Thinking beyond your School Certificate, by Paul Okoro

This one is a special package for my folks who are still in school, but come to think of it we all are still students except that our platforms differs.

I graduated from the university last year and then applied fully into the school of life (SOL).

We all at some point would enroll in this same school and I would love to prepare your mind to some certain realities.

There are some things our young folks failed to understand. Out here in the real world, it’s not necessarily about the class of degree you graduated with but rather how can you transfer the skills you’ve acquired to give results, to proffer solutions or add value to help the company or business make more money

People don’t hire you because they like you or your degree (except it’s a connect kind of employment), they hire you because there’s a need they feel you can meet.

Also a lot had failed to understand that the essence of getting a good degree (education) was NOT to get a job. But rather to enable you:
– Make informed decisions
– Come up with ideas
– Think (critical thinking)

Many had the power upon graduation to either start a business or get a job. But they solely focused on one.

Finally, this is a wake up call to all graduate out there especially those who had put in so much hard work into their degrees.

Decide to go all out to find out what is wrong with the application you’ve been summiting for a job and effect the changes. Guess what? As important as your class of degree is, you have to also know how to package yourself as a value adding individual and not just a first class graduate.

As much as I hate to advise you guys to study very well in school, you have to constantly ask yourself this questions:

“if you had known that this first class would not work out the way you wanted, would you put in less effort?”

The answer is NO. You would still give it your best shot because of a culture of excellence that should be cultivated in every world changer.

The mindset they had put in our subconscious was:
I’m in school to study and what else am I to do, if not make good grades?

So, it wasn’t about the end but rather an attitude. An attitude to always give your best wherever you find yourself.

I’d stop here. This is what I need you to bring home from these:

1. Your drive for excellence shouldn’t be dependent on external factors but an innate desire to be your best at all times
2. Sometimes, all we need is a retrospect. If you’ve been doing one thing the same way over and over again and getting same results, instead of giving up, why not try a different approach?
3. If you are a recent graduate, finding it hard to get a job, take out time and invest in yourself. Develop some skills – make yourself valuable then re-enter the labour market.
4. Do not discourage others. Just because something didn’t work for you, does not mean it may not work for someone else. Keep it all in perspective, always push others to reach for their best.
5. It may not seem like it now, but trust me! All that hard work will pay off. No one sees the years behind the “Overnight” success, all they see is success. It’s a process and it’s all part of YOUR story
6. It’s easy to cast blames. In your anger and frustration, don’t had blame the government, blame the education system and blame everyone else but yourself.
7. Having a job or not having a job immediately upon graduation does not define your worth as an intellectual or not. The 4 or 5 years of hard work in school, is NOT a waste. That knowledge is with you and no one can take that away from you
8. Do not water down any achievement of yours. Be proud of what you’ve achieved. Celebrate your small leaps and your big milestones. Be your number one fan

In conclusion, this is a short (kind of long) reminder that Your story is different and the fact that you’re not where you want to be does not invalidate your getting there.

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