Are You a Deborah? A Reflection on Perspective and Opportunity

You’re a probably thinking ok what does she mean by this question.

Well stay with me , please stay with me because it would be worth your time .

So lemme tell you the inspiration for this post ; THIS TWEET ! 

Ok so what was your first thought? Be honest ! That Aw such a sad situation for a first class student and how the unemployment situation in the country sucks or how ingenious and hardworking she is ?

Well here’s the thing, I felt otherwise. And I said it here 

Now here’s the thing and i am in no way insinuating this is how this Deborah is , this is just for illustrative purposes and her story fits what I’m going to posit here.

I have met a lot of Deborah’s in my life and career path : first class student who aced all the papers and after National Service expect to be snagged by the hottest recruiters because hey first class, the most coveted class and then it doesn’t happen and they wonder why;

The Deborah’s I have met are largely stuck up , turn up their noses at any form of extra curricular activities because in their minds it’s a waste of time but here’s the thing : those extra curricular activities show balance! And present as great opportunities for network! I know you have probably heard this before but your network is truly your net-worth! Your classmate can recommend you for a job so do you know your classmates? Do you know them outside of the classroom .

Again, what I have noticed about the Deborah’s of this world is that they lack flexibility in their dealings. They’re good at what they do but struggle with flexibility and perspectives. Nobody wants to work with someone who doesn’t understand the importance of flexibility, it’s bad for any organization.

Here’s the options I feel Deborah could have explored even before she finished her National Service :

1. Applied for a fully sponsored scholarship and it’s most likely she would have received it because most scholarship opportunities are awarded to STEM background and if you’re a woman, oh la la, you’re cruising!

2. Explored professional certification such as NEBOSH which is like the ACCA/ICA of environmental health and safety career.

Kindly note that I’m not downplaying Deborah’s efforts at making lemonade out of lemons but it’s obvious this is not what she wants to do for the rest of her life, she wants a career in the program of study she excelled in and that’s absolutely in order, nobody goes to school, burns the midnight candle , forsakes all sorts of fun to end braiding hair which doesn’t bring her fulfillment.

The work environment is tough and competitive. Unless it’s the academia , most organizations do not care about your class! All they want is can you do your job? Are you hardworking? Do you have integrity? Can you achieve results?

My point is if you’re a Deborah reading this , please find a balance! Strike a balance! By all means get your GPA popping but also network and look at how you can make yourself more employable . Social media is your oyster, don’t be a wall flower there , be known for something (and here I mean something remarkable and impressive). Write practical solutions to problems in your program of study on Facebook, LinkedIn, Medium and even Twitter! Content is king!

The job market is competitive but some are creating niche for themselves and getting head hunted by organizations, so can you.  They don’t have two heads , they really don’t . 

So my dearest Deborah, you are doing amazing by focusing on your studies but please don’t be just academically smart , be street smart, go out of your comfort zone by talking to your lecturers on opportunities as a teaching assistant and how best to harness your academic prowess or look up at scholarship opportunities available in your field of study. Just put yourself out there while in school and even during National Service! And trust that everything would align .

Heard about soft skills ? Read up on it and see how best you can apply to your current plans.

Ok what do you guys think ? I need to hear from you in the comments section please. Am I unrealistic in my views of the Deborah’s? Do you have a different opinion? Please share with me in the comments section and let’s have a conversation

Everything sugar , spice and sweet 
AB