Persever****: The Unbridled Journey to a Desired End

Hello World, I am Erigi Wabemo, a remote volunteer Sub Editor at The Renata in London, United Kingdom. This is my first written article on LinkedIn — there will be many more to follow. It reflects my storied career pursuit and my relentless efforts in building an editorial career.

How do you reflectively deal with failures and doubts?

Do you find it difficult to handle failure? Do you struggle to follow your dreams? Are you at a career crossroads? Although making mistakes, being confused, failing at something, and receiving multiple rejections are all common occurrences in life, employing certain strategies can help you draw lessons from past failures and challenges.

In my story, I discussed how I have managed to navigate a new career path, without any guidance — whatsoever — from anyone. Although it has been an unbridled journey, so far, a lot of knowledge and experiences have been gained from the entire process. Sharing these experiences with others is essential to help educate and inspire others — mainly fresh graduates — that the challenges they are experiencing as fresh graduates are common and that they can employ certain strategies to improve their situation and achieve success in their chosen careers.

Early days in the wilderness of doubts

In my obstinate quest to become an editor, it has been a very tedious journey for me. Even though I experienced my fair share of doubts, difficulties, rejections and ridicule, I persisted. When I first created a profile with Glassdoor, a friend scoffed at me and told me that I was wasting my time with these platforms, that they are fictitious companies and do not genuinely hire anyone. As indeterminate as I was at the time, instead I chose to go on from Glassdoor to Indeed, where I learned a lot since Indeed was more than just a platform for recruiting, it was also a platform for mentorship — or so I discovered.

On Indeed, I researched the various editorial careers, the necessary skills, credentials and average salaries to determine which areas my skills are better suited for. I realised that editing written materials typically require a bachelor’s degree in English, Journalism, Mass Communication or other closely related fields. I have a legal background, so I needed to upgrade my certifications to rank among those in other related fields.

Finally, I had to settle for the least demanding job in the editing industry as my niche — proofreading (correction of grammar, spelling, punctuation, typographical errors etc). Before graduation, I had limited experience editing academic papers for undergraduate and master's clients. At the time, I had no idea that editing academic papers could lead to a career as a professional proofreader or editor.

After graduating from Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, as a fresh law graduate waiting for admission to the Nigerian Law School, I was unsure at the time whether practising as a legal practitioner is exactly how I see myself — or it has simply been a figment of an elusive fantasy.

First steps of self-realisation

I decided to enrol in editorial classes after realising I lacked the necessary skills to be an editor. I looked for online courses to broaden my knowledge of editing fundamentals. Soon after, I switched from Indeed to LinkedIn, which completely revolutionised the dynamics of my fledgling career. I enrolled in free courses on Coursera and LinkedIn Learning, and after completing them, I received certifications. This was huge at the time because it helped me learn and develop some new skills while also improving my grasp of the editorial profession.

I also improved my software productivity skills, with software packages such as Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Acrobat, Google Suite, Trello, Calendly, LinkCards, Linktree etc., for which I obtained skill assessment badges in Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint on LinkedIn, to better prepare myself for entry-level jobs as a proofreader in the editorial profession.

On LinkedIn, I had to build my profile from scratch, but this time — unlike on Indeed — I was determined to optimise my profile by exploring the various available sections. I completed the “Learning LinkedIn” introduction course on LinkedIn Learning, browsed all the different sections, and then optimised my profile by filling out all the relevant sections reflecting my editing experience.

A giant leap to a desired end

After successfully optimising my LinkedIn profile to an “All-star” level, I realised that since all of my editing experience had been gained through local freelancing, I needed to gain professional editing experience. I created a well-tailored CV that included information about my early editorial endeavours and used it to apply for several remote jobs in Nigeria, the United States and the United Kingdom.

I initially applied for paid remote jobs but was repeatedly rejected. I discovered that employers prefer to hire experienced candidates over recent graduates with little to no professional experience. As a proofreader, I started applying for unpaid remote volunteer positions where I can focus my efforts because the editorial industry is so vast.

In early April 2021, I applied for an unpaid copy editing internship at International Journal of Modern Innovation and Knowledge (IJMIK) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria — a local journal publishing firm. In this capacity, I assisted the company by receiving articles sent in by mail for publication and checking them for plagiarism. Where evidence of plagiarism was found, it was reported to the editor-in-chief, who then forwarded the reports to the author for possible rewriting — sometimes, when authorised, I assisted with the rewriting. I was also tasked with adapting approved articles to the IJMIK in-house style and layout guidelines, and then I proofread the articles for typographical, grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors. I performed these duties up until November 2021, when I received my call-up letter for national service.

On November 24, 2021, I received my national service call-up letter from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), and by December, I was posted to the Kebbi State Ministry of Justice, where I worked in the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP). As a non-called law graduate of the Nigerian Bar, I carried out paralegal duties in my new position. I assisted the DPP’s office with administrative work, preparation of court processes and other ancillary tasks. I became a member of the Kebbi State Corps Legal Aid Community Development Service (Legal Aid CDS). I promptly informed the house of my skills and ways I could assist given my disposition.

In March 2022, I was elected to serve as the General Secretary of the Legal Aid CDS. Served on the planning committee for our public lecture, “The Nigerian Youths: Their Responsibilities to the Nation.” — which was held on March 26. I was responsible for drafting and editing the letters of invitation for attendees, panellists and sponsors. I also assisted with proofreading the panellist questions during the public lecture — which was a huge success with dignitaries in attendance.

Sometime in June 2022, I was selected for an unpaid remote volunteer position as a grant writer by Carifika, Canada — I accepted at the time but later realised it did not align with my desired job. When I was selected for another unpaid remote volunteer position as a proofreader with Browsio, London, United Kingdom, in July 2022, as a member of their Newsletter Team — now Content Team, I decided to quit the grant writing job. Browsio is a charity donations e-commerce organisation that encourages people to donate items to be sold on their website; then the proceeds from sales are donated to charity.

In August 2022, I was hired as an unpaid volunteer sub editor with The Renata in London, United Kingdom — as a member of their Editorial Team — where I gained invaluable experience in my first three months editing news articles and guiding authors before the publication of their articles. The Renata is an online news article website in the United Kingdom, owned by a Nigerian. I successfully edited over 15 published articles on The Renata and also featured as a sub editor in Issue 2 of The Renata’s Magazine: “A Tale of Two Nations,” which was released in September 2022.

These are unpaid positions; however, I must say that they have had a significant impact on my knowledge, skills and experience in the editorial profession in a relatively short period. These projects have enabled me to create a professional portfolio as well as a digitalised business card — where all of my editorial projects can be viewed with a single click — allowing me to build a brand for myself in the editorial profession.

Words of encouragement

"PERSEVERE! For in PERSEVERANCE, your reward is sure. Greater is your reward when your selfless efforts and good deeds are eventually acknowledged.”

Erigi Wabemo

My story, I believe, is one of perseverance, because I am still looking for my first paid job in either the United States or the United Kingdom. However, I believe that as a young graduate, jobs will not come to you unless you consciously improve yourself to merit the available jobs. When people ask how much I am paid for the services I provide, I tell them that the value I receive from these volunteer services is not measurable in financial gains at the moment. I am confident that my efforts are being noticed, and that at the right time, I will be able to secure a full-time remote job.

Finally, I want to encourage anyone who, like me, is at a crossroads in their career to never give up on their efforts to build any career of their choice; the resources are out there, you just have to be deliberate in figuring out your steps to accomplish your desired goals; take a giant leap of faith by pursuing your dreams relentlessly, seek guidance, and remember to volunteer for a good cause while you hone your skills and experience in your chosen career.

Thank you.