Stories with happy endings don’t always start great, and those with great beginnings may not necessarily end well. Many of the people we now regard as role models did not have it smooth. While many of them will readily reveal the “downtimes” they experienced along their path to fortune, fame and success, some would rather allow other people to tell their stories. The people in the latter category explain why we need books like 40 First Jobs: Our Role Models Way Back Then.

40 First Jobs is a motivational and inspirational book compiled by Poise Nigeria. It is aimed at preparing Nigerian youths on how to set realistic first job expectations and how to shape a career trajectory with values like discipline, learning, humility and networking as the basis for moving to the next level on their first jobs.

Using case studies, it chronicles the experiences of 40 top business executives with varying specialisations on their first jobs, how they overcame the challenges that were thrown their way and how they turned the challenges into positive steps for career growth.

The book features exciting stories of eminent personalities like Professor Pat Utomi whose first job was a vacation job in 1974 at the British Petroleum. His job description was writing reports and minutes of meetings while also conducting research in areas of sales development.

Apart from being a great resource for young school leavers just entering the labour market; the book also provides confidence to those working on internships or volunteer jobs. It’s a good read for anyone in search of a good career path.

The reader will also find new perspectives on the solutions to unemployment and the importance of gaining experience as opposed to simply searching for “white collar jobs.”