11 Aug While You Wait
Hello potential college graduate, I congratulate you in advance but this is a new journey. And in a new journey, there is a need to navigate differently. It means what we thought we knew in the four walls of an institution is likely to be irrelevant and vague. You have the chance to start from class to masterclass but you have to start small. Right where you are. You should love experience but you must be willing to work for free. This means that when a job is not forthcoming, you will need to step out there and volunteer. You may need to start something new, pursue a cause or team up to start a company with a friend. You have to be ready and prepared for every phase of your life as you wait.
As you move out to do whatever it is you have chosen to do, either for free or with a stipend, do it will all your heart.
Before I graduated from school, I had have a crave for anything digital media. I’d loved to build anything from websites to reaching the world through social media. I took a job with my best friend, just because we want to be around that environment where we can do all this. The pay was really small but we did it wholeheartedly. We did everything we can to stay relevant and did not jump the gun. This opportunity opened to us countless opportunities thereafter and also brought experiences on how to build a business. Never wait, stay or be stagnant, go out there, be relevant and breathe your life into things that are dying.
To be candid there are jobs out there but there are no people with enough skills to be on the job.
More schools will be rounding up their sessions by the end of August and for some that will come a bit late September. Now the heart of this article is to speak to the hearts of two categories of people: The undergraduate and the graduate, and sharing my experiences with you, what companies want and how you can get yourself prepared.
To be candid there are jobs out there but there are no people with enough skills to be on the job. It will take grace for companies to hire you with little or no skill hoping you will learn in the job. So what do you do while you wait? How do you bridge the gap?
Here are a few tips to help:
Learn New Skills
This applies to all those on the lower division of the grade and also some individuals on the higher division that want to diversify their knowledge. There are a lot of opportunities than there was some few years ago.
Utilize the training opportunities available to you.
You can learn new skills on learning platforms on the internet. There are platforms like Udemy, Coursera, Code Academy, Andela and edX, that you have access to learn new skills and also improve your skill.
Instead of complaining of how worthless your certificate is or how difficult it is to get a job, why not look for what is obtainable and work towards it. You can learn some skills in fashion designing, graphics and web design, interior decoration, ankara craft and so on. Utilize the training opportunities available to you.
Reflect More
You may have left off on a false start but you still have a chance, but you will need to reflect more in this waiting period. No one ever had a perfect start, you may have run and discovered the lane you were running on is someone else’s lane. So you want to redirect your focus and begin to run with purpose.
Leave them behind and move forward. Focus on what’s in front of you. Your potentials are more greater than whatever your limitations are.
Thoroughly understand yourself and be in tune with your strengths and exploring your passion. It is one thing to know what you are passionate about, exploring that passion is totally a different ball game. It is important that you are aware of this and focus on achieving purpose, not chasing money.
There will be a temptation to feel frustrated and depressed but think about the great things you discovered while on that other lane. It will also be a time to forget those things that are behind and press forward.
Give the best meaning to all that has happened, is it studying the wrong course, not getting the right grades. Leave them behind and move forward. Focus on what’s in front of you. Your potentials are more greater than whatever your limitations are.
When you begin to focus your thoughts, you will discover what you were truly here and then you move on your new path.
Volunteer
I know a lot of young people are not receptive to volunteering, they don’t even like the idea. But if you want to have an edge this is something you must do. No organization will pay you until they are sure you are willing to offer your services with no pay involved.
Volunteering is key to your next big job.
What if you approached the organization and asked if they could employ you. They can have you for a month and if they enjoy your service remunerations will follow appropriately.
I remembered while I was in school I worked for AIESEC. We will speak to young people to join the organization but they won’t want to because they don’t want to volunteer.
Volunteering is key to your next big job. While you wait either as a student or fresh graduate, volunteer, put your skills, your gifts and your talents into great use. You will be grateful you did.
Go on Internship
We all want to see the world, we all want to travel but what are you willing to give up to see the world? Time, Money, Family, Friends.
We live in an ever increasingly connected world, to build a truly successful career you must strive to be a world leader and be a world citizen, there is no longer room for local champions anymore.
This will be the best you can give yourself as you wait by volunteering in a project or working as a professional in another country. How would you do this?
There are a lot of opportunities out there but the question is when it comes to you, will you be ready?
AIESEC provides you an opportunity to gain international work experience either through volunteering or professional internship. The benefits are enormous if you want to be in tune with international business environments. You can talk to your State representative of AIESEC or you can contact the National Office directly.
Don’t waste this spare time, if there is anything you should do now is to mend those things that were not right and realign your purpose. There are a lot of opportunities out there but the question is when it comes to you, will you be ready?
Will love to hear from you too. What challenges do you think you are likely to face when you graduate or as you graduate?
abi
Posted at 11:56h, 14 AugustVery true. Thanks akin. The greatest problem undergrads have is that most of us aren’t studying something we are passionate about but what the university gave to us. We need to be more radical and say no till we get into our desired fields.Say no to mediocrity and keep trying till we get what we want. Most of us would be afraid of staying home. Why would you even consider just staying home?
We need to stand for our education or else our dear Nigeria won’t move a step further.
Nobert
Posted at 20:51h, 14 AugustA very good piece sir, it is no longer news that youths are the next big thing considering the population and value proposition if properly channeled towards a positive line.
However, for this to happen, like you rightly pointed out; a whole lot needs to change ranging from not just going to school for years without practical knowledge and hoping that magic will happen when you are done, to creating a niche right from day one in the school (an environment for growth in all spheres of life, where your mind should be empowered to see and reason beyond mediocrity and the termed normalcy). for example we have successful people that their expertise and specialization started right from while they were waiting (borrowing your diction and learning to better themselves).
Finally, @abi, the issue you raised about waiting to be given what you truly want considering passion in a way might really not be the best of options because if you look closely, you can point out hundreds of thousands if not millions that never studied in line with passion at least in their first degree (the solution to aligning your learning to passion can be achieved by paying close attention to the new generation). so what if while studying whatever we were given in school, we put in effort to better ourselves in that line by seeking engagements with organizations and practical training related, yet still have the chance to pursue our passion on the sidelines while developing the nation through sound human capital workforce???.
Regards,
AkinMoré
Posted at 22:46h, 14 AugustGreat Insights and this sure shows one thing that waiting is necessary but what we do while waiting is more important. The courses in schools would never cover all the purposes that people have been called into and it won’t satisfy their yearnings in things they are passionate about. With school its just never complete, its not about about the course but if you will make a huge difference. For most that know this truth they begin to align themselves with things that will not only better them but will open them to their purpose. Only a few get to this awareness that there is something strange about me that no one can see, should I wait and see then pursue.