"OVERAGE" but applying for that entry level job

Growing up in a local community in Enugu state, where the two existing nursery and primary schools where located about thirty minutes of an adult's walk from home , most of us got enrolled from age five. You may not understand this but the other fact is, the best most parents had was a bicycle that the wine tapping father would use for his business in the earlier hours of the morning and again around noon. School run was out of the equation. And just before you think about public transport or school buses, neither was a viable option. School buses were and are non existent and public transport was and is largely available on two out of every four days - Afor and Nkwo market days. 

So, you enroll when your legs are strong to carry you walking about forty to sixty minutes in the morning to school and even some minutes longer in the afternoon considering the hills you climb coming back. 

Enugu properly written is Enu Ugwu which translates as hill top. The topography of the state gave it that name. 

You attend that nursery, proceed to primary and may not learn to read and write till you finish primary six. This is no fairy tale. At some point some of our parents  began seeing the light and moved us to private schools neighboring towns like Nsukka. You drop about two and sometimes three classes; a price for the poor education in your local school. Those who remained in the community schools till completion of secondary education paid a heavier price.

 Most ended up writing O-level exams for three years to have the minimum five credits for university education. I know a lady that after first completion stayed three years at home and went to Nsukka to start senior secondary 1 . If you are Nigerian, you understand this means six years lost ! That's the much we loved and love education. Don't forget main Market Onitsha was a constant option, Ogbete Enugu was another and Nkwo Nnewi was yet a good destination. This is not to suggest that those who chose formal education are in anyway wiser or better than colleagues that went for apprenticeship; the later is another form of education that continues to produces several millionaires and even billionaires.

Well, we weren't brain dead nor were we of low IQ. It will be wrong to suggest we didn't take our studies seriously or that we had a negative attitude to studies. The moment we got the privilege to learn under the right atmosphere we blossomed. Some of us became best students in the city schools we moved to; became physicians , engineers, lawyers ...... and the story is continuing. 

At this point you may be thinking of the purpose of this write up. I know it! For myself would have began to ask the same question. Is this to draw attention to the poor education available to Nigerians in local communities? Or to to talk about how great villagers become when they move to better schools in cities? You may even question the possibility that a child could finish primary six and yet unable to read and write; well, most of us had parents without primary education and all we ever learned was in school. You may wonder, is this some sort of self pity? 

You may be right; for every man is entitled to his or her opinion. But the purpose of this writing is to draw attention to one of the many factors HR fails to consider in executing the age limit factor at Entry Level .

A candidate with the above story will graduate at about 27 years considering a perfect situation of no delays writing JAMB, including seizure of result for an offence the candidate knows nothing about. That candidate goes for the compulsory National Youth Service and comes looking for an entry level job at about 29 years old. At this point she or he discovers  that the government and HR in private companies, in charge of entry level jobs, assumes a perfect start for all candidates in Nigeria. You keep applying with every bit of competence but your age is considered incompetent for the job. Rejection after rejection and yet, more rejections. You think a masters degree is a way out, you finish it and return to square one - entry level jobs and now you are about two or three years older. Early thirties! Your chances just got slimmer.

 Accepted, private companies had no hand in the predicament of most of us that started our education in the villages of Nigeria. But the government placing age limits on entry level jobs in government institutions( look at the recent advert by NNPC ) shows the HR has no understanding of the failure of government that gave rise to this generation of young men and women looking for entry level opportunities at age 29 , at thirty and some 33 or 35. Or better still, HR is aware but like the government pretends it was not the government's responsibility to at least erect school buildings close enough for a three year old to start nursery school.  Either of the two is a terrible situation.

 Now the private companies. I remember an advert by an oil major last year with an upper age limit of 27 . Good for them, and to those that got in, a big congratulations! But a great pool of talents determined to work was left out without an opportunity to be interviewed. I think our class deserves to be heard. 

You are loosing and we are loosing too.  When We tell you our age you knock us out and we wonder if being truthful is part of our crime.

There are exceptions but I know many in the class you call overage with high academic and skill competences in addition to wonderful characters. I also know many in you accepted age groups with same qualities. But you know what? There are many ''overage'' coming in as underage and ageism in the hiring process is part of the reasons for the lies that ensured they now work in your company. Some lie for other reasons. I know but it's time companies and especially the government does something about ageism at entry level especially in Nigeria. Yes I understand the age factor if someone is very elderly, his safety becomes a concern we all will argue but ageism in the hiring process needs be addressed. 

Staying on the other side of the door after all you went through to graduate is not fun and the pain is worsened when you realize your age is the only reason you can't get in. You are competent on all fronts, you can do the job but you fail the narrow age competency and this is by no means your making. 

This is our story and our situation. 

Are we giving up? Not at all! Should we even consider giving up ? Far be it from us. We learn while we search and our search is unlimited. We are expanding our search base and realizing other potentials but the country is loosing a lot of talent from her technical workforce as a result . I know this for I know people in this class and have interacted with a number of us. 

Education was the key while we remained in schools, we graduated with good grades and high visions and hopes but the key given us on graduation belong to out of use padlocks; they are considered by HR as depreciated in value and many, in courts, with the help of a few men and women, turn back the hand of the time and somehow manage to steal the valued key.

 It's called age cheating and such it is but there is another form of age cheating executed by the government and companies through HR. We call it ageism and properly addressed will control the former to a fair extent. 

This is our testimony and it stands true. And just before your final judgement, remember, this. If we studied with people much younger than us, we can work with those younger than us. If we followed the leadership of class representatives younger than us, we can work under younger superiors. We got shamed for our age in school and we have developed shells strong enough to overcome it. We are ''overage'' but bold to apply.

This is just one one the many reasons for which a candidate can fall under the 'overage' class while looking for an entry level position.

What is your story and how has it positively or negatively affected you in landing your first job? 

Note that the number of government owned primary schools in my community hasn't changed. 

#Searchingandlearning