Fresh graduates should not automatically conclude that they have no experience when applying for jobs, Rachel Adegbe has advised.
Adegbe made the point during the Employee Concourse event in Abuja on Saturday while discussing how job seekers can present their experience to prospective employers.
According to her, candidates can draw relevant experience from activities they have already undertaken, even when those activities did not come from a traditional full-time job.
She specifically mentioned National Youth Service, team leadership, group work and freelance assignments as examples that candidates can consider when presenting their experience.
“You don’t say you don’t have experience,” Adegbe said during her presentation.
She challenged fresh graduates to consider what they did during their previous activities and identify responsibilities that demonstrate their ability to contribute in a workplace.
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Adegbe said the issue is not necessarily whether a candidate has accumulated many years of experience, but whether the person can demonstrate an ability to contribute when given an opportunity.
She also linked this advice to the importance of evidence on a CV.
Rather than simply writing that they possess a particular skill, candidates should explain what they did and what resulted from their actions.
Adegbe’s advice also extends beyond graduates who are entering the labour market for the first time.
She encouraged job seekers to make use of periods when they are not employed by building relevant skills and documenting what they learn or accomplish.
She shared her own experience of a career break between 2003 and 2006, explaining that someone who reviewed her CV asked what she had been doing during the period.
Adegbe said she initially described the period as being at home caring for her children and reading books.
The person then encouraged her to recognise the skills and activities she had developed during that period and include them appropriately in her CV.
Adegbe said she subsequently described the period as a career break and included the skills she was building.
She used the experience to encourage job seekers to think about what they are doing during periods away from formal employment.
According to her, applicants should not simply leave gaps unexplained when those periods involved learning, responsibilities or activities that can provide relevant context.
For fresh graduates, the message is to examine their experiences more carefully.
NYSC, freelance projects, group activities, leadership responsibilities and other relevant experiences can provide examples that may help demonstrate practical abilities when applying for employment.