Unemployment Crisis: From Graduate to Job Hunter

In today’s world, having a degree doesn’t guarantee a good job. For most young graduates in Nigeria, unemployment has become the order of the day.

With the current economic situation crisis, the unemployment rate has increased. As more jobs demand extra certifications, experience and connections for little pay, many graduates are left questioning if their years of schooling were enough.

Today on PoliZ Life, we dive into the journey of a recent insurance graduate who’s been facing constant roadblocks in finding a job, despite her qualifications.

I graduated with a degree in insurance, and I thought life after school would be straightforward. My plan was simple: get a good-paying job, start earning back the money I spent on education, and move on with my life. But boy, was I wrong.

Every job opening I’ve found in insurance has been for marketers, not underwriters—the job I trained for. I didn’t spend years studying insurance just to become a marketer. Still, I applied for internships, hoping to gain more experience in my field and possibly get my foot in the door. But guess what? Even in the internships, they pushed me into the marketing team. It was frustrating because this was not what I spent years studying for.

Then I found out something even more discouraging. To get a good-paying job in the specific department I want, I need to get a professional certification. It’s basically a requirement. But here’s the problem: how do I afford the fees for the certification when I can’t even land a decent-paying job? It’s like being stuck in a cycle—you need the job to get the certification, but you need the certification to get the job. It’s totally unrealistic and frustrating.

We spent all those years in school thinking that once we graduated with good results, the suffering would end. We believed that a good education was the key to a better future. But the reality out here is so different. It’s like no one prepared us for the fact that graduating doesn’t guarantee anything.

I hope this situation doesn’t last too long, but honestly, I don’t know how things will change. You might ask, ‘Why not get other skills that could help you make money?’ Trust me, I’ve tried. I didn’t just sit around waiting for insurance jobs to fall into my lap. I have two other CVs aside from the one I use for insurance jobs, highlighting different skills I’ve learned, but those haven’t worked either.

I’ve applied to over 200 jobs, and not a single one has gotten back to me. It feels like most of these job openings are just a front for companies—they advertise, but they don’t really plan to hire anyone. It’s exhausting and makes you question if you’re doing something wrong, but at the same time, you know it’s not just you.

The reality is, in Nigeria, you need connections to get good job roles. Unfortunately, I don’t have those kinds of connections. My only connection right now is God, and I believe that He’ll make a way. I trust I won’t be in this rut forever.

Jane’s experience sheds light on the tough reality many young Nigerians face when searching for jobs. But her story is just one among many. How has unemployment affected you?

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