I will start by congratulating you either upon finishing school or for picking interest to read this before recommending it to your brother or sister who just finished school/campus.
This is one of the most puzzling times in someone’s life I should warn you, because after posting your graduation photos on Facebook or Instagram and after almost everyone comments “congs”, you will for a moment feel stuck because your guardian will be asking if you have a Job when no one is calling you for an interview.
It’s no coincidence this article is coming out this week and not last week because I wanted you to savor you victory before giving you the not very good news. Two reasons why am writing this because I was in the same ‘stuck’ situation for a year (1) and (2) I don’t want to see you on TV joining the unemployed strike because you are waiting on the government for a Job.
The latter is very embarrassing because you are, as one of my friends puts it a ‘f***ing tech graduate’ you should be providing solutions to problems and not be part of the problem, so don’t make that poster yet because here are 5 alternatives, call them things that will keep you busy as you look for a job.
Take an online course:
I hate to be the one that tells you to go back to school but in a world where employers expect a lot of qualifications and experience from you, you will need more than just your IT degree to convince people to even consider you. Therefore as you sit on your father’s sofa and watch Scandal all day and chat with random people on Twitter, It wouldn’t be bad if you better your skills in networking or even learn a new way of writing your code.
Volunteer for an organisation:
If you think you have the skills as it says on your CV, then just Volunteer for any Tech Firm that is willing to take you on for ofcourse an advancement in your skills. Don’t join an organisation you are not going to benefit from, in terms of skills or a little pay.
Don’t miss local Meetups.
I find Meetups a good way to find like-minded people. Some of these have already established themselves or they are looking for brains like yours to help them in their company or organisation, In Uganda ICTAU holds monthly meetups so check them out. You can also get skills at local meetups for example local Google Developer Groups are going to be running a free certified Udacity Course on Android Development so you should join one close to you.
Start Your own company.
Team up with your friends and start your own company. It might be a software development company or a group of techies trying to find a solution to a given profitable problem. Build it from ground up and learn along the way. I should however warn you that once you start your company there is no going back so everyone should be in this for the long term and not just to pass time.
Write about tech stuff.
I want to make this the last point because I don’t want you to forget it. You are now considered by society, a learned person and you should find a place online to share some of your knowledge with everyone. Open up a blog site either on wordpress or Google Blogger. Write about your profession and about anything that you think might intrigue people who might want to hire you and even if you don’t get hired you will atleast inspire someone or teach someone something new.
I hope you have been inspired or have learnt something from me. Share this with a friends who just graduated it just might be what they need right now before they start binge watching Breaking Bad over again.
