At the futuristic tendency of knowing our next call, we often get carried away by our present, and thus resolve to be in a compounded situation of what-if. Ask anywhere, no one, I mean absolutely no makes a move with absolute certainty of everything working in their favor. This is why you have a philosophical dictum; some risks are worth taking because if you succeed it would appear like you made a genius move, and ultimately grow confidence. And, in the event of failure, you learn from it, and that will shape you going forward. Either way, although this could be debatable, even a failure might be interpreted as a win in the long run. However, this is not a philosophy class, I will leave it right here. Haha!
While in the final year of my master’s degree, I mindfully became wary of the next career step. The truth is, and against conventional thinking, I did not intend to continue with my PhD. Back then, I wanted to work, not just work for the fun of it, I wanted to work and understand the corporate world. Even if I am transitioning to the industry after my PhD, I could easily leverage my past corporate experience. That was the goal, no more no less. I was left with two options. First, return to Nigeria and hustle for a job. Second, I stayed back in the country where I was doing my master’s degree and got a job. The latter option seemed pretty difficult because of so many reasons that put the intent of this article off-based. I will leave it for someday.
Nigeria, it is! Coming back with zero working experience and just a master’s degree was a troubling experience. Inasmuch as I downplayed it, it was a horrible experience that sparked through the veins of despair in my body. Nonetheless, I was determined to go aboveboard, start from scratch, learn, do the needful, and in the umpteenth instance, put in the stubborn hard work to turn things around. Without prior work experience, Nigerian companies don’t really regard double qualifications, with the exception of a few management trainees’ roles, which come once in a blue moon. What that means is: that I have to get the master’s cert off my head and hustle hard for an entry role. But then, the question is: where do I start from?
At home, I intended to move to either Lagos or Port Harcourt in search of a greener pasture, however, I was told to hold on. After all, I just returned back to the country, and I have not spent quality time with my family. I stayed back in Kano for some time. While at that, my elder brother brought a form to fill out for a Solar Installation and Maintenance Graduate Training Program by the Industrial Trust Fund. The question is, what will I even do with this? I enrolled anyway. Before that, the CEO of Tech Hub in Kano offered me a chance to work with him. The Tech Hub offers training in Solar Installation, CCTV, Electrical Fencing, and Computer Networking, and that is where I got another chance to learn some sort of new skills. You may ask me this, what was the bottom-up thinking then? Well, I was only interested in learning these things because maybe—just maybe—I might need it in the future.
Picture taken during my presentation as a Team Lead during the graduation ceremony at ITF
Reminiscing those days, I earned nothing, and every day I would pay for transport to go to the hub and return home around 9 pm. I remember my elder brother often bought internet data for me and made sure I stayed financially afloat however small a token it was. If there is something I learned from this it is the power of using my frustration to learn and apply for at least 20 direct jobs on LinkedIn and send at least 10 cold emails for Graduate Internship roles. Sadly, nothing positive came out. Nevertheless, I kept my head up with a darling hope that somehow something would work out.
While busy with the learning process, just five months into my search I started getting called for interviews and tests. One of those tests and interviews that stood out was the SAP Young Professional Program in West Africa. Though I did not over-exercise until our induction, it was such a beautiful experience that brought me closer to the end goal. After the rigorous selection process, I got accepted alongside 23 young professionals from Nigeria and Ghana to get trained by SAP for free, a training that is worth $35K as we were told then. Before I rounded up that program, I had three offers from different companies, and when I started one, I eventually resigned and moved to another organization. After all, who does not like better perks? Lol!
My overall goal in writing this article this week is to share my experience of being before different panels of admission at one of the most sought-after schools in the world. At some point, the admission recruiters were extremely moved by how I achieved so much within a short period of time, which actually made me stand out amongst the potential candidates they had interviewed. It was easier for me to fully be at an advantage because I have learned and mastered what’s often required. For instance, a Prof during one of those interviews, what is energy transition from an African perspective? And, you know what? That was my Aha moment. I was able to share my experience learning solar installation and maintenance and working in a tech hub building clean energy solutions. He was taken aback and ultimately agreed with all my answers. Virtually, in all the interviews I had at those schools, I got a clear confirmation of acceptance before I dropped off the call, and this is as a result of what I offered: both in skills, experience, and of course education.
If I had not put in more hours and energy into learning things out of curiosity, I would have struggled to position myself as a suitable candidate, and this will in eventual circumstances impact my chance of getting admitted. You see, you only connect the dots going backward not forward. This is simply because the past is where you have a receipt, and the future is too complex and uncertain for someone to predict. Therefore, do not learn stuff for the fun of it, learn it hard and somewhat believe you may need it in the future.
No experience or skill learning is a waste. Well, you can agree with me based on my story.
First off, you write beautifully and succinctly. Secondly, I'm moved by your experience. Indeed, we can only connect the dots meaningfully backwards. Some are fortunate enough to have their stories play out the way they've dreamed it. But for others, they are blessed with the exhilarating anticipation of not knowing exactly where the process leads too. Grateful for your grace stories, and hopeful that the same happens to myself and others who desperately seek it. Congrats.