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A MIRROR OF HOPE

You forcefully open the double doors to your room to see your reflection in the large spotless mirror staring at you, as you try to avoid the Master. Your image kills the mustard seed of hope you have been trying to nurture – your eyes exhausted from too many tears. Your lips are chapped, and the glory of your skin is in the past - your beautiful skin as your mother would remark. You wonder if it’s because of its fairness or the hairless sight of it, or the chubby feeling when touched. And then you reckon the eyes of your mother are not yours. Your beauty lies in your freedom, you think to yourself. You affirm that you don’t belong here, not in this castle with grey walls, lofty ceilings, and heavy brown curtains. Not viewing ancient paintings of wars. Not on a bed for a crowd and certainly not wearing these expensive clothes too pure to smear. You recall the first day of your arrival at your new home. You were greeted by a servant who avoided your eyes as he bowed his head and sai...
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HOW I COULD NOT LAND A PART-TIME JOB





How I couldn’t land a part-time job, what I learnt after and how it may help you secure a job
For anyone seeking employment, it is essential to know how to impress an employer. It could be through preparation; knowledge of the employer’s pain points and showing that you are suited to take on the job and much more.
You could consider the humble lessons I learnt about securing a job through my loss. 
It was my HND One first semester. I had zero expectations of funds from anywhere but I needed to fend for myself and my sisters. This was one of the most difficult periods of my life. And I wanted to rescue myself with my skills and passion by getting a part-time job.
With my average writing and designing skills, I was production manager and designer of YABATECH Mass Communication students’ newspaper and magazine. I had experience in designing, using designing computer applications. So I naturally gravitated towards securing creative jobs. 
Soon after, I reconnected with a benefactor and friend, Smith who introduced me to his former boss; Mr. Bayo Ayinde, who needed a graphic designer that could perform as well as Smith did.

Develop yourself now that you can
Unfortunately for me, my portfolio was shallow at that time. School work, laziness and lack of focus got in the way of consciously developing my skill set so that days before my meeting with Mr. Ayinde, I was jittery, lacked self-confidence and doubted if I could get this job. 
One, I felt I couldn’t design as well as Smith who had consistently improved overtime. Two, I felt I lacked the experience since, unlike Smith, I hadn’t taken serious creative projects since I started schooling some three years ago. And yet, I was determined to go ahead because I needed to survive.
Looking back, I would never have employed myself too if I needed someone who could handle design projects on his own. Should I get a chance to revisit my past, I would take out time to improve myself first, before going out to seek employment.

Know what your employer needs and how you can deliver
I remember that Mr. Ayinde was interested in how much time I had to put into his work. He was soon going to study abroad for a while and wanted someone who could function as the lead designer and take the time to attend to his job while he was away.
To be honest, I wasn’t the best person for the job with this profile. HND is one of the busy moments of polytechnic education. I wouldn’t have been able to pull off working long hours and schooling full time all at once. But I could have tried with serious efforts.
Nonetheless, instead of looking out for ways to help meet the company’s demands, I asked when they closed for the day. I was too worried about my timing during the day and how I could return back home at night.

Do not communicate your problems or appear desperate
When he responded with a chuckle, a positive remark for my communication skills and a revelation of how much he does to meet client’s demands, I knew I was selling myself short. 
But instead of stopping, I compounded my problems when I started talking about my money problems and how it motivated me to get the job.

Conclusion
As you would have guessed, I didn’t get the job. I had hitches, my portfolio was weak and I was already busy with school work. Had I not landed a freelance writing gig soon after, I would have dropped out of school and denied my loved ones the little I did for them at the time.
For the privacy and my utmost respect for the persons I encountered at the period of my life that I narrated in this piece, their names have been changed.

A Shared experience!

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