Hello

In less than a month you would have done your POP and bid NYSC bye. For most people, periods like this is shared in between ecstasy and fear. You are excited and can’t wait to finish your National Youth Service Corps yet you are scared because you don’t know what is lying in wait.
You have heard many stories of post NYSC trauma. Stories of how there are no jobs in Nigeria. Gists of how your uncles and aunties will no longer pick your calls.

I am Ibrahim. I was in your shoes this time last year. I felt the same. I would roll up in my private corner and just imagine what the future holds. I acted unbothered on the outside but deep down, I feared.

Eventually … I was lucky. I got a job less than a month post NYSC. You can too. Or you may not.
Kopa pass Kopa, I was the average ‘finish school off to NYSC’ type. So I can relate with the average Kopa challenges.
I just feel I should tell you what happens post NYSC so you may brace yourself.

Thank NYSC
NYSC has done a good job to ease your post school transition. If you are this scared in making a post NYSC jump, imagine how bad it would have been if you had to enter the job market immediately you left your higher institution.
So NYSC might not have been the best thing, but it had surely developed you in some ways. Find those additional strength and think of ways you could utilize them.
I produced a NYSC magazine during NYSC. That magazine helped me get a job with my first and only interview. Download Nexus magazine for free.

2. Now You are alone
Sounds familiar right? Yes, everyone would have told you but you wouldn’t understand until you experience it yourself.
People see you as an individual. How far you go is dependent on the skills and knowledge you have acquired or ready to learn. You might be lucky though.
In this outside world, you are judged by how much value you add. Employers pay for solutions (they don’t care about your certificate) and they will take a chance on you if you can prove you are teachable and can add extra value if they train you.
So load your arsenals. Gather as much as you can as possible.
It’s judgement time.

3. But You shouldn’t be alone
A great job strategy I and 2 of my friends did was to create a WhatsApp group that was exclusive to Job search. We named it “ Third Eye: The Search.”
There we discussed the kind of jobs we wanted and created our strategies. We edited our CVs, wrote cover letters, drop job links for each other, referred each other (I referred a friend for a job 2x my salary. He got it) and discuss everything job and career.
Make sure the group members are smart enough.

4. Any job is not a job
A friend once asked me to help him get ‘any job’. I asked if the role of CEO would be okay. Surprisingly, he didn’t know what the role means and, he said that is the exact job he wants. Don’t be like my friend.
Know the kind of job you want and go for it like a Lion goes for a prey.
I understand the confusion and desperation to get anything out there. But make sure there is a plan and have a couple of plan A, B and C jobs you are interested in. You might eventually get any job but expressly saying you want any job to people shows you don’t know what you are doing and it reduces their motivation to help you.
“Any job? Would you be our cleaner?”

Any job? Really ☺
5. First years for learning
We learn everyday but except you had been in the job market, your exposure is weak. Dedicate your first years to learning and making mistakes. You might get the wrong job, waste resources on the wrong certificates, have to change your professional discipline.
It is all normal and absolutely perfect. Career game is a marathon (over 30 years) and once you are focused you will catch up with the top guys eventually.

First months in my job, I had a copywriting class with Shalewa twice a week
6. Don’t do your Master’s degree immediately
This might sound tricky especially if you want to delve into academia. Try to gather job experience as you can before beginning your MA. Having a Master’s degree without job experience most times doesn’t separate you from a BSc graduate. As said earlier, Employers pay for solutions and not your certificate.

7. Job application strategy
You should have attended interviews by now but since you didn’t …
Beef up your CV, beef up your cover letter. Attend a recruitment class. Gather information resources on job search process. Then go to Jobberman, Indeed, My job mag, LinkedIn and other jobs resources platforms and subscribe to them. They will send you daily job notifications.
If you are more specific with the organisations you want, then start cold calling them. Research them and toast a staff or HR with why they should accept you.
Let people know you are looking for a job and as said earlier, tell them the kind of jobs you are looking for. Still reach out to that uncle.

8. Job search is not a shame
It is a process that almost all of us would go through in our lifetime. And for a fact, you are in a constant job search all through your career. The intensity is only different at different stages.
Wear your job search apparel with pride. Don’t be shy to apply for big organisations and demand the money you worth.
Some of my friends got a job 9 months after NYSC but the key is to keep developing with or without a job. Make sure you become better suited to the job as each day goes by.

9. May the Lord be with you and let you blow beyond your imagination.
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