April Will Hear Me Scream if I Get Another New Job!

There’s something about me, new jobs, and April

How It all began…

I had finished my medical internship and my compulsory service to my country. Nothing and no one was bothering me except my mother. “Won’t you go job hunting? Are you going to keep lounging at home?”

A few people ignored Mum, but I wasn’t one of them. In less than 2 weeks, I got a job in a tertiary hospital in the metropolitan city of Lagos. This was after resume tailoring, multiple drop-offs, and a series of interviews.

My first day at work was on the 26th of April, 2010. I liked it so much that I worked there for 4 years. Then I left for my master’s degree.

I was away for 16 months and returned home in January 2016. Before returning and back home, I furiously job-searched. No one called me for an interview.

From January till the end of March, I was home. I did babysitting, housekeeping, shopping, and cooking. A few friends visited me. One offered me a job. I turned it down.

He made the offer a couple more times. I only accepted when I noticed my bank account was getting dry. I had a series of interviews and got the job offer. My official start date was 1st, April 2016.

After 2 years there, I migrated to North America. At first, I settled for part-time jobs cos I was studying for my boards. After my boards, I desperately searched for a full-time role. Then the pandemic happened…

The pattern broke, then seemed to resume…

During the pandemic, I did part-time jobs, internships, and contract jobs. I then took an extended vacation for 6 months. When I returned, I got a job offer on November 1, 2021. The pattern had jinxed.

At first, I loved my job, then, like most, hated it afterward. It was stressful, and the pay was poor. So I started thinking of leaving but never got around to it.

By the second year, an opportunity came. My team member went on an extended vacation and I worked alone. The heavy workload broke me mentally and physically. This was April 2023.

This was my chance to stop and start another cycle. That didn’t go as planned. I went on compulsory sick off but returned after a few weeks.

I kept at the job despite my level of frustration. Somewhere, somehow, I got some balls and quit without notice at the end of that year.

I was chatting with an aunt some time back and she said: “You are going to get another job in April.” “How do you know?” “I just do.”

Those couple of months before April, it seems like I am in the incubator; waiting, growing, nurturing. I am born in April.

This is March 2024. April’s around the corner. If Aunty’s right, that would also mean that really, there’s something with me, new jobs, and the month of April.

Update: April isn’t here yet. I got a paid contract as a community health researcher. Something new might come after that. We’ll see.