I Got a PPA That Paid Me ₦250,000 During NYSC. Here’s How I Did It

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I Got a PPA That Paid Me ₦250,000 During NYSC. Here’s How I Did It

Source: ZikokoMag

Udeme* (22) knows how much a year can change your life; for her, it started with NYSC. In this story, she shares how she turned her service year into the most productive year of her work life by shooting her shot, landing her dream PPA, and 8xing her income.

Here’s how she did it:

 

Life Before NYSC
I had heard people say that the National Youth Service (NYSC) scheme was a waste of time, but it felt like a great idea because I didn’t know what to do with my life.

I was 20, a fresh graduate of Mass Communication and broke. So when the registration portal for Batch A, 2023, was opened, I was one of the first people to register.

I didn’t believe in vision boards at the time, but I had a mental image of what I wanted the next year to look like. I wanted to be fully employed and earn enough to start living independently.

Preparing for NYSC
A few months before leaving for camp, I created a plan to help me achieve those goals. First, I made a realistic list of the hard and soft skills I had picked up. I also listed my interests to understand what industry and job role would be perfect for me.

I studied Mass Communication and was mostly interested in advertising and public relations. Before I graduated, I also started writing as a means of livelihood. After weighing my options, I chose to go into content marketing. It made sense. I was a great writer and had picked up basic Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) skills.

I was in Ibadan at the time, and I knew I had to have at least one corporate experience if I wanted to work in a good Primary Place of Assignment (PPA). So, I started searching for a place to intern. I wanted a tech startup because of its fast-paced nature.

I created a portfolio to showcase my skills using clippings.me and paid an expert to revamp my CV. Then, I searched for the nearest tech startups next to me. One of them stuck out to me — it was an edtech startup close to my house.

I don’t know why I thought this was the best idea, but I printed my CV and dropped it off at their office. Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to see the Human Resources (HR) manager the first time I went. So, I went again a second, third and fourth time.

They must have gotten tired of my shenanigans because the secretary burst into laughter the second she saw me at the office for the fourth time and took me straight to HR, who informed me they weren’t hiring. I wasn’t even looking for a paid role, so when she said, “If we were to hire you, how much would you want to earn?” I blurted out the first thing that came to mind, “Pay me ₦30,000.”  That’s how I got my first content marketing internship.

Pitching to Potential PPA’s 
I was still at the edtech company when I started looking for my PPA. I knew I wanted to serve in Lagos, so my search for advertising agencies to intern with was streamlined. I had 20 agencies on my list and pitched to all of them.

There are two major ways to find the people you need to pitch to, wherever you intend to serve — LinkedIn or company career pages. You should have a good profile (nice headshot and description) before sending potential employers messages. With LinkedIn, you can find the employees of a company on the company’s page itself. Look out for people who hold major roles that either align with what you are looking for or make hiring decisions.

The next step is to send a message before making a connection. When you find the employee you want to connect with, go to their LinkedIn profile, click on the three dots next to “message” and select “personalise invite.”

Here’s one of the messages I sent during the process:

“Hello, Mr. X. I hope you’re well. I’m a content marketer, and I would like to ask you a few questions about your work at company X, if you don’t mind.

Let’s connect so we can chat more. Thank you!”

You can make a few changes to your personalised invite. When they respond, you should ask whether the company hires corpers. If you really hit things off, you can talk them into giving you a direct email address to send your cold pitch to.

A simple way to do this is to go to the company’s career website and send your cold pitch to the recommended email address.

How I Wrote My Cold Pitch Email + Free Template 
Once you have your email, you can shoot your shot. Here’s the template I created to guide the multiple applications I submitted.

“Dear Hiring Manager,

My name is XXX, and I am a National Youth Service Corps member. As per the nation’s requirements regarding the NYSC scheme, I must complete a 1-year internship in an area related to my discipline. Through this email, I would like to officially state my interest in joining company X for an internship as a [job role].

During my time as a [job role] at [previous workplace], I developed key skills, including xxx, which contributed to a 25% increase in social media engagement and a 30% rise in web traffic within just four months. These results show the value I can bring and why I’d be an incredible addition to company X.

I have provided my resume and a link to my portfolio for you to review. I look forward to meeting with you to discuss how my qualifications can benefit your company during my compulsory service year.

Sincerely,

XXX”

Negotiating salary and getting a request letter before going to the NYSC camp
After my last internship experience, I learned never to blurt out the first figure that comes to mind. So before my official interview with the company I eventually joined, I checked their Glassdoor reviews to see what employees were saying about the company’s payment system.

They offered me ₦150,000 as a starting salary with a promise to review it after probation. I pushed further and asked that a ₦100,000 raise after probation be clearly stated in my employment contract.

I also informed them that I would need a request letter before going to camp. It’s important to submit a request letter in camp; without that, you’ll be obligated to serve wherever NYSC picks you up.

Here’s the template I sent to the company:

The State Coordinator

N.Y.S.C Secretariat,

lyana Ipaja,

Lagos State.

Dear Sir/Madam,

REQUEST FOR YOUTH CORPER TO SERVE IN OUR ORGANISATION

With regards to the above matter, we are writing in request for Corper XXX with call up number XXX to serve in our organisation as a Junior Content Associate. Her posting to the company will be beneficial to us.

Name: XXX

Call-up No: XXX

We sincerely hope our request will be granted.

Regards,

X

Serving in My Primary Place of Assignment 
On the last day of orientation camp, every corper gets a posting letter. I had already submitted my request, so there were no surprises. I resumed at my PPA and got right into my duties. Some days, I forgot I was a corper because my role was full-time.

Adjusting to Lagos was tough at first — I spent an average of four hours in traffic daily. Still, I was happy. Honestly, I believe I lucked out with that company. I made lifelong friends, did great work, and got to collaborate with brands I used to fangirl over. Overall, it was a 10/10 experience. The year flew by so quickly that I decided to stay on with the company even after my service year

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