₦airaland Forum

Honestly, where there is a 'consistent' will, a way will be created through, above, beside or underneath the apparent obstacles.

I think I will have to stop here tonight.

Wishing you a most productive day tomorrow, be it just in your thoughts.

The second example I have here is a man I have recruited twice. As a matter of fact we had to pay him 'sign on fees' twice. This is a Sales maverick with his sales experience in almost all sectors of the economy, tangible and intangible sales.

I first partook in the head-hunting of this guy for a once leading brewery plant that only brews malt based drinks. Its moribund now. Can you guess the company?

Then we had to track him down to the U.K where he was studying for a Masters degree in Sales Psychology. We had to pay a heavy 'sign on fee' to commit this guy to complete his programme and take up an appointment with our client who was and still is a major player in the Brewery business with turnover in Billions annually.

Today he sits as a Senior Sales Manager in one of the biggest conglomerates in this country.

His lead for a second job was one of the buyers of the juice. When a new company came and was introducing their product to the potential distributor, he recommended him to the company ad he was hired.

The company we were interviewing him for this time was an FMCG company and he was recommended by the Indian Sales Director who had been tipped in the market that he was the man to catch.

He grew in less than three years to become a Sales manager in one of the largest Indian owned conglomerates with a car and driver to boot.
Please note that this guy studied nothing related to Sales, marketing or Business management.

The first example will be something most of the followers can connect with;

I had the honour of sitting on an interview panel where a certain young man was interviewed for a sales position.

He didn't apply for the job but he was invited nonetheless. His story goes thus;

On graduation from the university he spent more than two years teaching in private school where the very poor salaries were only paid when the school was in session.

No salaries during holidays and other extended breaks. After the fuel subsidy riots of January 2012, he resumed but things were very difficult as the school management took a stance that no salaries would be paid for the month of January.

he just had to think of a way to survive the coming storm, so he went in search of a second job but couldn't find but stumbled on an opportunity where he could take a new fruit drink from a distributor and sell and then return the proceeds to the distributor after deducting his mark-up. he did this so well that after the second month he could comfortably resign from his teaching job and concentrate on commissioned based sales of an attractively packed and appropriately packed fruit juice targeted at children.

My expertise as developed from my working experience is in Sales development. I have worked as a Salesman and a Sales trainer.

Instructively my HR experience reveals that companies are ALWAYS in need of proficient sales personnel. No matter the sales peak reached, if you can get an opportunity to demonstrate your sales expertise in tangible terms you will always be a well sought after candidate.

Your exploits in your current undertaking will precede and you will be head-hunted in ways you cannot even imagine.

Some examples may be necessary here.

At this point I suggest that we go into the core of the thread which is to help unemployed people find their feet.

A lively rewarding interaction is required here if we are to draw immense benefits from the experience of the posters.

How can we change our lot in life for the better?

How can we improve our 'luck'?

How can we get 'connections' to the kind of jobs we want?

How can we manifest the dream our parents conceived for us, transmitted to society and ourselves that is now expected to manifest

That is what this we hope this thread will address.

For the avoidance doubt, this is not going to be just a theoretical as practical experiencing in terms of action will be recommended.

Summarily, solutions must be found in the form of effective out of the box measures that will be adapted to suit our immediate purposes.

How can we escape from the doldrums of lack and dissatisfaction?

I had to read the above posts many times over in the course of my daily activities. Something kept recurring between the lines. I actually expected an avalanche of posts to support and counter the above positions postulated or advocated by Jeff.

Several schools of thought exist as regards the suitability (or otherwise)of our current curriculum in the context of the demands of present day living in the space called Nigeria.

The tertiary level school curriculum as being implemented today dates back to the pre-independence colonial days when the effort was primarily geared at producing middle level manpower for the bludgeoning public service.

Fast forward to almost One Hundred years later, we are still training people on the same basis. We prepare our graduands to survive as employees only. Self confidence which appears to be a most important benefit is never considered.

For this reason we have graduates of tertiary institutions in Nigeria coming out unprepared to face the realities of survival. Sufice to state here that the our curriculum should be retooled to reflect the needs of present day Nigeria.

This concept is already captured albeit theoretically in our National rolling plan as crafted in the 1970s.

As for the implementation I leave you to your guesses.

Once again, a big thank you to Jefy for giving this the proper perspective. I dare-say the solution to our problems to a large extent is captured in his posts.

@Jefy,

I peeped at the thread during my break time and read your posts. I must say it is quite insightful and clinical in approach.

This is the kind of entries I am seeking for. I have quite a response to make as regards your post and I hope to be able to put up a treatise later today on my return from work.

The thrust of the thread is getting clearer and one way or the other we will get to Eldorado.

My prayer is that more and more young people the opportunities that lie innate in our current circumstances as dark and challenging as they may appear at a first glance.

fastowas:
I am an undergraduate, how do I get started to know better from this thread?

I think just following the thread will suffice.

I would like to state here that the best time to choose and plan your career path is while you are in school and studying whatever course you may be studying. Sadly this is not the case for the majority of us. We just live in our one track perspective and keep hoping and praying for the best.

The next best time to plan it is your N.Y.S.C. In my experience during fresh graduate recruitment exercises nothing is more inspiring than a graduate interviewee who is already doing something and does not show any signs of desperation. He/she may not be involved in the most financial rewarding activity but its activity nonetheless. Sincerely, there should be no gap in your career.
I am hereby inviting all serving youth corpers all over Nigeria to consider staying on this thread. They might just benefit a thing or two from the experience. I assure you that we should be able to have a most rewarding experience......... And its COMPLETELY FREE

jefy:
Well,my opinion actually,am not really in a position to advice, but me think, learning a trade/acquiring a skill should be every under graduate/graduate's first priority. On the long run it will bring about independence,fulfilmentand satisfaction. Education combined with a skill is a big plus..a skill in areas such as computer networking,pipeline welding,forklift operations,weighbridge operator,fashion design, make up arts, catering services,photography and event management etc all these and many more out there can and would put food on your table as well as make you an employer of labour and less dependence on the government and the constant search for jobs...My name is Jeff,a proud Nigerian photographer,a fashion preneur,a commercial cleaning magnet and a mass comm degree holder..

Honestly, this is the stuff I expect here.

How can I thank you enough the post above!

Your position is a direct reflection of the reality on ground. I would like the above post to be read and re-read as many times as possible. i am really proud of you Jeff. please stay on board and do make as many contributions as possible on this thread. We need to help each other. As we trudge along in the course of developing this thread, we will assess the individual abilities of Posters and without extenuation examine the where we all loose focus and latch on to self pity.

The certificate you have spent several years burning the midnight oil for under the most demanding circumstances has suddenly lost all essence and you are stripped naked in the actual life that comes post graduation. A lot of things come to light and you begin a trend of negative interpretation of things that happen in your life.

Having been mostly independent in school, you graduated into some measure of independence (at least financially) during NYSC and then rather than sustain the independence and metamorphose into an interdependence state you morph back into dependence. Very sad.

Sapiosexuality:
They've been threads like this before and I don't know if anything came out of it. Most people will only help when you say or they see you are dying.

Your impression as expressed here is quite apt especially the truth as emphasised. The second part is rather fallacious. A lot people have been helped in numerous ways but since the help did not come in the form as predetermined by the beneficiary, it was then disregarded as help.

Finally, help whenever given is help all the same and I assure you an objective minded beneficiary of this help will rather have the help than decline it even at the point of dying.

Let us retool our perception to reflect positivity, I can tell you that most times help drops on our laps and we scorn it only to realise later that this was a great offer attired differently.

This thread is targeted at young graduates who have had a lot of difficulty in their quest to secure a job. Those who have faced massive rejection on account of whatever excuses be it poor grades, lack of ‘connection’, unsuitable courses and even failure at interviews. History, Sociology, Classics, language graduates, Adult Education, Human Anatomy, Biological Sciences and indeed all graduates who have undergone some subliminal brow beating during their search for a job here in Nigeria.

Those who have suffered psychological trauma that has translated into a loss of self-esteem are welcome here.

The intention is that a few people will try out different approaches that will take them closer to their desired objective or an available alternative. This could be through developing a hands-on skill in order to keep them prepared them for their next interview outing or preparing them for providing a service to the society and its constituents for a fee.

In the course of developing this thread I expect that serious posters will be attracted and together we can forge a way out for a few people to benefit from the thread by way of employment or self-development. I also expect that posters will post advert of available vacancies they come across that can be of help to followers of the thread.

My expertise is in Human Capital Development but with a particular bent on developing Sales Professionals so I just might be able to guide a few of you who choose to learn into acquiring selling skills which will give you the confidence to explore career opportunities in Sales and Marketing.

Good morning everyone.

The position of Merchandisers is also open to S.S.C.E qualified candidates living in the Agege axis of Lagos.

Our Client is a major player in the food and beverage sector of the economy.

Owing to expansion which has resulted in the creation of several sales territories within and outside Lagos State, they seek qualified candidates to fill the following positions:

The under listed positions will be filled with only candidates residing within and around Agege/Fagba/Ogba/Iyana Ipaja and environs in Lagos.

SALES SUPERVISOR;
The preferred candidate for this position must have at least 5 years cognate experience in F.M.C.G sales. They will be attached to distributors and will help them deepen and expand their sales and distribution efforts within an assigned territory.


MARKETING EXECUTIVE;
Candidates desirous of filing these positions must be able generate sales leads and develop distributors and sub distributors in an assigned territory.

RETAIL SALES REPRESENTATIVES
This position must be filled by candidates that will sell products at retail value through the various retail outlets within a given territory.

MERCHANDISERS; These are promoters and sales people who will create an awareness for the products in the territories they are assigned to.

Interested candidates should submit their resumes to

careerpluzz@gmail.com