Dear Jobseeking Graduate, Here’s What You Should Have Done In Final Year

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Year after year, Nigerian institutions continue to churn out thousands of graduates into the labour market. Rather unfortunately, statistics continue to show that most of these graduates are unemployable. However, we need to ask ourselves exactly what criteria was used to come to this conclusion. If Nigerian graduates have been classified as unattractive to employers because of their inability to communicate succinctly in a 5 minute interview, dress smartly or scale through mind-daunting blitzes in the form of aptitude tests, then it really isn’t a case of unemployability (at least in terms of our technical knowledge), but of our inability to adequately prepare for transition to the workplace. As you would imagine, this preparation process should begin from the University.

Again we are suggesting five great moves every penultimate or final year student should be making to ensure a smooth, successful transition to their desired industries.

1 Mapping out your post-NYSC route. 

The truth is that most Nigerian graduates are unemployed because they failed to decide what their short-term plans (2-3 years after graduation) would be. For some it would be Master’s, an Entry Level full-time position or both. This decision is best made in final or penultimate year in college, so you have enough time to prepare accordingly. For those plying the Master’s route abroad, you might need to apply a year ahead of desired intake, which means you need to decide early. Also some scholarships can be secured even before applying to postgraduate programs and final year would be a good time to start. For those seeking entry-level positions to start their careers, you probably would want to conclude on this path earlier, so you can refine your presence for the market place early enough (by adopting the tips below). Of course, there is another category that would love to keep options open by applying for Master’s degrees/scholarships and entry-level positons as well. Same advice applies here.

2 Serious Drills of aptitude tests formats (SHL, Dragnet)

It’s a good thing you have wound up that 4.85 CGPA and are leading your department. However if you are not able to do typical SHL or Dragnet tests and score at least 60% every time, those 3 significant figures might just be for show. Ideally, first year to penultimate year should be spent building your CGPA, but if you are looking to transit to the workplace successfully, you have to change curriculums in final year, ASAP. In addition to project work, final year should be for practicing such tests as SHL, Dragnet, Kenexa and Talentq. These are notorious tests that have ruined the hopes of several stellar-GPA candidates vying for competitive positions in top MNCs. Conversely, not-so-stellar GPA candidates who have a grasp on these tests are finding their way in, and fast. Of course, those going for NYSC immediately still have ample time to prepare but not after the service period. A similar Caveat goes out to graduates seeking to do their Master’s in US or Canadian institutions right after graduation. The GRE is no mean feat. You should begin preparations as early as possible, most top GRE scorers start 2 months ahead of test date to prepare.

3 Taking Public Speaking classes

It is all too common an experience to see very knowledgeable graduates fumble over interviews after putting in so much effort at previous stages of the recruitment process. Interviewing skills are majorly public speaking skills, so the earlier you started working on your stutters, pause-fillers (em, you know, eh), verbosity and low-speaking, the better your chances of excelling at interviews. Most schools have a public speaking class as part of their entrepreneurial programs and if your school doesn’t have one, the internet is your friend. Several public speaking tips can be found on the web, do yourself a favour and explore them.

4 Actively participating in Career fairs/ Networking

Most top Nigerian schools typically have recruitment/ career days where students meet employers who have diverse agendas, from workshops to aptitude tests and actual recruitment. Career days are good avenues for aspiring graduates to initiate relationships with employees of prospective firms, most of which are alumni of the school. For schools without such opportunities, recruitment sites like LinkedIn serve a similar purpose. A good reason for networking would be that, having such connections can be the difference between a good and a great candidate interviewing for a role. While the good candidate has general information about company A, the great candidate has utilized his internal network at company A to find out exactly what makes the company unique. He is also able to get an idea of what the recruitment process would involve at the company – What kind of tests? How many stages of interviews? What type of interview questions (behavioural or Competency based)? All the other guy (the good candidate) knows is that he has interviews with company A, and he would prepare for all types of interviews available – technical, behavioural, competency based etc., a terrible case of misuse of physical and intellectual resources.

5 Using the Jobs/Vacancies section of Nairaland (Seriously)

And no, I'm not a Nairaland moderator, but this is just as helpful as any other point hitherto stated. Just like you graduated from school to the labour market in real life, you also have to graduate from the education section to the job/vacancies section. There's no telling how much useful information you would find there. From internships (For those that have to wait for NYSC mobilization) to Full-time Jobs, to NYSC-suited programs (like the ViMP program of Junior Achievers), there are diverse opportunities for you to explore right from final year. The truth is that most of these recruitment processes take as long as 6 months and even up to a year in some instances. So starting to apply from final/NYSC year would only be strategic in timing. Moreover, you have the opportunity of lots of real interviews (and aptitude tests of course) before you graduate/finish NYSC, so you are much more prepared for your "real" interviews if you don't land a job during the period.

These great tips are sure to leave you at the top of your game in today's job-market. 

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