By Ladi Ayodeji
Graduate unemployment is a major problem in our world today. Parents spend so much money to train their wards in the university or polytechnic with the expectation that they’d be engaged in some gainful employment after graduation only to have such hopes dashed. For parents, it is not a pleasant experience, for the graduates themselves, it is a nightmare. Nothing can be more frustrating than joblessness for a young, promising graduate. In an economy like ours that is shrinking by the day with no evidence of a possible rebound anytime soon, the onus is on you to fashion out a way to survive.
One fact you must deal with is that you have to look beyond your discipline if you hope to get off to a flying start after graduation. You should not think that because you read civil engineering you can only work as a civil engineer. To do that is to abide in folly.
The first rule of survival in a declining economic environment is to do anything your hands can do for a living, provided it is legitimate. There are always job opportunities in fields other than your area of specialty. If you lock yourself into the wrong mindset, you could be jobless for many years. As you step out into the job market, take what is available. Run with that and get yourself settled before you begin looking for something better. It is unrealistic to go for the best from the blast as you enter the job market. I don’t rule out the possibility that you may actually be extremely lucky to get the job you dream of, but those types of chances don’t come every day. I know this for a fact because I have been through it all.
You will have to acquire new skills for you to be able to multitask in this economy that is becoming very competitive by the hour. Not only must you multitask to make job mobility possible, but you also need to constantly update your skills to make you marketable. Never take things for granted. Technology advances every minute. People ask me every day: what if there is no job? My answer: employ yourself. How? Look for a need and meet it. Every skill, every service, and all products are marketable only if they meet a need. In Lagos and other urban centers water scarcity has created a boom for “Aboki” (young Hausa boys) who sell water in kegs in the neighborhoods. You’d see cart pushers everywhere because there is high demand for water.
If there’s no visible need, you can actually create one if you are a deep thinker. I revealed here some time ago that there was no demand for this column in the SUN Newspapers, I conceived the idea and sent a prototype to the Managing Director/Editor-In-Chief of the SUN Newspaper, Mr. Eric Osaige. He wasted no time in approving it. The rest is history. if you create something that adds value, you will have a market. There was no demand for a motivational speaker in schools where I give seminars. I created this idea of teaching secondary school students about life and career issues in 2017, I went on to market it to the proprietors. They bought into the idea, so I became an education activist, career counselor, and motivational speaker. Look around you, if you can just take the time to do some research, you’d find, to your surprise that a need is hidden somewhere waiting to be met.
Ideas rule the world. There are a thousand and one things you can do on the internet to make some money for yourself, don’t waste your precious time and data going to nude sites. Get serious and check career opportunities on the web. You’d be surprised to find that your skills are needed in one obscure corner of the universe. There are many people who are looking for home lesson teachers, private nurses for the elderly, babysitters, caregivers who can attend to the sick, cooks and stewards, security personnel, drivers, private computer teachers for executives and housewives, etc.
If you have skills or training in any of these areas you can market them on the internet.
You don’t have to resign to fate and become redundant. University education only makes you a universal person in the realm of employment. You have to challenge yourself and quit the blame game. Don’t blame government officials, the economy, or the politicians; it won’t change your situation. Get yourself off to a flying start by doing something productive for yourself. That’s how you can get by in the world.
The world only knows winners. I don’t have to deceive you. All the suggestions made in this write–up are hard choices; they are going to be rough and hard for you because you are just starting out in life as a self–employed person. If you decide to follow this route, there are many uphill battles you’d have to fight. Capital is the biggest challenge for startups. Be prepared to contend with that. You may also decide to look for a job. It is not a bad idea. However, the job market is saturated. There are too many people chasing too few jobs. You may not find it funny. My counsel is this: look for a job if you can’t employ yourself just yet. The point is, never stay idle.
Weekend spice: The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated – Williams James.
Ok folks, let’s do it again next week. Stay motivated.
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