5 COMMON MISTAKES NIGERIAN JOB SEEKERS MAKE

1, STARTING LATE: Only very few people go to school without the intention of finding job after graduation.  Probably the children of the nouveau rich, for whom jobs are already waiting. Or those that want to go into things that don’t require finding job – like music. Fact is, more than 90% of Nigerians that go to school already have the intention of searching for job after graduation. Unfortunately, despite knowing this, many Nigerian students get carried away in the euphoria of being students. Something as far back as your WAEC result can make a difference in getting job. No interviewer will not be impressed with a WAEC result that is laced with A’s. If your WAEC result is just average, you have in your undergraduate studies an even better opportunity to make amends.     Yet, a lot of Nigerian students still bungle this second opportunity.  After spending the first 3 years relegating their studies to the background, they now make a weak attempt to make amends in final year when it is usually too late. The result is usually poor grade, except in the case of few. Not even going to the best schools in UK or US to earn second degree as cover-up makes much difference for many people. For many employers, your first degree is the most critical.

2, DEFEATIST MINDSET: One of the most annoying lines I hear from Nigerian job seekers is, “you will never get job unless you know somebody”. While I will not deny that job-by-connection is very rampant in this society, I have always argued that it is exaggerated. I don’t have any empirical fact to support this, but from educated observation, I have put jobs in Multi-National Corporations (MNCs) as at least 80% merit-driven (and as high as 90% in International Oil Companies); Nigerian private companies at 70% merit-based, and even as bad as public sector is, merit there is still not less than 50%. I have seen too many people get good jobs without any connection to agree that without knowing someone powerful, you can’t get job.  No company will want to populate her workforce with dumb heads. We are talking about multi-million naira projects here. If a company wants to recruit 10 people, it is not possible that all the 10 are MD’s family members or kinsmen, there may be as high as 8 spots to be filled by merit. You too can work to be part of that 8. If you attend interview with the mindset that it was just a formality and someone had already been chosen, then it is as good as not showing up at the interview. I got my current job through Tuesday Guardian. I know people that got jobs in Shell, Chevron and even NNPC, without knowing anyone in these places. The earlier you shed that defeatist mentality, the better for you.

3, COVERING FACE WITH ONE FINGER:  Some Nigerian graduates pull some stunts that I see as being clever by half or covering face with one finger – an exercise in futility. For entry level positions, aside restrictions on age and course of study, the most critical determinant of invitation for a test is class of degree. Yet, some people draw CVs and refuse to disclose their grades in school. I have heard a couple of stories that it worked for some people, but truth is, that is 1 in 1000. A recruiter that has tens of thousands of CVs on his desk does not have time to ring you and ask for your grade if you don’t put the critical information there.  God help you if you don’t have your CVs in the shredder.

4, POOR NETWORKING SKILLS: No, I do not mean MTN or Etisalat. I have discussed the role of networking in job hunting in a recent article.  Having a good network of friends gives you access to right job information that may not be available in public space. Not all organizations make job advertisement mandatory in their policies. Some jobs are not advertised. Establishing relationships can help you in accessing such information. Personally, I’m not a fan of job recruitment where the whole world are invited. The first two jobs I got after leaving the university were not advertised and less than 10 of us competed for the positions.

5, LACK OF VERSATILITY:  I have always advised friends on the need to be versatile. Being able to say something about almost everything makes you a star of sorts. You wow your interviewers with such skills. Even if you don’t know an answer to a question, there are ways you can maneuver and still get passmark. In interviews that is. Not all questions have yes or no answer. Except you are expressly asked by your interviewer to give a yes or no answer, avoid as much as possible giving yes or no as straight answer. First present a logical case for what you feel the answer is, before landing. I have always been a newspaper person. I had started newspapers from my primary school days. This aids me a lot.  I have been in interviews where we digressed to Arsenal discussion, I have been in interview where we strayed to the discussion of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, fuel subsidy etc. All these had practically nothing to do with the Accounting role I was being interviewed for. But hey, what if I don’t watch football or follow news? Well, I have not said being a football fan is a prerequisite for getting jobs, the point I am trying to make is, knowing one or two extra things beyond your primary discipline can be of help sometimes.

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