That sentence sounds like a joke until you’re the one living inside it.

After school, I thought the hardest part was over. Exams were done. NYSC done. CV ready. I even had that small confidence that comes with finally finishing something big.

Then reality landed.

Every job posting said the same thing.

Minimum 2–3 years experience.

Proven track record.

Hands-on experience required.

Entry-level role.

Two years experience.

I remember staring at one listing and actually laughing. Not because it was funny. Because it felt insulting.

How do you get experience if nobody lets you start?

So I started applying anyway.

Changed my CV format.

Removed some things. Added some things.

Watched YouTube videos on how to “optimize” applications.

Nothing.

A few automated emails.

A few “We regret to inform you.”

Mostly silence.

You start questioning yourself.

Was school useless?

Did I study the wrong course?

Am I just not good enough?

Meanwhile, people around you start asking, “Any update?”

That question becomes heavy.

It’s not that I didn’t want to work.

It’s that the system feels designed to reward people who already had access.

At some point, I stopped chasing titles and started chasing skill instead.

Took small unpaid gigs.

Helped a friend’s business for free.

Built projects nobody asked for.

Not glamorous.

Not impressive on paper at first.

But slowly, “no experience” became “some experience.”

And I realized something uncomfortable.

The world doesn’t always give you your first chance.

Sometimes you have to manufacture it.

It’s unfair.

It’s frustrating.

But waiting for permission was costing me more than starting small ever did.

That cycle is real.

But it’s not unbreakable.