You are not a failure.

You’re not a failure or lazy if you apply for any application and you’re not chosen.

Village people are not the one behind it, you’re the one behind it yourself.

I applied for MWF Mandela Washington Fellowship and Andela late last year and early this early i applied for ONE champion. All above wasn’t in my favor because none of the picked me.

Google scholarship also was among.

For Andela, I make it to Quarter Final before I was nag nail in my head. 

I woke up in middle of the night and count all those my failures and choose to make corrections. I asked myself, is my village people behind this? My answer was No.

Next answer was, Ridwan you’re the one behind it yourself and you need to move your chess.

I discovered, I have alots of things that will make my application stand out from the crowd.

But, I failed woefully myself with my poor write up and I know I have many people in my shoe.

So I decided to share you my failure stories.

Don’t just read success stories. There is a lot to learn from failure stories as well.

Please find below five tips that will make your application stand out from the crowd.

1. Take your time

Your judges know there are a lot of questions, but consider the application process as an opportunity to reflect on your great work and experience! Every question is important to the selection process, so if you skip questions or only give half-answers, the judges will likely pass you over and go for someone who put a strong effort into the entire application. Each question must be complete and have a tailored response—please don’t copy and paste generic answers from other materials!

2. Pay attention to details

Most people who apply are not native English speakers, so the judges are not expecting perfect spelling and grammar. However, to get the most out of the application, you’ll need to be able to communicate in English, and it’s important to demonstrate in your application that you can do that. Make sure that you’re following the instructions throughout the application; you might be surprised how many people don’t.

3. Focus your message

You may have a lot of things you want to communicate about yourself and your venture, but word limits require that you pare down your thoughts into succinct responses. Think through the most unique and compelling elements of your venture and clearly communicate these points.  After you finish your response to a question, re-read the question and answer. Ask yourself: Did I fully answer the question? Will the reader have a clear takeaway?

4. Consider your audience

You should assume that the people reading your application don’t know you, aren’t familiar with the field you’re working in, and may not be knowledgeable about the place you’re working in either. Avoid jargon and include important contextual information that might help the reader better understand your work. But don’t forget about #3 – stay focused on the details that matter most!

5. Be honest

It’s always disappointing when your judges find an applicant who embellished their accomplishments (can you really claim 13,000,000 beneficiaries?) or used someone else’s application for the application submission in the application (yes that has happened!). The truth is – they are not looking for perfection, they are looking for honesty, openness, and willingness to learn.

Thanks for reading and go through my failure story.

I remain myself.