The joy of moving out in the morning, the joy of putting on sharpthe urge of being called a working class guy/girl, the zeal to
climb the career ladder has driven lots of youths into untold
slavery rather than financial freedom and Job comfort.
LET ME EXPLAIN
As a young student in the finals of a university, all you anticipated
about was graduating from school and being employed in one of
the biggest firms in the country, with a driver, P.A, Secretary and
your own house. You finally graduate and go for the compulsory
NYSC and perform all rituals that comes along with it. Now you
are good to go, but 3 years after there seems to be no head way
yet.
Family members are tired, Parents are complaining, Siblings are
murmuring, Guys in the neighborhood are using you as example
when stories of unemployment are brought up. But what can you
do? you keep asking yourself.
Out of anger, you relocate to Lagos and start the Job hunt
seriously. Every job looks enticing to you, you no longer care
about other factors. All you need now is JUST A JOB ! You start
the Job hunt.
Finally you get JUST A JOB and few months later you wake up
from sleep around 5.30am (NORMAL TIME IN LAGOS) and all
you do is hiss and curse the economy and wish you can just stay
at home all day.
The imaginary picture of your office in your head is just like the
Last fight in the Spartacus movie, you dread everyone in the
office, the feeling of going to work makes you vomit, sick and
depressed. All you do is wish you never worked in such a place.
Now my question is WHAT HAPPENED?? .. Before you take JUST
THAT JOB , See this-
1) Terms and Conditions: It is well said that Nigerians are too
lazy to read the terms and conditions of anything. All they want
to do is just a brief explanation and where they can click or tick "I
ACCEPT". Job seekers fail to access all these and all they just
take into consideration is
i) How much is my Basic
ii) How many times will i work in a week
iii) Is there any added compensation plan?.... Thats all.
What about other questions like am I entitled to a Leave?
How long will I stay before I become a confirmed staff?
If I fail to meet up with some conditions, what is the penalty?
What benefits can't I enjoy at my stage now... This are few of the
questions you need to ask before you dive into the Job...
2) Run a fast Background Check: People have worked there
before you. People will still work after you. These are the people
that can tell you the truth. I remember attending an Interview and
after the interview, I took my time to ask a staff of the firm about
some little things(after we became friends) Lo and Behold she
told me that... "Any day you come late to work, 1500naira is
deducted from your salary, They pay the 2nd week of a new
month, etc). I ddin't bother collecting the appointment letter,
because i wasn't prepared being a slave in this 21st century.
When you ask questions, You get to know...
i) How your Boss behaves
ii) The working conditions, and every other thing related to the
company.
After these questions and you now know the "REAL" firm you are
about working for, then you can make your choice.
See you next time on a Thread titled.... "Before you get the
Dream Job, Do all These"
Complied and Written by Mike Bush (Marketing Strategist, Public
speaker)