Mariam Adigun started her WAVE journey after graduating from a makeup school. At first, she thought since there was a “vocational” in the WAVE name, they also teach technical skills or more advanced skills than what she had already learned.
During the WAVE information session, she realized that they were going to learn soft skills, something different from what she thought. At first, she opted to redraw but seeing the facilitator discuss how the skills would help them in any job they find themselves in the future, she decided to give it a try.
The challenges Mariam faced during the training were having to wake up early and get to the training center to avoid punishment. She wasn't used to leaving her bed till around 10 or 11 am and this was new to her. Over time, she was able to get a hang of it and it’s something that has helped her till today. An exciting moment for Mariam during the training was having to sell a paper bag that seemed to have no value to people. She said the exercise taught her that she can sell anything to anybody as long as she has a convincing and emotional story behind the product.
After graduation, Mariam had to stay home for 3 months before getting a job. Since she became comfortable with waking up early, she decided to start up a small fashion business called Mises Empire while job hunting. She later got a job as a Sales Representative at Aso Oke ti Dupe at Ikoyi and was running her business on the side. The business owner later relocated and Mariam was unemployed again after working there for a year and 2 months. Being someone who is industrious, she focused fully on her business again and won a competition at WAVE where she got money to buy a sewing machine and capital to import goods to scale her business.
When Covid happened, she couldn’t import goods and clients were not patronizing her. This made her go job hunting again to ease the financial burden. Due to her persistent job search, she got a job, again through WAVE, as a backend Sales Representative at LSA company, Lekki where she works till date. It has also helped her with finances to boost her business which she still runs by the side.
She is very grateful to WAVE for all the support that she received during her tough times and also the skills she learned during the training. Listing Problem Solving, Effective Communication, and Listening as the top skills out of many skills she used every day at her workplace.
Her dream job is to become an international customer care representative and she feels the experience she is learning on her current job and also enrolling in the University of Lagos to get a B.Sc would take her one step further to achieving her goal. She also supports her family financially which has been a big relief to her parents because she is now able to take care of her school finances.
Her advice to job seekers is to be patient. She said that in all her experience in the labor market, patience is key to be successful.
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