I had been ilofwa for 5 years and the first year after graduation was hell because I still had the pompousity of being a graduate. After a year, I realised that in life what matters is having money and in fact, jobs don’t usually come at the time you are desperate and in need. Some of the few things to avoid amidst ubulofwa is to begin depending or calling relatives in employment. Actually one funny thing which I came to realise after starting work is that most of those relatives I was mad at for not employing me, actually had no capacity at their work place to employ. Some of those freinds I was hoping could employ me the soonest, were not actually in managerial positions to influence things. I also came to realise that some people I was hoping could employ me, in their companies, they only had one accounting position. So it was not possible for them to fire those guys and employ me or create a position for me. Without understanding all these facts, I created alot of enemies for not employing me, meanwhile they were not in positions to do what I was asking for. In addition, for some of my friends who I hated so much because they were not sending me ka k50, I came to realise that actually, they were passing through alot and their salaries ddn’t even manage to pay their bills. Those days I was not understanding if someone who was working gave me a k50. To me, they were very stingy. Surprisingly, after starting work, I realised how little a salary is and I also started avoiding those who were calling me for something. People out there knew that I was an accountant and capable of employing relatives and also able to send ma zali (k100) meanwhile where I was working, I was just a small boy. To make the matters worse, I worked for over 6months Without buying my mother any tangible things. So what helped me to manage ubulofwa, is that I realised that first of all I needed something to be bringing money. Secondly, I realised that I needed where to be sleeping regardless of environment. So I completely forgot about the diploma and started life in a new phase. Interestingly, I didn’t realise that though I had packed my diploma, it was still helping me in doing business. For me, all I knew was that I needed to start working immediately without understanding that my qualification had already put me in a position to manage business. So I joined Buseko market and started selling timber like any other person. At this point, I started making money and never begged anyone for the job until the job found me three years later. I want to encourage all graduates; What you need is money not phone number for bigger guys. It will just stress you, in fact they also have relatives to help. Start doing something because boasting na njala is dangerous. As you wait for the job, find where to stay, respect whoever is keeping you, remove the pompousity of saying, “I can find job” don’t dare anyone, life is hard. Stop troubling your relatives in employment but just ask them for capital, a job will find you. If you have no were to stay, don’t put yourself under pressure but look for a simple house that you can manage. Avoid a situation whereby you start calling freinds for rentals. Avoid spending all your time in prayers thinking God has ignored you. Actually there is nothing strange for you not to find a job in two years because others graduated 5 years before you. So God has not forgotten you but simply put you on a queue. So instead of going to the mountain to complain, just go there to thank God and ask him to give you means to survive as you wait for the job. Avoid damaging or getting pregnant, you will be more stressed. Stop even thinking about vama relationships in poverty, you end up marrying someone below your wishes simply because you can’t attract your choice. If you have sponsorship, just proceed to do bachelors degree or masters. Make yourself busy while applying for jobs. Are we together?
By Mr Winfred Mupakasi Silumbwe