How to Start A Career After NYSC 2020 – The Complete Guide

Starting a career in Nigeria or deciding on what to do after the completion of the National Youth Service Corps in Nigeria can be a brain racking task for many as in some cases the current socio-economic situation of the nation Nigeria mitigates against their thought process in reaching a valid conclusion on what to do after this service year

Writing with the understanding that there might be some of our audiences who are outside Nigeria and might not necessarily understandwhat we mean with the term, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

Giving a vivid understanding and explanation of this term, The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is an program which was created by the federal government of Nigeria in the year 1973 where it seeks to involve youths that’s new graduates from the various Nigeria tertiary institution in nation building and the growth and development of the country. Through this initiative which was also created to foster a positive national integration among the multifaceted and multiethnic youths in the nation, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is a one year program where graduates from across the various Nigeria tertiary institution are posted to states outside their state of origin where they are gainfully employed and used in various niches for advancing the respective localities where they are posted. The government every month pays them certain amount to enable theme cater for their wellness.

The National Youth Service Corps was created to serve as a platform for the 3Rs which are the Reconciliation, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation of the country’s lot which was destroyed and battered following the outbreak of the Nigerian Civil Wars. The scheme was established based on the National decree No.24 with a view of promoting and encouraging as earlier stated the common links among the youths across the nation and also the promotion of national unity.

The realities of the Nation has made life after the one year compulsory National Youth Service Corps in Nigeria an Herculean one many, not everyone will have the luxury of having to work in multinational companies in Nigeria or getting instant employment once after they complete this one year service.

Citing from my own experience, months preceding my service year me as my colleagues brainstorm on what to do next that is lucrative. The months after this period can indeed be a tasking as well as a frustrating one for many Nigeria youths as many of them as a result of the high rate of unemployment in  Nigeria do not get jobs in Nigeria.

This article will sensitize youths in Nigeria on how best they can leverage on the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to prepare themselves and start their career after the NYSC.

As Corps Member or Ex-Corps Member in Nigeria, time is a precious commodity for you in your quest to starting and making plans for your career job.

As a newbie, you might not have the right and sufficient information or expertise on how to start this process which is quite normal and expected.

How to start your Career after National Youth Service Corps (NYSC)

The word is always congratulations when graduates undergo and completes the National Youth Service Corps in Nigeria, while it’s no crime to bask in the euphoria of this feat, it’s also important that you do not linger on this for long as it’s important that you set the ball rolling as soon as possible by ensuring that they start creating a plan for themselves on how they can find a job in Nigeria.

It’s important that you create a plan for yourself on what to do and how to go about searching for job in Nigeria. Searching for jobs in Nigeria can be tasking and without having a clear cut picture of what you want you might findit difficult searching for jobs in Nigeria.For you not to walk endlessly and aimlessly in Nigeria searching for jobs, you have to begin by developing a plan that will remove the unnecessary stress and hassles that’s attached to job hunting in Nigeria

Listed below are the steps to follow as you pursue a career after NYSC

1. Develop a Career Plan
2. Define your job target
3. Create your job search documents
4. Enlist your Contacts in Your Job search process
5. Find job posting/suitable platforms
6. Reach out to recruiters and recruitment Agencies
7. Prepare for Job interviews

1. Develop a Career Path- it is always the usual and common thought that right after the completion of the National Youth Service Corps in Nigeria, the next step that they have to take is writing a curriculum vitae and hitting the labor market immediately. While some might be lucky with this ,it is however not advisable to do this immediately. The first thing which you must do is to sit down carefully and develop a career path for yourself. You have to as a matter of fact need to study yourself and do a critical analysis and evaluation of your abilities and strengths.

You do not just pick a career path in a vacuum, it must be a product of a carefully based assessment of oneself. In doing this you must consider your strength and weaknesses, you must consider what your passion are. There are many people out there who have leveraged on their passion to make a career for themselves. Also you have to consider your skills and competencies, your circle, respective location and also your network.

When this is done it will help you to a very large extent to identify what you want to do, firms that you intend looking out for without you having to beat around the bush searching for random job. Identifying or developing a career path will to a very great extent help job searchers in Nigeria streamline their search to a respective and specific job niche or discipline.

2. Define your Job Target- This shares distinct similarities with the aforementioned; it is one of the basic and important factors that job seekers in Nigeria must take cognizance of. It’s important that they are intentional about what they want and how they intend getting it. Yes it is true that jobs are scarce in Nigeria, however it does not mean that you have to jump at very dick and harry job out there. Not all jobs are going to advance your career, not every job out there will give you the job satisfaction that you so want and desire. Not every job offers job security. This is why it’s important that you as a job seeker in Nigeria define what you want. You have to define what your job target is. When defined, you have to ask yourself how realistic and achievable these jobs target are. Having a specific and particular job target will make it a lot easier for your to make the right connections or walk in the right circles which will in the long run help you to identify the job that suits you.
3. Create your Job Search Documents- You do not have to wait for recruiters to call you for interviews before you start making plans to create the necessary job search documents that you need. Your job search documents must not be undermined, they are important documents that can  push or brand your person well why a badly written one will only do more harm to your chances of securing a job.

4. Enlist your Contacts in Your Job search process- I bet your are having a feeling that this might be a hard process especially when you think that you do not have any one who can actually help your or assist you with this. It’s become a common feature in Nigeria for many Nigerian youths to heavily depend on the power of connections to help them secure a job. However it doesn’t have to be that way. Job search in Nigeria has evolved over the years especially with the introduction of the internet and the various advancement and growth in the ICT. You can actually in the process of searching for jobs in Nigeria enlist the contacts of job search process. There are many and various platforms in the nation that can help you out to driving to you these numerous job opportunities in the Nigeria.

All you have to do is to subscribe to this various online platforms which where you can get the services paid for by you.

5. Find job posting/suitable platforms- it is important for job seekers in Nigeria to find job posting sites or platforms in the country. Gone are those days when you have to walk the length and breadth of the town searching for jobs or traveling from one state to another all in the name of searching for a greener pastures. Job search in Nigeria has bee made easier as you can now at the comfort of your home search for job anywhere in the world using these platforms which you can access with your smart phone, a proper internet connection. Platforms like delon.ng  in Nigeria are veritable and well secured online platforms that you can use and leverage on to get the job of your dreams in Nigeria
6. Reach out to recruiters and recruitment Agencies- Either you are moving around searching for jobs in Nigeria or either using the online platforms to search for jobs in Nigeria. There’s one undeniable fact and that’s, job doesn’t come in a vacuum. It’s to be an intentional efforts of the job seeker to get his or her desired results. This means that he or she has to reach out to the various recruiters or recruitment agencies in Nigeria. When this is done and all necessary data are collected and inputted, it becomes easier and comfortable for them to search for jobs in Nigeria as these various recruiting firms and companies helps to facilitate the search process
7. Prepare for Job interviews- while you leave the recruiters or recruiting firms in Nigeria to do their work, it is also important that you also do your homework. The ultimate goal of job seekers in Nigeria in their search for jobs is that they are called for interviews by the various recruiting firms that they have engaged or employed their services. Once this process has been initiated it’s important that they also prepare for interviews. This is the process where their respective potential employers get to meet them and engage them in their attempt to know more about them outside what they have written down in their respective curriculum vitae. Part of the things they need to understand when it comes to preparing for job interviews in Nigeria is the need for them to understand that job interviews are not just limited to onsite interviews alone. Recent advancement in the ICT has seen to the emergence and popularity of online interviews in Nigeria and across the globe. Also they must understand how to handle job interviews pressure.

Young graduates in Nigeria upon the completion of their National Youth Service Corps needs not to move around with an air of uncertainty over fear of what might become of them if they are unable to secure jobs in the country. While it’s true that there are no jobs out there, it is also true that there are plenty jobs in Nigeria waiting for the right candidate that’s the candidate that has been found worthy to be employed. And this is why as Young individuals they must not relent in their strive to making for themselves a legitimate living. They have to be proactive and ready at all times to leverage upon any opportunity that comes their way. There’s a greater level of competition that comes with searching for jobs in Nigeria and as a result of this they always have to seek for ways and means for them to advance themselves and continually ass value to themselves.

They must not allow themselves to be discouraged by the negatives that hooves around the Nigerian Labor market instead they must be proactive and ready to take the bull by the horn to making a way for themselves

By Marcus Amudipe