Unemployment remains a huge problem in Nigeria. Every year
Nigerian universities continue to churn out thousands of new
graduates with freshly minted diplomas who join a competitive
job market with bleak employment prospects. If you are among
the 25 percent of unemployed Nigerians or perhaps one of
the approximately 45 percent of working age Nigerians who
have given up hopes of finding a job in a job market that
seems to be tilted in favor of the connected and returnees
with shiny diplomas, questionable accents, and exotic work
experiences from abroad, here are five things you should
know:
Think Global
Now is not the time to begrudge the rich and fortunate who
can afford to travel abroad for work and educational
purposes. Just because you come from a poor or middle class
socioeconomic background does not preclude you from
opportunities abroad. In today’s hyper connected global
landscape, what you know is more important than where you
come from or your socioeconomic background. Take advantage
of globalization and develop a global mindset.
A global mindset in the employment context is about developing
your skills and applying them wherever they are needed
around the world. For example, are you an unemployed Political
Science and policy graduate who grew up in the North and
who have mastered the cultural factors and dynamics that
influence behavior and day to day living in the North? While a
bank or oil company in Victoria Island may not necessarily value
this in you, your perspective may be invaluable to an
International Development agency somewhere around the
world that is focused on resolving the conflict in Northern
Nigeria and other African countries undergoing similar
challenges as the North.
Similarly, are you fluent in Arabic? As a bilingual Nigerian, your
English and Arabic skills maybe highly appreciated by a U.S.
contractor in the United States or the Middle East. There are
many instances where the skills we take for granted in Nigeria
are actually appreciated around the world. Rather than sinking
deeper into the pool of unemployment in Nigeria, broaden your
horizons by thinking about how your skills may be applied
beyond the shores of Nigeria. Think about teaching English in
countries with emerging economies, such as Brazil and China.
Most of these English teaching jobs will usually have a
preference for people from the United States, the UK,
Canada, and Australia; however once you can demonstrate
that you know English just as well, you also have a fair shot at
these jobs. Apply for fellowships and programs such as the
Atlas Corps, which provides work opportunities in the United
States to individuals from around the world. Take advantage
of the aging populations in many countries and apply for
skilled jobs in these countries. Some countries with aging
populations are seeking qualified people to join their
workforce and pay taxes.
Update Your Skills and Competencies
Just because you are unemployed is not a reason to set your
alarm clock to 10:00am every morning. You have to do what
you can to improve your chances of landing your next
employment opportunity. And updating your skills set does
just that. If there is any benefit to being unemployed, it is the
time it allows you to do things you may otherwise not have
time to do when you have a job. Now is the time to get that
professional certification you have been putting off, return
to school for a graduate degree or certificate program, and
learn skills that will distinguish you from other job applicants.
Learn to Tell Your Story
An engaging C.V or resume and clear cover letter is the key.A
common mistake most job applicants make is to underestimate
the power of a good CV and cover letter. Your CV and cover
letter is your ticket to landing an interview and a potential job.
It also represents your brand. The secret to writing a
powerful CV and cover letter that would make recruiters
remember you, even after reading hundreds of other CVs and
cover letters, is to think about your brand and the value it
represents. Don’t just list all your past places of employment
and job description or few assignments and chores you did
there. Instead, write about how whatever you did added value
to the organization. Remember that you don’t need to have
had the fanciest title or position. It all depends on how you sell
it on your CV and cover letter. When writing your CV and
cover letter, establish a clear link between whatever you did
and the bottom line of the business. Show your impact.
Consider an example of a secretary whose only responsibility
was to pick up coffee for a physician in private practice.
Although her tasks may seem menial, such a secretary can
show her value on her CV by explaining how the coffee she
sourced enabled the physician to stay alert and perform more
than two surgeries a day. And by performing more than two
surgeries a day the organization brought in X amount of
money. She can also explain that by bringing in coffee every
day, she enabled the physician to concentrate fully on
patients, provide the best patient care, and increase
patients’ satisfaction. In this example, the secretary has
shown how her role contributed to the bottom line.
Think Outside the 9-to-5 Box
Don’t be ashamed of unprofessional jobs. At one point or
another, we have all been guilty of tying our self-esteem to
our jobs. And so when we suddenly find ourselves unemployed
without a traditional 9-to-5 professional job, our self-
esteem plunges, and then we vigorously look for another 9-
to-5 job. Our society has typically regarded bankers,
doctors, lawyers, telecommunication workers, and oil
company employees with a lot more respect than individuals in
other professions. But here’s the deal: there is a lot of value
and learning opportunities that can be gleaned from
nonprofessional jobs that can help you get your next
professional job. The financial rewards and respect may be
minimal, but your professional growth would be enormous. For
instance, by selling goods as little as recharge cards and even
pure water, a person can learn highly valuable and sought-
after skills such as customer service, interpersonal skills, and
supply-chain management. Moreover, the experience provides
good information and answers for behavioral interviews in
which recruiters ask for specific life examples or situations
of when you exhibited certain skills and capabilities. Again, it all
depends on how well you are able to articulate these skills on
your CV. and cover letter, and how you can translate the
lessons learned from a nonprofessional job into a professional
situation.
Volunteer and Make a Difference in Your
Community
Volunteering helps to keep the mind engaged and it can be a
potential differentiator between job candidates. When a
recruiter is presented with two identical job candidates, the
person who has volunteered and made a difference would be
preferred over the person who remained idle and done nothing
since being unemployed. Volunteering can also help you shake
off the self-pity, shame, and laziness that unemployment
sometimes forces upon people. Rather than eating Nkwobi,
drinking stout, and complaining to friends about how hard it is
to find a job in Nigeria, get up and start making a difference in
your community. Something as little as cleaning your street can
snowball into a nonprofit or nongovernmental organization.
Don’t underestimate what you can achieve simply by getting
started.
So there you have it. These five tips should get you moving
towards your next opportunity.
No comments:
Post a Comment