Fighting unemployment with digital jobs

Adeola Kayode

Nigeria’s army of unemployed graduates continues to be a major source of concern to the country. With a highly youthful population that lacks adequate and fulfilling jobs, what should have been strength has become a constant sore thumb.

While the Federal Government reels out impressive statistics about the rate of the growth of the economy, it has not denied the fact that the figures have done little to improve the lives of its population.

With the impressive spread of the Internet and mobile connectivity among Nigeria’s energetic youth, this presents the possibility of providing them respectable jobs, deepening their capabilities and promoting their competence through freelancing.

A freelancer, online worker, or someone with a digital job is a person who is self-employed and not committed to a particular employer or business on a long-term contract. His work is project focused and ensures that payment or compensation is based on the project or time-bound.

Freelancing on digital jobs is for the connected graduate, student or business executive. In fact, it is the job of the future. It focuses on your skillset and competence and does not bug its self-down with the hype and craze over certificates and degrees. It allows you to work from anywhere in the world without constraints.

The opportunities:

While many youths are busy making excuses, others are making a lot of money through freelancing. In South Africa, for example, Carol Hampshire, who runs a graphic design company called Red Hot Designs sources clients through freelancing on Elance. In 2011, she was announced Elance South Africa’s highest earner raking up to $75, 000 that year alone.

In America, more than one in every three persons, amounting to 53 million Americans, is already making their living through freelancing thereby contributing more than $700bn to America’s GDP.

However, more and more countries are looking to outsource part of their work to Africa, Asia and majorly developing economies where labour is cheaper. Many business employees will gladly work from home in order to save their commuting time and to focus on delivering on business objectives that matter – if they know how they can get paid work.

Freelancing is a form of entrepreneurship, which – if effectively understood and engrained into our system – will change the future of hiring and staffing forever. From students who can work, even in school, to unemployed graduates who can leverage digital websites to find people already looking for their competence to the business executive, freelancing may be the way to go.

The mindset:

In the age of the digital and social media, saying you have no job sounds like a crime of sorts. In spite of the excuses of government inefficiencies, unemployed youths need to get behind the excuses of their passion for looking for a job into making themselves a potential candidate for hire. Youths should turn to the world of freelancing to put their skills and university education to use. This can be made possible by getting digital jobs and the easiest way to secure such jobs is by going online.

Already so many people are adding value to their lives and others by turning to the Internet for help. The Internet is helping even SMEs by putting their businesses out there and by highlighting their skills and competencies out there. The first thing for the unemployed or the undervalued employee is to know the true value of their worth and to identify the role they want to play in the future of the business. You do not need a job to be complete, you need to work.

The skillset:

What do you have to offer? If you can read, write and type, you are a potential candidate for a digital job. Whether you plan on freelancing part-time or full-time, you need to make that decision and commit yourself to your future and career. Most times business executives bury their skills, competence and potential by hiding themselves in a job. Some others sit back waiting for the time when miraculously they will receive a call for a job offer.

Especially for creative people, freelancing is a dream come true. From translating audio speeches and lectures into text, writing articles, social media management, graphic design, animation, virtual assistant, blogging almost anything that can be outsourced on freelance basis. While some skills command more money than others, specializing in one specific task will ensure you can iterate your tasks and focus on meeting customer demands. However, you are going to have to put in a lot of time to learn the trade and to be the best service provider possible. If you aren’t willing to put in sometime in treating this like a real business, then this is not for you!

The toolset:

Online freelance marketplaces are websites that match buyers and sellers of services on the Internet. Of People in need for freelance services are already going online to search for people who have services to offer and they are willing to pay them. Most popular of this websites include Fiverr, Dribble, Taskrabbit, oDesk, Peopleperhour, Freelancing, Freelancer and Elance. Elance recently went deeply local in Nigeria by launching a Digital Job campaign in partnership with Padradigm Initiative Nigeria in order to expose the average Nigerian to the opportunities of freelancing.