For many people who think jobs are hard to come by, well jobs aren’t hard to come by, in fact, the right and reputable jobs are always very much available. I was once of the opinion that jobs are hard to come by, especially in this part of Africa, no one would have thought that a simple question would’ve solved my long term thought problem.
I was a brilliant student, Aced my way through the university and I have plans, just like every other young Nigerian. I would always picture myself in a nice office, working with intelligent people. What no one told me was that these dreams don’t just happen, they are created.
Fast forward to my university convocation, I was one of the best graduating students, and I was very much ready for the labour market. From NYSC, the dream started becoming more unrealistic, 4 years after NYSC, I was still that nursery school teacher earning peanut money as my salary. Don’t misunderstand me, nursery school teachers are fantastic human, but that wasn’t my dream.
I was ready to accept any job that comes my way, instead of me going in the way of the Job I wanted. I met John at an online event and he shared his career journey with us, it was at that instance I realized I had been looking for the wrong job all along. A job that doesn’t even have Title or description was what I was searching for.
I studied Electrical Electronics and I have always wanted to work in an IT environment. John told us at the meeting how he wrote his first professional certification even without a job in sight. I took up the challenge, and ever since then, I have worked in 3 different multinationals in a space of 5 years.
What did I do?
I searched for the relevant professional certifications in the career I have always wanted, my first certification was COMPTIA, then ITIL4. well, I really don’t know much about computer hardware, but I have comfortably worked in over 3 different multinationals both in and out of Nigeria. You don’t need to know everything, you only need to be able to position yourself in the right place at the right time.
What can you do?
Be sure of the career path you want to pursue, ask questions from relevant people of the professional certifications relevant in that career.
Email the organization and tell them why you would be willing to intern with them,(sometimes you might have to send several emails and be consistently on the lookout for their recruitment programs because it won’t just come to you on a platter of gold) don’t be too much concerned about getting paid first, be ready to learn while you serve.
This was what I did, and I can proudly tell you that it works, many young people are unemployed today because they either lack the right information or they’re not willing to learn and serve.
It’s time to take that bold step today.
Thank you Makintouch Consulting for been a part of my success story