How to Be a Successful National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Member: How to Be an Academic Corper
If you have the aim of furthering or advancing your academic qualification during or immediately after your National Youth Service you are an academic corper. If your focus is to secure a job eventually after the NYSC service, you are also an academic corper. The service year can serve as a great opportunity for you to achieve these goals on a platter of gold. This service year can serve as a platform for academic advancement and prospective job preparation.
Most Nigerian universities will require your NYSC discharge certificate before you are cleared to run a post degree programme, whereas, other schools might admit you without the NYSC discharge certificate.
My advice is; don’t wait until after your service year before you enroll for a post degree programme. Nigerian universities normally issue entry forms a year earlier. That is they issue admission forms for let’s say 2011 academic year in 2010. So you always have an extra one year to plan for your academic pursuit. If you can purchase a post degree admission form during your service year, before it is time for admission proper, you will surely be through with your national service. It is very important that you get all the essential information from your choice school before you purchase the admission form.
Please do a lot of planning, especially as regards to timing, location, finance and other engagements. Don’t wait any longer, start now. Interestingly, with the trend of globalization most foreign institutions offer online post degree courses. Most of these institutions and their programmes are universally recognized. It is also good to state that considering the increase in the rate of cyber crime one has to ascertain the genuineness of such schools and its courses before enrolling.
However, most of them are legitimate. It is the sole responsibility of the corps member to investigate the authenticity of such institution. Don’t just see an advertisement on the internet and pay for such product. Gather information on such institution before surrendering your money.
Preparation is the mother of manifestation. If you don’t prepare for your academic pursuit now you might not stand out from the crowd. You must not have the same result with the multitude. The top is reserved for a few, and the few are those that prepare for particular challenge or task before they face it.
You can use the service year to prepare for your post degree programmes. It is very important to state that you can start studying for your post degree courses now. Enroll for the course; get their scheme of work and their reading materials and start reading immediately. Before the end of your service year, you might have covered the scheme of work. Instead of wasting your time doing nothing, you can prepare for your examination.
A corper has an unrestricted access to state and federal libraries nation-wide. You can use this opportunity and become well grounded in your field. Study books and other reading materials relating to your field and become a master or guru in it. There are so many things you were not taught in school, this is your time to study and learn them.
You can also develop interest in other fields. Don’t waste your time on irrelevant activities. Instead, study to become versatile and relevant. Most people study just to pass an examination; that’s not the best. Study to apply the knowledge you have acquired and not for examination purpose. If you study for the sake of certificate, friend, you might not deliver. You cannot apply knowledge except you have an in-depth understanding of a particular concept. Deep understanding cannot come by cramming or through fire brigade reading approach. It comes through adequate preparation. Early preparations make reading enjoyable. Don’t read like an undergraduate seeking to pass an examination, read like a graduate that wants to be a master in a particular field. If you want to be recognized as one of the best students, then early preparation is non-negotiable.
An academic corper is a scholar. He reads every educative material that comes his way. He wants to be well informed. Some of them contribute meaningfully to their academic field. I met a corps member who conducted and packaged an extra ordinary research work. His research work made him a celebrity in the university he graduated from, and they offered him employment immediately after service. Other corpers have written great books, film, advertisement concepts, etc. We want to see your contributions in both national and international dailies. Your regalia are not for fancy; it can grant you access anywhere. Don’t waste your power, use it. Gathering information for your research work will not be a huge challenge because everybody is willing to help a corper.
Another group of academic corpers are those who want to secure jobs immediately after service. Honestly, it is very possible to secure a job few months after passing out.
Every reputable organization has its recruitment process that every prospective employee must undergo. Generally, the process starts from application, aptitude test, interviews, other tests, training and induction. These processes have established guidelines.
Most brilliant graduates with excellent results have not secured jobs because they are ignorant of the rules guiding these employment processes. Many graduates cannot write an attractive application letter. Some of us cannot arrange and write marketable curriculum vitae. Aptitude test is not like your normal school test. It is very different. The questions are technically designed and specifically regulate. So you must be conversant with it. An interview is not all about people talking to you or just a question and answer session. Friends, it is much more than that. I attended a recruitment seminar sometime ago, and it was clear that my dress code, gait, hair style, verbal and non-verbal communication, colour of clothing, etc. are all important in an interview.
Incidentally, these recruitment processes are not well taught in our schools. Even when they are taught, it is not comprehensively done. In school, I was never taught practical skills that can lead to successful recruitment process. Nobody told me that my CV must be in consonance with the job opportunity. I was not well informed, until I started attending various lectures and seminars. I’m very bold to say that I have never failed any interview. If my application is accepted, and I scale through the aptitude test, surely the job is mine.
Truly, most ex-corpers that graduated with good grades have lost many employment opportunities because they are not well informed about the recruitment process. Some of them cannot write a marketable application letter or a vibrant CV. Even when their academic knowledge assists them scale through the aptitude test, their lack of interview skills will make them lose the job. Academic qualification is not the major prerequisite for employment. Days are gone when grade levels are considered as a decisive factor for employment; contemporary employers want to see your confidence, innovativeness, composure, dress of fashion, competence and so on. During an interview, your academic qualification will be set aside, and your personal skills and experience will be put to test. I once faced a nine man interview team, and I was never intimidated for a second.
Truly, you can use the National Youth Service year to equip yourself for future recruitment process. Utilize this time in studying recruitment books. Learn how to write a charming cover and application letter and an adorable CV. I saw a friend’s CV, and I envied it. I copied her style and even improved on it, and it landed me a good job. They could not resist my innovative style.
Set out this time to become knowledgeable of various aptitude test techniques and questions. Please learn interview skills, because this is where so many graduates have missed out. Recruitment books and other materials are everywhere, buy and read them. You can even organize a mock interview for yourself to boost your confidence, it will do you much good. Don’t perceive seminars and other training programmes as waste of time and resources. Please if you have any opportunity to attend any, don’t take it for granted. They are all golden opportunities. Grab them with all your might and strength. In most of these seminars, you will learn practical steps to a successful recruitment exercise in contrast with the school’s theoretical approach.
It is also very important that you get used to current affairs. Listen and watch national and international news to be abreast with latest developments. Most corpers will never listen or watch the national network news all through their service year. They prefer watching movies all day. Lack of electric power is not an excuse. I had to buy a battery powered radio, so I can listen to 7am and 11pm network news as well as the BBC world news everyday because there was no electric power. I was even more informed than most people that enjoy constant power supply. I was also listening to good programmes like “success power” with Sam Adeyemi.
