Quit your Job! Get a Career
Who else clicked the link because of it’s title? 😁 I felt I should add a bit of an aggressive marketing touch to help you make your “click this link” decision. Don’t worry, it’s not only the title that is fire, trust me 😇
Diving in, Nigeria is has a special system which you must have noticed by now, which is, except for specialized occupations like Architecture, Medicine, Quantity Surveying, Law, Engineering and a few others, Course of study is not a huge determinant in securing a job. Sometimes Course requirement is enforced, more times it is not, as employers focus on university grades, age and additional certifications as criteria for employment; well, companies eventually train all entry level employee they hire regardless of Course of study.
This is actually a good thing, considering Nigeria has a lot of redundant and irrelevant courses which young Nigerians unfortunately are forced to study due to the struggle to get admission or the uninformed decisions of guardians. Fortunately, as a fresh Graduate in Nigeria, you still have a wide range of Careers to pick from, regardless of what course you studied, especially now, with the advent of the Internet Boom.
You are hot cake!
Notice how I said “Careers” and not “Jobs”? Well, this is the mistake most fresh graduates make when seeking employment for the first time, they go for anything that is available and feel down when they are stagnant and not getting promoted.
There are actually jobs that have no future, and will make no tangible addition to your resume no matter the amount of years you work them. There is also the case of realising late or letting your job/employer decide your career. Now I got you thinking and analysing your job right?
Do you think you have a career or have you selected a one? Let’s ask ourselves a couple of questions then;
- What is your current job description?
- If a colleague introduces a friend to you as a Neurosurgeon, what will you introduce yourself as?
- Do you have a career path?
- Can you apply for any job?
- If you’ve had a job before, did technical experience for your last job help you in your new one?
- If you are a fresh graduate, what piques your interest when you see a list of vacancies?
If your last job is not relevant to your current job, you are probably not on a career path and if you are looking out for the salary range and name of company as a fresh graduate, you are probably not on a career path either, and that will definitely reflect in your interviews, might be the reason you are not being promoted or are not getting a call back.
A Career entails having series of connected employment opportunities working towards a specific field, role or aim.
Let’s just say it follows these 3 steps
- Choosing a Career
- Plotting a Career Path
- Seeing it through
Looks easy right? Yes, Do your research, making selections based on your basic skills or preference and choose a Career, before life chooses it for you. During that research, you must have determined the necessary additional certifications you may/will need during the course of this journey, so plotting out a path will help you determine when these certifications would make the most impact.
There is also the career starters, don’t be scared to take on unpaid internships and trainings, and never shy away from low income jobs at this beginning. They might pay peanuts, but provide wonderful insights into a world you aim to conquer. Remember to always research before you take any leap.
There’s emphasis on starting your career from the university. If you happened to be in the U.S, as an international student you will most likely work and learn, so, taking sometime here to chase your career while in school is a great leap.
Let’s look at this objectively, there are certain things that only makes sense doing while still a student. An example is taking a $5 design job on Upwork or Fiverr, imagine doing that as a graduate that has bills to pay, 😢 exactly. But to build your portfolio and reviews on these platforms, you have to start from somewhere right? So the best place to start from is Uni, where you can probably survive on N2,000 a week budget — don’t spoil your face, I survived on N1,500 🤣
So, plot your course and work towards getting it.
This last step “Seeing it through” is the most difficult, because “Nigeria”, and sometimes frustration and pressure may come from Social Media, parents or relatives. That is why a proper research during your Career selection is necessary, you have to be confident about your chosen Career, that’s the only way you can convince someone else.
Be sure of what you have selected and work towards it. You already have a huge advantage, the advantage of direction and yes, you can be confident about it.
Also, try your best not to jump steps. Sometimes, over-confidence is a huge deterrent of progress, making you feel too big to go for an opportunity that is worth more than you can see from the first look.
Placing myself as an example, I will jump at a Google Africa offer, even if it comes with no pay, benefits and allowance. The learning opportunity and relationships I stand to gain alone is worth billions in Naira.
Basically, what Career selection helps you with is knowing what you plan to end up as, hence, any opportunity that arrives could be critically analysed with relationship to your end goals; consider the learning curve, consider the people you would meet, consider the environment and how that will affect your drive, then consider how much they are paying. Because, every job affects your psyche, balance and drive, always go for the best.
Don’t get me wrong, money is bae, but a money-first approach when you begin a career will not get you anywhere. Money comes in droves when worth has been ascertained, and this time your work will speak for you, sha know when to up your money too.
I can not overemphasize on the need to take on regular job interviews, at least once in 3 months. Self re-evaluation, to help you know your worth, demand in the market, how much they pay, your growth rate and direction. We all get absorbed in work sometimes and we forget to learn, or sometimes we end up with an emotionally abusive superior, who might talk us down and break down our self-confidence, or maybe it’s the working environment, one can be overworked to the point they are not meeting deadlines and start feeling like they are not up to par, when the workload in actual sense is for multiple personnel. Interviews will help keep you in check.
Self re-evaluation is key!
Accept new jobs and move at strategic times, I think the minimum you should stay in a company should be 4 months. When you are good, employers will give anything to get you to move to their company, but will get offended when you leave their companies for a better offer, see the logic? 🤦
Well, it’s only human to be like that, I mean, put yourself in their shoes, wont you want the best to work with you? So, don’t be in a haste to move all the time, take your time, digest your work and pick something from that experience before considering leaving. And remember, always leave on a good note.
Here are the points in an itemized format
- You are Hot Cake!
- Choose your career
- Work towards it with every job you get
- Experience over money till it’s money over everything
- Take routine interviews an re-evaluate yourself
- Don’t move anyhow
- Have fun
I made a lot of tech space references, but this is not limiting this study to the tech space alone. On the contrary, the application of this study in the any other industry may give you a better result. So, bombs away!
It’s never to late to start something, of course it’s better to have started 10 years ago, by now your #10yearsChallenge will be the bomb, but hey, just start something now and see it through.
Finally, with these few points of mine, I hope I have been able to convince you and not to confuse you on why you should quit your job and get a career 😁
A warm note; these blog posts are tailored for Nigerians living in Nigeria, as case studies, suggestions and opinions are based on the Nigerian subject matter. I believe with time, I will get to cover Nigerians in diaspora, but that’s when we go international too 😁
Thank you for reading my blog post, I will try my best to touch all spheres that concern young Nigerians, just stay glued.
