Why Are Most Nigerian Graduates Unemployable?

Some graduates are exceptionally brilliant and it is evident when you talk to them. However, that’s not really enough to get a job. You must prepare well for an interview if you want to get a job. That simply means that you must be able to demonstrate that you are employable. Practically, you must prove that you can do the job.

It is pertinent to note that if you can do the job but fail to communicate well during interview, you’re not likely going to get the job. So, best to specially prepare for every job interview. Do your homework before you attend an interview, including how you present and conduct yourself during the interview. Below is a selection of some of my experiences @HetoGrow with many Nigerian under and postgraduates. Most are genuinely nice people but lacking is many ways.

The first important thing to know is that if you’ve been invited to attend an interview, that means they think you can do the job. So they want to know more about you. You have a great opportunity to go and sell yourself to your potential employer. Don’t blow it.

The second thing to bear in mind is that you are not the only one that wants the job. You have tough competition. Don’t waste time praying to get the job. Prepare to get the job. You’re not the only one praying to get a job. Why should God answer your prayer and not other people’s? The employer’s only prayer is to get the best candidate that can solve their problem. Yes, the reason they are interviewing is because they have a problem they think you can solve. Can you?

Also, getting a job is often a game of numbers. Don't just apply for one and then fold your arms. You must apply for as many as are available. The more you apply the greater your chance of getting a job.

To be able to demonstrate that you can solve the employer’s problem you must first understand what they want and be able to explain how you can solve the problem. To have a stronger chance of getting the job, go the extra mile and show that you can add value in other parts of the business. That means you must first understand the role being interviewed for, the company’s business, industry and their competition. Basic information about this will already be on the job specification under Company overview, Department overview and Role description . Don’t just rely on that, go the extra mile and do some research on the company. I used to go to the company address ahead of time and imagine myself working there. I would also seek out people that work there and tell them I’d been invited for an interview for xxx role in yyy department and I wanted to research the company before attending the interview. So I would ask – can you please tell me what the daily routine is like in the department and company generally. The response was always positive and encouraging because they were all pleasantly surprised I went that extra mile. Some promised to put in a good word for me. Naturally, when I got the job we became good friends. So, you have to dream it, believe you can get it, then make it happen by going the extra mile.

The last section of a job spec would normally specify what the employer is looking for: Key Competencies - skills, experience, qualifications and knowledge required. I used to aggregate job spec for roles I want to apply for and do a section-by-section analysis to find the common factors and key skills required. The reason was to identify skills employers typically ask for which I didn’t have. I would then do a comprehensive research on those skills to develop a decent knowledge of them.

Typically, I would find:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  
• Ability to work well with others and develop team spirit
  
• Can-do attitude. Planning and organizational skills; executing priority actions on-time
  
• Pay attention to details. Multi-tasking skills. Results orientated with a clear focus on execution and delivery.
  
• Analytical mind-set with good understanding of advanced spreadsheet (MS Excel), presentation (MS PowerPoint) and database (MS Access) skills. Note that different spec will list specific tools and functions required for the job
  
• Job-type experience with a solid understanding of products/business of the company.
  
• Educational and professional qualification
  
• Relevant experience on similar job-type
  

I would normally rank these skills set in order of priority for my research. Skills I didn’t have would rank highest so I could dedicate more time to acquiring them quickly. For practical experience, I would find people that have the experience as described above, and ask them to tell me what they did daily and how. It helped me understand the working environment and I would immerse myself in that environment, in my mind.

One such example is how I developed working knowledge of Excel pivot table, conditional statements and macros. I was okay with writing basic conditional statements but had no clue about the other two. What I did was to dedicate few hours a day to it. I simply opened up Excel on the PC, went into the Help Menu and searched pivot table. I studied the notes so much that I started setting up various scenarios of my own and using pivot table to analyse them. I did the same thing for the other two. And I acquired other skills along the way. At other times, I attended courses that were directly relevant to what I was looking for. At interviews when the issue came up I would tell them what I did to develop the knowledge, citing specific example of functions, to demonstrate that I had practical knowledge of what I was talking about. And it served me well.

There are several reasons why most (note the word MOST. Not All) Nigerian graduates are unemployable. The most important of these is responsibility. They fail to take the responsibility to make themselves irresistible to employers. They expect you to pity them and give them a job. And if you make the mistake of doing that they end up wrecking your business – and still expect you to pity them. Many (note the word MANY. Not All) expect you to train them and pay them at the same time. They generally don’t quite appreciate how competitive the market place is. Jokers!

Some specific reasons they are unemployable include:

1. The country is messed up by corruption and terrible leadership
   
2. The universities are rather static, producing half baked “hand out” graduates
   
3. The students are just lazy. Most tend to prefer short cuts rather than burning the midnight oil. When I was a student, I studied to know stuff so well that I could teach other students better that the lecturers taught us. I also had an interest in applying what I learnt to everyday life. Students nowadays don’t test and apply what they learn in school.
   
4. Poor communication skills. Oral and written communication is so bad I often have headaches conversing with many graduates. There’s gross lack of understanding and application of basic grammar and language structure. Many don't know when to use present, past, future tense let alone past participle or future perfect tense. Many can’t distinguish between “there” and “their”, "his" and "he’s", "been" and "being", "I'm" and "am" "hear" and "here", etc. When you see such poor language on CV’s, applications or proposals, chances are you’ll bin them.
   
5. Most are unprepared for work. They just want to get a job, lazy about doing nothing and expect to be paid more than their employers.
6. There’s also so much “I know someone that knows someone” mentality; so they think they have right to get the job and expect to be treated specially.
7. Graduates are grossly ill prepared for interviews. They end up not giving a good account of themselves. Someone was asked - “which is better: social media or twitter?” He said social media. When asked why he said “social media is more flexible than twitter because it allows you to write more and upload more pictures” Hahaaa…! Can you believe that?! Another person was asked if they had an email account and they answered yes. When asked if its a savings account or current account they said savings. Hahahaaaa…! I leave you to guess if the respondent was a male or female. I couldn’t believe my ears. The test was designed to find people that would be humble enough to admit their weaknesses and ask for guidance on the job. And to help make a fair assessment of training and development needs. When asked if they had any questions for the interview panel, vast majority said no. That’s a terrible response. The Job interview is not a mono directional viva voce. It is meant to be a discussion. Invitation to ask questions should never be declined. Its an opportunity to sell yourself by askingtechnical or social intelligent questions about the job, the business, competition, technology in use, corporate culture & dress sense, etc. You can ask questions that enable you to showcase skill/talent you haven’t been opportuned to, which you have and feel may be relevant to the job or beneficial to the employer.
   
8. Employers recruit because they have problems they need graduates to solve. Most students don’t understand this so they don’t acquire and develop those extra skills
   
9. Far too many are too comfortable with asking for help rather than earning it. They are far too comfortable taking rather than earning. Far too dependent rather than aiming to achieve independence and self sustenance.
   
10. There’s also the annoying comment or expectation that “God will do it”.

Whilst I have specifically highlighted reasons why many (note the word MANY. Not All) are unemployable, I would like to categorically emphasis the fact that a recognisable number will do well if given the chance because most are exceptionally hard working and have a deep hunger for knowledge and ability. We also have some that are remarkably brilliant and talented. Unfortunately, you’ll find most of them abroad where they are applying their talents to develop their host countries whilst Naija continues to wallow in abject penury. All because of one simple reason – total failure of national leadership amidst a vast array of natural and human resources that should make it possible to pave Nigerian roads with the finest gold ornaments. Oh what a shame?!

I love technology and I promote quality solar power banks which I think are particularly important in Nigeria to keep mobile gadgets powered up. Power banks are great tools that can help you take advantage of the internet to do your research and be well prepared for your job interview.

Hope you find my tips helpful. When you get a job please come back and share the good news here. Hope you'll buy me a cup of coffee when you get your first pay 😉. I wish you all the best!

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