XFIRE’S DIARY: My dream career & I – Lessons from my undergraduate days (3): Build contacts

MY CAREER DIARY

with

XFIRE

I am a graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and I currently work in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. I am sharing my experience under the pen name XFIRE

LESSON 4: Iron sharpeneth iron. Build contacts with people with similar dreams and ambitions. Most of my friends and mentors were also top students like me who inspired me and challenged me to do more. Many of them are currently pursuing their PhD on scholarship, while others are working in top companies all around the globe. I met a lot of them in final recruitment stages. Surround yourself with people that will encourage and motivate you. Never surround yourself with pessimists.

Maybe one of the reasons I didn’t make a first class was that I shared the same apartment in my final year with a coursemate of mine who was a pessimist and an underachiever. He was always complaining about one lecturer or one course or the other. He was simply overwhelmed, and unfortunately, I subconsciously allowed his negative attitude into my mind. I became overwhelmed and it affected my reading concentration. As expected, my CGPA dropped. Good enough, I got over it. Today, that friend of mine is still without a job.

Continues tomorrow