Bag a degree and an impressive work experience!

My niece came home the other day, brimming with excitement as she screamed “We will soon start our exams and afterwards go on holiday!” Well, for a primary school age school kid, holiday brings an exciting freedom with lots of opportunities to have fun until school term calls again. But it is different when you are in college because most holidays are spent carrying out different school-related projects or working.

The beauty about taking up after-high-school job and holiday jobs during your college years is that by the time you graduate from the university, you would have bagged a degree as well as the minimum years of work experience required by most prospective employers or to start your own business enterprise.

A couple of months ago, my daydream of taking a trip to the Caribbean or somewhere as interesting to feel the wind blow through my hair, while recuperating after the physical and psychological stress of being a student, was interrupted by a job offer right after graduating from college. So while some of my peers were job-hunting, I was already in the field putting into practice what I learned in the four walls of the ivory tower. I won’t say I was so fortunate because I was academically conscientious but the opportunity was created from the chain of work experience I built maximizing my potential through holiday jobs.

After graduating from high school, I took up different Jobs while awaiting admission into the University. It was not so chic then, but for me it was an exciting trend that I kept up while in college. However, I consciously made an effort to only embrace opportunities that were in tune with my area of interest. For example, there was no point working as a make-up artist when I had no interest in the fashion business.

The holiday jobs provided me avenues to engage myself positively, learn new things, shape my perspective about life, build my character and network to broaden my sphere of influence. The work I enjoyed most is the one that employed my talent and innovative ideas and in the process challenged my norms and increased my knowledge. There were some that had depressing working conditions and rarely encouraged my active participation but all the same they all gave me a complete education.

In this age of global competitiveness, obtaining a degree from university alone has become inconsequential as a parameter for finding or creating an ideal job. You need to have good knowledge and competent experience to be seen as an asset by a prospective employer. Taking up holiday job is not synonymous to truancy or shirking your responsibilities as a student, thus the need to strive for a good result as well as a pleasant work experience. At the end, your CV/Resume will not only standout, the experience will also help you discover your place of comparative advantage in the marketplace.