buzz and the fun in the air. Christmas in Nigeria is
usually characterized by a mass exodus of people
from different locations to their home towns. I
always look forward to the big family reunion. As a
matter of fact, I always believed as a young
person that the longest night every year is the
eve to the day my whole family is supposed to
travel to the village for the xmas celebration. I
could hardly get some sleep that night.
I remember this particular day. It is dawn at last.
My siblings and I are fully kitted up for the
journey even before 5am. But no. Dad and Mum
are not ready yet. Why on earth will my mum
choose today of all day to do the last batch of the
Christmas shopping? Up till today I have not
gotten an answer to that question. I already woke
up with no appetite for food. The only thing that
mattered to me is hitting the road to my village.
Can we just get it rolling? But no. my mum is not
yet back from her last minute shopping. The time
is now 2pm and you can practically be deafened
by the sound of the heartbeat of me and my
siblings just observing my Dad's body language
and hoping anxiously for my mum to get back
home before it's too late and for my Dad, 3pm is
already too late for any kind of journey.
Finally mum is back. Our excitement knows no
bound, but it was short-lived. It was really brief
because the moment mum came back home, she
goes into a close door session with the husband
and after a heart to heart talk, they emerges from
the bedroom with the bomb shell; "Children! We
can no longer travel today. It's now tomorrow".
Gush! You know the rest of the story. If you had
walked into our house that moment, one would
think we were bereaved. .
However, this piece is not about me and my
family, but about the travails of the Nigerian job
seeker during this season. One thing is certain, as
the yuletide comes with excitement to many, it
also sets some people up in a depression mode.
Honestly, this is not a very good time to be broke.
For a particular job seeker, the yuletide arrived so
fast. The memories of the 2014 yuletide is still
very fresh in your mind like it was yesterday. You
can still remember how you piped low and
operated on a low key throughout the festivity.
You still remember the words of encouragements
and empty promises from extended relatives that
gave you hope for 2015 and here you are, 2015
yuletide, still without a job. You are wondering,
what's the excitement all about?
I can also imagine the fresh graduate. You just
passed out of NYSC, you still have some little
'change' to play around with. You are super
excited about the prospect of rocking the villa for
the first time as a 'Graduate'. You are also
motivated by the fact that you will be meeting
with that uncle of yours that never sent you
money while you were an undergraduate but
promised you heaven on earth as soon as you
graduate. You are familiar with the line "you don't
have to worry about anything at all. Just study
hard. The moment you graduate I will get you a
job. I know the MD of XYZ company, the HR of
XYZ oil and gas, the Perm sec of XYZ parastatal.
Talking to them is not a big deal, just get done
with your studies". Na today?
For another job seeker, it is that time of the year
you have waited for impatiently. Finally you can
now travel to the village and attend the town hall
meeting with that Senator representing your
senatorial district or that Rep member
representing your constituency. It's an
opportunity for the unemployed youths of the
community to meet and interact with them and
ultimately drop their CVs with the hope of getting
a job as promised during the campaign. One
chance!
What is the way forward from here? I have always
taught and will continue to teach that strong
network is an indispensable tool every job seeker
must strive to build. So many jobs are gotten
based on referrals or what we call 'connection' in
Naija and the yuletide affords you that
opportunity of networking and you can take
advantage of that to enhance your chances of
ending your job search next year or making a
career switch. However, you need to understand
how to attract and manage superior relationships
this season to enable you build sustainable
'connections' that you will ride on in 2016.
This is a little idea I want to share with us. As you
celebrate the xmas, don't depend on your uncle
or a simple town hall meeting with a politician to
do the magic for you. You must stand up and
assume responsibility. You must do this for
yourself because as much as people care, nobody
needs that job like you do. As you travel for xmas
to continue job hunting, I want you to put the
following into consideration.
Get a gift for any Politician, Corporate Executive
or Business mogul you desire to meet with in your
town. That is the way to their heart. You see, this
guys are used to people coming around to collect
and collect from them in this season. So, you will
be making a bold statement by coming with a gift
for them. It is written in the bible "A man's GIFT
maketh a way for him." Yes. Initially, I will be like,
what can I possibly get for them that they don't
have? The idea is not to buy them what they
don't have or can't afford. No. The idea is to make
an impression, that will enable them give you
serious attention. I can suggest a good wine, an
art work, or a portrait. a bottle of cashew nuts
can even do the magic. Trust me. You can't
imagine what this singular act will get you in
return. Please don't visit them with your CV. It
was supposed to be a solidarity visit. The question
of what you do for a living will surely arise, then
you can subtly make your case.
One question you should be ever ready to answer
is "what can you do?" Most job seekers don't have
an answer to this question and that is why they
are finding it a bit difficult to get a job. What can
you do is a different question from what did you
study. Before you even embark on this my little
mission, ensure that you have any requisite skill
that can help a business produce. Make sure you
are thinking along the line of contribution and not
just an avenue to keep body and soul together.
Usurp that moment to sell yourself to your host
and secure an appointment. However, bear it in
mind that the essence of this mission is to
establish a relationship and not necessarily to get
a job offer.
Finally to manage this relationship and ride on it
to achieve expected results, you must
understand Gratitude, Patience and Loyalty.
You
must learn to be Time conscious and finally,
guard yourself with etiquettes that guides
superior relationships. For instance, if your host
gave you his number and demand that you call
him at a stipulated time and you did but he
didn't pick up, that won't justify you giving him
'3 missed calls'. Don't inundate people with calls
or else you will be jeopardizing the relationship.
Enough said. I promise to share more extensively
on how to manage superior relationships on this
platform at a later date. Meanwhile, get a gift for
someone today and make the most of the season.
Remember, a man's gift makes a way for him.
Merry Xmas!
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