Graduated… What next?

Duru C. Jephthah
Nov 1 · 3 min read

Graduation

Graduation is and will always be one of the best moments of a student’s life because it comes with the sense of freedom from the burdens of school activities. Graduation comes with an euphoria, but it is pertinent to note that this phase is a delicate one whereby personal decisions has tremendous impact on your life.

Most graduates go into the work space with little or no relevant skills to prove their employability, no wonder Nigeria has a high rate of unemployable graduates. What really is the cause? We shall have a concise analysis of the Bane behind graduate unemployability and the steps a graduate should take immediately after graduation.

Why are graduates unemployable? what can be done?

Graduates are unemployable because they elect to be unemployable, Yes!

A large chunk of the blame goes to the graduates because they choose not to develop theirselves. Skills are what makes a good worker, therefore to be a good worker, one must acquire skills which leads to employability. Do not be fixated solely on your B.Sc, because everyone now has a B.Sc. Practice self development through the acquisition of Relevant Skills, because this will not only make you an efficient worker but also an Asset.

Some of the skills that are relevant but we have looked down on throughout our time in the university are the Microsoft Office skills, which encapsulates; Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Visio. And also the use of Enterprise Resource Planning software such as SAP.

It is a shame that in this technology driven era many graduates are inept in the usage of basic office applications. To save yourself from being tagged as unemployable or inept, it’s would be wise to acquire skills while you still have the time.

Learning doesn’t end after your last exam

The “I’m done with school now I can rest” notion is one of the reasons why many fresh graduates are unemployable.

“Learning is consequential to development both in life and in the work environment”.

As a fresh graduate, you should already have a career path mapped out for yourself. Whatever it is, you can develop your career through learning.

What attracts most candidates to the interview panel is what they’ve learnt, which is usually highlighted in their CV as “certifications or trainings”. There has been a case whereby an HR analyst came home and told people to get certified because he was astonished by the CV of a candidate who had 5 certifications. This is because most employers want to see that the individual whom they are making a plus one to their organization is one which invests in himself. There are plethora of certifications for various fields, such as CCNA, CCNP, CISM, CISA, HSE, ICAN, CIPM, SPHR, GPHR

Therefore map out your career path, acquire skills(soft skills inclusive), and learn by getting certified then watch yourself become employable.

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