NHEF APPLICATION 2023: TIPS AND HINTS

Hi, everyone. Good day.

It’s a pleasure to have you all here. Thank you, Debby, for the insightful session.
My name is Jennifer Agbo, a recent graduate of Economist from the University of Nigeria,
Nsukka, as well as a current NHEF Scholar.

Without further ado, I will be dropping the tips that will help you ace your application. These
are based on the questions on the NHEF 2023 Application form.
1. First, no matter how good you are, you must take a step if you want to be
seen/considered.
Start, begin, commence, stop procrastinating, stop being lazy and fill out that
application form – you have what it takes, believe in yourself. You have to submit your
application before you are considered. The worst that can happen is a rejection letter –
which to me is a way to learn and not a failure.

2. Email: Create a professional email address with your first and last name. Your first
name is your given name and your last name is your surname. Example: Let’s say, your
name is Peter and you last name is Adamu. Your professional email address should be
peteradamu@gmail.com, or peter.adamu@gmail.com or peter_adamu@gmail.com, or
peteradamu11@gmail.com etc.
Please, avoid unprofessional email addresses like lizzybaby@gmail.com,
jungleking@gmail.com, gangsterdaddy@gmail.com. To create an email address, follow
the directions on Google or reach out to someone for help.

3. NHEF Sign Up: With your email activated, go to NHEF Portal

https://portal.thenhef.org/ to create an account. Go back to your email and click the
verification link sent to you. Bravo! Your account is up. Proceed to fill the application
form.

4. Documents to be uploaded: All your documents must be in a PDF format.

5. Internship start and availability date: When likely is your school going for a vacation.
Pick an early start date from your forecast. Remember to check your school’s academic
calendar.

6. Preferred Industry: Pick an industry you are passionate about. If you are still
confused, then consider your coursework, recent and past experiences. Research what

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 is done in those five industries and know the one that resonates more with your career
goals.

7. PERSONAL STATEMENT AND ESSAYS:

Note: Get a word document and write/answer all the essays. Copy out each of the
question (together with the word limit for each of them) and paste on the word
document. Do not exceed the word limit. Do not write too little (e.g., 50 words alone
when the maximum word limit is 300 – it is too small). Avoid grammatical errors and
send your essays for reviews when you are done. (A link will be shared for this).
How to answer each question:
a. What to gain from the NHEF Program: Ensure to research about NHEF and
find out what they do and who they are. Read the NHEF Program flyer and
program description thoroughly. Then reach out to previous scholars from
different years to understand how the NHEF program influenced their life and
how it directed them to their current career path.
An effective place to connect with Scholars is LinkedIn (create an account
if you don’t have one already). If you are on LinkedIn, nothing should stop you.
It is more appropriate to send a personalized invite to people, the response rate
from that is higher than the traditional method of “just connecting”. Check how
to do that on Google).

b. If CGPA is less than 3.5, any other special factors to consider: Here, NHEF
would like to know if your low CGPA was as a result of your active engagement
into professional and personal development activities or heath issues etc. You
must showcase your unique selling point here. Talk about your internship
opportunities, leadership experiences (whether at school, class, home, church
and so on), active membership in organizations, business (lucrative and
innovative), financial issues with family (please don’t look too pitiful – some
people go through some financial issues and they are still great at their
academics), etc.
However, in any reason or justification you provide, ensure you state the
positive impacts you made in any role or internship you took, report what you
have learnt and how that makes you a more qualified candidate than someone
with a higher CGPA. Use the STAR Approach.

c. What relevant course work or work experience – in alignment with your

proposed internship: Before getting to this question, you must have indicated
an industry of preference in the application form. Concerning the course of study
or work experience, list courses you did in class (department), online courses,
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 extracurricular experiences, work or internship. For instance, if you selected
“Financial Services”, your related course work should be similar to financial
modelling, Data Analysis, Management, Auditing, Financial Research, Business
Accounting, Excel, member of Tax Community, President of Financial Student
groups, Participant of “a financial company’s conference or webinar” etc.
Remember to state only courses or experiences related to your selected industry.
Hey, Hey! Don’t Panic if you feel you do not have relevant experiences or
coursework. I want you to know that all fields, disciplines and industries are
interrelated. That is why an Engineer can work in a financial firm. An Economist
or Accountant can work in a Hospital (Funny, right?). One thing you can do is to
research the selected industry, discover the skills, courses, experiences and
knowledge needed to excel at each, then reflect on all you have ever done in your
life to know if there is a connection somewhere. If you could not find any and
there is no passion, please select a different industry that resonates more with
you.

d. Post-Graduate employment plans – fitting into future career goals: Relax, it

is okay to be confused. The future is vague indeed and nothing is certain. Here,
NHEF wants to know if you have ever thought about the future. Are you self-
aware or/and conscious or do you leave everything to chance? A clever way to
answer this is to assume that you will have to build a lasting career in your
selected industry and that the NHEF scholarship is a stepping stone and “an eye
opener” (don’t mind me) to achieving that.
Research about career progression in the selected industry or any industry you
would like to work for after graduating from the university. For instance, let’s say
you were posted to Cardinal Stone (one of the NHEF Partner firms), after
interning there what comes next, what is next after that and gradually how do
you get to the top? Think about this, research and find the best way to answer
this question. You can think about further your studies, how will an employment
in the “Engineering Industry” for instance, influence your academic
advancement? Think! and Research, I know you can do this.

e. Greatest contribution to your community and how will the NHEF program
help: Please, do not mention any of these – “….I don’t have or think I can have any”,
“….Although my contribution is not that great but I have…”, blah, blah, blah (don’t
mind me). Don’t be so humble, talk about what you did and how it solved a
particular problem. Don’t lie, please.
Example: In 2021, there were two old ladies living in my street, I helped them to
fetch water and wash their clothes since no one was always there to help. After that,
I founded a non-profit organisation named “ELDER’S CARE” to take care of the
elderly in my community. The group made old people’s their lives better and easier.

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 We also received donations and sponsorships from people. Before I returned to
school, I formed a leadership committee to oversee some of my responsibilities while
I handled others virtually….and so on. Through the NHEF program, I will gain
effective communication and leadership to enable me …..
You do not need to have carried a project specifically on any of the
Sustainable development Goals (SDGs) or volunteered for the United Nations,
WHO and any other known organization, to effectively answer this question. If you
are already making waves and solving obvious problems in your community, then
great! Go ahead and talk about what do you. However, if you haven’t, think of a
time you volunteered to teach someone or a group, have you ever joined your
community clean up service, did you volunteer to lead a group, you must have
subconsciously done something significant for people. Reflect and find the answer
within. How will the NHEF program motivate you to contribute more to your
community, link your answer to the potential benefit of the program. (See
question A)

f. How will you apply your skill if selected: NHEF Scholars are change makers.
We are enthusiastic to help other succeed – it is in our nature. You will be trained
and nurtured by the best. Thus, as you receive, you must give to others who could
not participate. Think of how to create a difference in your department, faculty,
the entire university and community. Will you create associations, personal
development hubs, or organize webinars etc., when you return? Think of what
you can do for yourself, others and NHEF.

g. Experiences, school organizations, community services, volunteer

activities; and how they have contributed to your personal and
professional development:
If you have just been attending lectures, church and going to market; please alter
your triangular movement and add extracurricular activities (for professional
and personal development – to your strength and capacity). If you haven’t been
actively engaged in extracurricular activities, then rely on your coursework
(class presentations and group assignments – talk about team work, ability to
meet deadlines. problem-solving, interpersonal and communication skills etc.),
discuss your volunteer experiences if any. Remember, the ultimate goal is to
show how it bolstered your personal and professional development. Use the
STAR approach.

h. Honours and Awards: Mention the scholarship opportunities you have ever
received (in secondary school or the university), certificates you have, etc. Were
you or your team the best in debate, speech contest and presentation? Mention
that. At least, this is better than leaving this section blank. It shows you can be
trusted and that people you previously collaborated with had confidence in you.

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 i. Provide any additional information: If there is something they did not ask you
but might strengthen your application, then describe that here. Reflect on
yourself and find out other important and fascinating aspects of your life. For
instance, the fact that you have about 400 research publications as a student
(Wow! impressive right? Endeavour to mention something outstanding).
NOTE: Upload your CV, Cover Letter and Essay questions’ document for review here
https://tinyurl.com/3u5zrhu3

8. CV Section: I will be giving generic recommendations and tips. I will recommend you
use the “Yaw Obeng” CV Format in writing your CV. Send personal questions after you
are done writing your first draft. Upload your CV, Cover Letter and Essay questions’
document for review here. https://tinyurl.com/3u5zrhu3
TIPS: Be consistent in your format, maintain one font type and size throughout. Be
consistent with your line spacing. Use a simple font type – Calibri, Cambria, Times new
roman or Garamond. Read thoroughly and correct grammatical errors. Your data must be
arranged in a chronological order (start with the most recent date and then to the old
experiences).
For the date: Maintain the same format. For example, if you start with a format that looks
like this, August 2016 – December 2017, then stick to it. If you decide to write this way,
August 2016 to December 2017, or Aug 2016 to Dec 2017, or 2016 to 2017 or 2016 –
2017, anyhow you chose, stick to it. Please, maintain the same format.
Use action words (but in past tense). For example, developed, founded, planned,
collaborated, researched, organized, identified, strategized, led, instituted, built etc.
Use the STAR approach to report each role. State your impacts in measurable or
quantifiable results.
S = Situation T = Task A = Action R = Result.
For example, Let’s say you are reporting your role as a Mathematics teacher in a
secondary school:
➢ Organized 10 extra mural classes for 80 college students preparing for two
standardized examinations, this led to a success rate of 80% since about 60
students got an A in mathematics.
Well, this is just an example, there are better ways to write. Find myriads of resources online
and take the necessary actions.
In the Microsoft document, go to the view tab and activate grid lines. Use this to align your
CV properly.

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Finally, only mention experiences and skills that are relevant to the NHEF program.
NOTE: Your CV must not exceed one page. Upload your CV to the google form link for
review whenever you are done.

9. Cover Letter: Here, be as professional as you can.

Use a recognized format for writing letter addresses. For sender’s address, use your
personal or University’s departmental address. For the recipient’s address, use the
NHEF office address, get it from the official NHEF website. Direct your letter to the
NHEF Program Director/administrator – go online and get a name (Mention the
person’s name). Do your research. Have a brief title/heading e.g., Application for the
NHEF Scholarship Program. Introduce yourself and mention how you got to know about
the program and your excitement about the possible benefits one can derive from being
a scholar. Do not repeat your CV again, please.
Talk about the industry you have selected and how you are a great fit for that
industry. To support this, bring in two or three experiences that can show you have done
something related to that industry before. Use the STAR approach, what did you do and
what difference did it bring? How did the experience affect you positively and what
skills did your garner? Now, how can you bring those skills to create desired changes in
the proposed industry? (Very simple, right? You can do it, it is not overwhelming – just
do your research).
Conclude your essay by stating how exceptional and hardworking you are and you
are looking forward invited to the next application phase. Thank them for their time
and consideration.
End with a formal closure e.g., Kind regards, Best Regards, Yours Faithfully, etc.
Write your name under and include your phone number. Over all have about 4 or 5
paragraphs at most – One page.
➢ Convert your cover letter to a PDF format.

Note: Upload your cover letter in the attached link for review
https://tinyurl.com/3u5zrhu3

10. Statement of Results: Don’t Panic. They what to see your academic transcript to
confirm the genuineness of your CGPA and academic performance. So, what should you
do now? Get your transcript from your school or department. If you do not have one
yet, you may want to write a letter to your departmental head as soon as you can (get
the unofficial transcript).
My department allowed students to construct their transcript themselves (since they
already know their results). We then submit it to the Exam Officer for confirmation,

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 once she confirms that all the results correspond with hers, it will be sent to the HOD
for the final approval.
Ask around and know if such is allowed in your department. If yes, then find a transcript
format, edit it and include your details. If there is not format, create one for yourself.

NOTE: These tips can only become effective if you act early. Don’t relax. Find someone
that is interested and work on the application together. You can motivate each other.
Remember, do not hesitate to reach out or ask questions.
I wish you good luck.

➢ Scholars: Jennifer Agbo and Ozuem Deborah