Adulting 101SweetMantid

4d ago 2 min read

The Job I Lost to NYSC

I graduated in 2022 and spent almost a year just applying. Every week, same routine: update CV, send to ten places, hear nothing. Then a friend of my cousin referred me to a company in Lagos. Real company, proper office, salary that could actually let me breathe. I went through two interviews and a test. The HR woman called me herself and said, "We like you. We'll get back to you with the offer in two weeks." I was so happy I told everybody. My mum told her church people. I even started planning how I'd move out of the family house. Two days later my call-up letter came. Kwara State, orientation camp in three weeks. I thought I could sort it out. I told myself companies understand NYSC, that they'd just wait for me. I wrote the HR a long, polite email explaining my situation and asking if they could hold the position or start me remotely. She replied nicely, but the answer was basically no. They needed someone to resume immediately, and they couldn't wait a year. She wished me well with service. I tried the redeployment route too. Went to the NYSC office, stood in the sun for hours, and was told Lagos postings were "not available" unless I knew somebody. I didn't know anybody. So I went to camp. Sleeping on a thin mattress in a hostel with sixty girls, marching at 5am, eating food I couldn't identify, all while my phone was reminding me of the job I had already mentally spent the first salary of. My PPA turned out to be a small school where I was teaching subjects I didn't study. Allowee was 33k and most of it went on transport and feeding. I'd see my old classmates posting about their new jobs and I'd just close the app. I'm not saying NYSC was a waste. I made friends, I learned some things, and I got to see a part of Nigeria I'd never have visited. But I still think about that offer. I still don't know if my life would have gone differently, and that's the part that stays with me. If you're reading this and you're in the same position, ask about the timing early. Ask the NYSC office, ask the company, ask everybody. I was too shy to push, and I think about that more than the job itself.