It is not uncommon to find announcements of job openings requiring applicants to have a number of years of work experience. This is a towering stumbling block for most job seekers, especially fresh graduates in Nigeria who often enter the labour market too ill prepared in terms of critical skills acquisition and workplace know-how. Hence, they grow despondent and join the growing league of unemployed or out rightly unemployable Nigerians. How do you expect a 22 year old graduate to have three years working experience in the first place is a question that easily comes to mind?

Never mind! Experience can be got even while you are still a student. Generally, employers look out for your employability – demonstrated by your knowledge, skills, experiences and work habits. Employers aren’t asking for experience simply to intimidate the newbies, they ask for it because that’s what demonstrate your understanding of the work in context, your good judgment, responsibility and track record of excellence.

Internship, volunteerism, industrial training, chamber attachment, placement with a multinational company, long-term projects, students’ extracurricular activities, etc. are all veritable ways of gathering valuable experiences before ever getting a job. Your experiences in managing people, planning, executing and evaluating an event, presiding over meetings, raising funds, etc. as a president or financial secretary of a students’ association or a committee member should all be leveraged in proving to employers that you have work experiences.

If you’re a Law student, your experiences during chambers attachment as a student could prove decisive for you. If you study Engineering, your industrial training constitutes valuable work experience. Those in education can easily gain that requirement in schools these days, you know! Volunteerism with organizations focusing on your field of study shows employers you’re responsible, selfless and of course experienced. The good thing is how easy it is to find a volunteer position that fits your interests and potentials.

Let me quickly take you through my personal experiences. Right from secondary school, I had been having this stint of work experience through co-curricular activities. From the secretary of one club to the coordinator of another – culminating in prefectship. Upon leaving secondary school (merely an SSCE holder), I needed to shop for a job while awaiting university admission. Who would employ an SSCE holder when many NCE and bachelor’s degree (even masters) are yet to get one? Being able to proof your mettle would make the whole difference! I got a job in one primary school like that after some interviews (yes!) At the school, I held functional positions as coordinating ‘teacher’ for segments of the co-curricular activities. I equally had the privilege of organising programmes for students! I was equally known then by my contemporaries to be fond of spotting grammatical errors in every tom, dick and harry’s use of English.

When admission into the university finally came, my aim wasn’t to do anything but to study. Lo and behold, rather than just studying, I was (and am) engaged in some activities that led to me being the editor-in-chief of a students’ magazine and member/advisor of two others. My stint as a secretary took me into students’ politics contesting and winning election for (almost) similar positions through two years. All these were combined with some private teaching of children of members of staff within my university campus and neighbouring schools (my university is located in an academic community of eight tertiary institutions – the only location like that in Nigeria!). There are more to me than these. Let me not bore you with this story story o! Back to the matter!

Now, ask yourself first if you had identified the job or industry that you would like to work in, chosen your ideal job in that industry and applied for internships, paid or unpaid in that particular area of endeavour before you start  volunteering. Just keep volunteering and doing the internships until you get a full-paid employment.

If you are however finding a choice difficult to make, do these:

1. Get a sheet of paper to list all of the skills that are valuable to a worker in general and a worker in your field. Start stating out the ones you personally possess or can easily develop yourself in. …from the technical to the managerial skills. List them out! Employers are in need of people that can work independently.

2. Don’t forget to include skills you gained in past jobs, holiday jobs, temporary jobs and jobs where you helped family and friends: not necessarily relating to your present field but based on your capabilities and accomplishments.

3. Explain how these skills are transferable to the new job or industry. Be analytical and creative in this process. Once you establish how you can transfer your skills, you can explain it to a potential employer.

To identify your accomplishments,

1. Think about any awards you have won. From employee of the month, to a top retail associate, to a dean’s list commendation, awards and honors should be listed to show your dedication and exceptional work ethic.

2. Never exclude accomplishments or skills you gained through volunteer work. People develop extensive skills while they volunteer their time. Extensive volunteer accomplishments show your dedication to work in a cause. In your cover letter, you will want to explain your drive to succeed and how it parallels your desire to succeed in the job.

3. Develop your expertise. If you are trying to break into fields like writing, film editing or interior design, create sample products to show your potential employers.

With these, you could be on a perfect way to develop a functional CV! By the time you start applying for a job and you get called for an interview, you would have been able to prove your worth. In a job application or interview, if you can speak clearly about these seemingly fringe experiences and show their nexus with the job you’re discussing, you’ll make your case.

So when next you need to convince a prospective employer that you actually have the work experiences he needs, remember the cultural movie you made with your friends as a sophomore, the campus mapping you partook in as a volunteer, how you combined your printing work with campus journalism, students’ leadership/activism, essay competitions and religious activities and still had good academic grades.
Source: http://ibnamoo.com/job-without-work-experience/

OK

U r very right sir. bt my problem is just dat i have always had dis passion of working in de oil nd gas sector. However most of dem require some yrs of experience wic I don't have, nd I don't really know how to tailor down my CV to meet their requirements. plz sir can I forward my CV to u so u can help me repackage it to suit oil nd gas requirements. Tanks

IdleMind: It is not uncommon to find announcements of job openings requiring applicants to have a number of years of work experience. This is a towering stumbling block for most job seekers, especially fresh graduates in Nigeria who often enter the labour market too ill prepared in terms of critical skills acquisition and workplace know-how. Hence, they grow despondent and join the growing league of unemployed or out rightly unemployable Nigerians. How do you expect a 22 year old graduate to have three years working experience in the first place is a question that easily comes to mind?

Never mind! Experience can be got even while you are still a student. Generally, employers look out for your employability – demonstrated by your knowledge, skills, experiences and work habits. Employers aren’t asking for experience simply to intimidate the newbies, they ask for it because that’s what demonstrate your understanding of the work in context, your good judgment, responsibility and track record of excellence.

Internship, volunteerism, industrial training, chamber attachment, placement with a multinational company, long-term projects, students’ extracurricular activities, etc. are all veritable ways of gathering valuable experiences before ever getting a job. Your experiences in managing people, planning, executing and evaluating an event, presiding over meetings, raising funds, etc. as a president or financial secretary of a students’ association or a committee member should all be leveraged in proving to employers that you have work experiences.

Source: http://ibnamoo.com/job-without-work-experience/

Thank you for sharing!

Engr. Sirwhite:
U r very right sir. bt my problem is just dat i have always had dis passion of working in de oil nd gas sector. However most of dem require some yrs of experience wic I don't have, nd I don't really know how to tailor down my CV to meet their requirements. plz sir can I forward my CV to u so u can help me repackage it to suit oil nd gas requirements. Tanks

That sector majorly considers first-class products above others. It is believed that these products are easily trainable and adaptive to changes irrespective of their fields of study. In terms of tailoring your CV, know and understand the requirements of your prospective employer well. Consider visiting their website, doing a background check on what they do. Use your CV to show that you have something that could transform the present state of things.

Majority of employers aren't looking out to reducing unemployment but great minds that can turn their businesses around. Shell has the Shell Graduate Programme, for example. All that is required of you is that you should enjoy being challenged and your ability to absorb information, analyse problems and come up with novel ideas. All these are usually assessed in the application process. Are you ready?

If your graduate status is still fresh (<2years) and you're not too old (<25years old), you have higher chances of getting employed. Meanwhile, as you await that top-notch Oil and Gas job, it is advisable you're doing something productive elsewhere. Meanwhile, always spell-check your writings.

My email address is abdussalam@ibnamoo.com

abdussalam: That sector majorly considers first-class products above others. It is believed that these products are easily trainable and adaptive to changes irrespective of their fields of study. In terms of tailoring your CV, know and understand the requirements of your prospective employer well. Consider visiting their website, doing a background check on what they do. Use your CV to show that you have something that could transform the present state of things.

Majority of employers aren't looking out to reducing unemployment but great minds that can turn their businesses around. Shell has the Shell Graduate Programme, for example. All that is required of you is that you should enjoy being challenged and your ability to absorb information, analyse problems and come up with novel ideas. All these are usually assessed in the application process. Are you ready?

If your graduate status is still fresh (<2years) and you're not too old (<25years old), you have higher chances of getting employed. Meanwhile, as you await that top-notch Oil and Gas job, it is advisable you're doing something productive elsewhere. Meanwhile, always spell-check your writings.

My email address is abdussalam@ibnamoo.com

k. tanks alot for ur kind response. I've already forwarded my CV to your mail for ur necessary action

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Thank You for sharing.

CVWizards: Thank You for sharing.

It's my pleasure!