not let anyone look down on you because of the course you studied. It is now left to you to distinguish yourself from the crowd or join the crowd. At the end of every semester it is advisable you volunteer or intern somewhere. Don’t wait for the period of Industrial training alone. Don’t be after money at this stage too. The implication of doing this is that you will gain soft skills and your eye will begin to open to the reality of the Nigerian environment. To even secure a place to do internship you will see the amount of effort you will have to put in if you do not have a very influential connection. The Nigeria of today an ordinary connection would not do you any good. If you want to take the connection path. You will need a really influential connection to get in. But do not deny yourself of the experience of going through the normal route of applying for internships or volunteering somewhere. Some people get retained in the process, if the company sees potential in you. This internships would also help build your cv.


[b]Regarding your studies.[/b]please take it very serious and try as much as possible to finish on a 2.1 or first class. The vacancies of today ask for minimum of 2.1 in most cases. Don’t use your hand to shortchange yourself. If you eventually finish on a 2.2 or third class don’t lose hope but be rest assured it is going to be a long route to enter an organization especially the ones that pay well. You will need to find a way to gather experience and skill somewhere before you can come back to apply as an experienced hire. But why take that long route when you can shorten that distance by finishing on a 2.1 or first class.

[b]Your final year project.[/b]Most people do not know the value of this that is why they foolishly contract it out to someone to do for them. Buy projects or just reproduce what someone else has done. Take this seriously as it has landed some people jobs. Be intentional about your project topic. Choose something relevant to the happenings in the country. Do not deny yourself of the experience that would be gained through project research. I also plead with Nigerian lecturers not to fail students too but rather show them the way if they are going out of course. I did my project on a popular television station and the MD whom I was privileged to interview after 3 months or trying to pass the gate of that station asked me to ensure I send him a copy of my project when it is done. You can imagine if I wanted to work there, that alone has given me free access.

[b]Now you are a graduate.[/b]Don’t get too excited. Your country will not call you up immediately you graduate to come and serve. There is usually a period of waiting before you are called upon to serve your nation. Don’t sit down at home for a day. Go out and look for something to do. You could market for someone, be a salesperson, volunteer somewhere, intern somewhere. By all means find something to do that you can learn from and improve yourself. I was a salesperson. Several soft skills were acquired in the course of my work. I learnt the art of selling, negotiation, handling customers, customer service etc these are skills that would be useful even in a corporate environment. Take certification exams. Start practicing GMAT, GRE, SHL etc as these are the format most standardized test take.

[b]Time to serve.[/b]This is one very dicey period in the life of every Nigerian graduate. You know why? If you are not careful, you might end up wasting one year of your life. You will have a lot of free time believe me. It is now up to you to invest it or waste it. I advise you to take trainings and write professional exams. Learn a skill. Continue practicing GMAT, GRE, SHL etc Learn how to write cover letters and cv. Don’t contract your cv out. Learn how to write it yourself. Give a professional to help you review and make adjustments. Watch interview videos. Be careful when preparing your cv at this stage and look out for grammatical errors. Remove unnecessary information on your cv so it doesn’t look clumsy. In the course of your youth service you might hear of some vacancies. Please apply. Usually the recruitment process of multinationals takes a while. It is usually in stages.

[b]When Applying.[/b]Recruiters find it insulting when you are sending your cv to them and you just state kindly find attached in the mail and that is all. This is your opportunity to propose. What do you do? You toast first before you propose. How you package yourself would determine if the recruiter would be interested in you or not. Take your time out and compose a proper email. Dear sir/ma/recruiter, ………..then you end politely. Warm regards, best, yours sincerely etc Be sure you attach you cv as that is the ring you will be needing to propose to the recruiter. If the recruiter is impressed and accepts your proposal you will be receive a mail saying you have been shortlisted for a test or invited for an interview. If the recruiter does not accept your proposal you will receive a mail saying we regret to inform you….. most people do not even get the opportunity of being shortlisted talk less of being rejected. Their cvs are usually trashed.

[b]Think out of the box.[/b]While doing my youth service I drew up a list of 6 oil companies I would like to work for. Went on their website and did my research. Then I prepared cover letters and packaged my cv and used a courier to send my cv to the MDs of this organisations. I was lucky enough to land my first invite to write an aptitude test and consequently I did an interview. This is just one method. I will leave you to think of yours. Don’t just rely on job boards. Linkedin is another method. Instead of spending so much time on facebook and building friends list. Go on Linkedin and build a profile and subsequently connections. Connect with HR people there. They usually post some vacancies there that you might not find on job boards. Some of them headhunt from Linkedin too. There is so much you can do with Linkedin. Time would not permit me to talk about it.

To be continued…………………