My biggest scare of the last quarter before graduation was realizing I had no technical skills.
Don’t get me wrong — I have lived a large and full life through the years, yes, I know, but stay with me. Over the years, I had never had to define a job type, do a job search, or interview for a position.
Friends usually recommended me for roles, and I always knew someone who would mention my name in rooms of opportunity.
That was my life. I didn’t really know much about a CV either. Throughout those years, I remained certain of one thing: I had achieved my plan to live authentically and ensure people truly saw and knew me.
I am an action-oriented person who irked having to talk about myself. It had worked.
My Background
I earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Culture and Tourism from KNUST, although I had initially aspired to attend a Communication and Media school.
Within this program, I had the flexibility to study various elective courses, including marketing, human resource management, politics, legal systems in Ghana, organizational behavior, among others.
So, by the time I relocated, this was my average portfolio.
Study Abroad
In August 2023, I relocated to the United States. By 2024, I finally achieved a lifelong dream—earning my Master of Arts in Communication.
In the program, I interned and worked with the KENW PBS as an Assistant Broadcast Producer, where I developed a two-and-a-half-year skill and practical knowledge in broadcast production, video editing, camera operation, lighting, and directing.
As the founder and president of the Public Relations Society for the Department of Communication at ENMU, I bridged the academia-industry gap by hosting PR sessions during annual Media Conferences.
I served as a room monitor, facilitating interactions between students and industry professionals who shared valuable insights and expertise. I learned and conducted research, presented my research at student conferences, etc. I had a time of my life being a graduate student at ENMU, obviously.
Because of my excellent scholarship and community engagement, the university offered me an adjunct faculty position teaching undergraduate Media Writing and Interpersonal Communication upon graduation.
Though I hadn’t imagined myself teaching in that space, I couldn’t let such an opportunity pass me by, even as a part-time role. I was glad to accept the offer and pay it forward.
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Now, Here Was my Dilemma
Since the adjunct role was temporary, I kept searching for my next opportunity. There, reality stared me in the face. Being an international student in America is a hard place to be. The people who have survived it have some amount of grit that cannot be quantified!
For those few months, I started questioning my life, experiences, skills, and intellect. Some job descriptions made me feel so dumb that I usually felt I didn’t have the skills and years of experience they were asking for.
I didn’t know if I was the problem or if my indecisiveness on the path I’d want my life to take was the problem.
I possess a wealth of experiences, skills, leadership, intellect, capacity, and potential, yet this job search period left me feeling empty.
If this is your story or you know anyone else who has or is experiencing this, you may want to stick around and find out how I’ve navigated these times.
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