Agriculture used to be my favorite subject back in junior high school, I remember having a very well written note for it. One peculiar experience was when we had to prepare nursery beds for tomatoes. Now, I can’t remember the nitty-gritty of the whole process but I remembered being fascinated when we eventually harvested the tomatoes after transplanting and they were beautifully red. Entry level programs (ELPs) are nursery beds for young professionals to plant and cultivate capabilities to effortlessly thrive in today’s dynamic world of work.
Now in this write up, I want to broaden the conversations around Entry Level Programs. ELPs are not to be confused with Entry Level Roles (ELRs). The former is a product of effective work put into the latter. ELPs encompass every relevant, strategic, informed and intentional effort aimed towards career or business developments. For the purpose of technicality, they include but are not limited to: Internships, Trainings and workshops, Seminars/webinars, Conferences, Graduate trainee programs etc.
Like indicated earlier, I want to bring this home and inform you that at the heart of the above-mentioned technical terms are:
Those career and personal development courses you take;
Your LinkedIn connections;
Insightful conversations you have with superiors and associates;
Those extra hours and efforts you put into work;
The short-term projects that require critical thinking and team work to complete;
The 200 paged book you completed;
That right attitude, courtesy and kindness you show to others.
All these and more, are technical and social capitals that graduates often overlook which if adequately leveraged upon can be the beginning or growth of a beautiful career or business. Most times, the challenge is in the ability to harness and channel these skills into proper perspective and have them yield positive results. To do this, one needs to be strategic and intentional – Know what you want – and it is okay if you have multiple career interests at the moment. Here are a few things you can do:
Write them down.
Find a connection between them.
Research on the prospects of each.
Find and connect with top players in each and seek counsel.
Take action (Purse the relevant skills needed).
Having read through, you might have realized that you have probably done at least one of the items listed above, yet you need that thread to pull, then the Entry Level Analyst Program (ELAP) is for you. The ELAP is a strategic program that is tailored for up and coming professionals to help them get ready, set and sent into the business world to thrive. You’re just a click away!