₦airaland Forum

I think that "Privitization" of all infrastructure is the only way forward.

Resident doctors that don't resume work on time, don't attend to patients professionally. Divert profitable medical cases to their own private practice thereby creating income leakage for the government, steal drugs subsidized by government and sell them at exorbitant prices and also run their own private practice.

I am of the opinion that if all these govt agencies are privatized and people are in all sincerity paid for the number of work hours that they clock in as obtainable abroad, strike will be a thing of the past.

At the end of the day even if their demands are met, there won't be any significant increase in the quality of service that is provided. Same is also applicable to the education sector.

At the end the "common man" who can't afford to pay for private health service or for private education is the ultimate loser.

May God bless Nigeria and instill in us a spirit of patriotism.

Segun has always been the aggressive and bullish type even from the days of his stint as ED and DMD under the Uncle T.

I am very surprised that a lot of people keep saying that "making him the MD has made him proud".

Let's bear in mind that no two leaders can have the same kind of influence. Whilst uncle T was more of a people person who believed in proper engagement, Segun is more of a fast paced, no room for any kind of mistake authoritarian.

Either way both are able to impact influence and the results show. Whilst Uncle was able to help GTB weather the 2008 banking crisis, Segun himself has taken GTB to new heights. Without doubt, GTB is the first bank to post 100 billion naira in "real profit" and there are indications that this year's results will also be stellar all during his stint as MD.

Banking business in Nigeria is not for the faint hearted so if anyone can't stand the heat, let them leave the kitchen. Ironically, there are peeps in GTB that also think that Segun is the best thing that has happened to GTB so life is in retrospect a "two way street". Funny though, I know a handful of friend there who receive six and seven figure amounts as profit incentive, get stock options every year and other freebies, yet they condemn the MD at the drop of a hat.

Well that's human beings for you. You can never satisfy them

Congrats to Segun Agbaje. More grease to your elbow!

Hello,

Your career objective is rather long and unwinding. It will certainly bore the recruiter at first instance. Since you are still a graduate trainee, I will suggest that you coin a career objective that will present you as one who is willing and ready to learn and grow. Employers have a bias for applicants who they feel will readily buy into their organization.

You have left out your grade in school why is this so? Ideally you educational experience should come first since you don't have extant or specialized experience.

You should focus more on the achievements at via your job experiences rather than just stating your daily responsibilities.

There is no need to include your state or origin, nationality, gender unless there is an explicit instruction to do so by an employer.

The section where you have mentioned your skill sets is not properly structured. Skill sets should include your computer skills (citing specific acquisitions if any), proficiency in the use of other application packages, soft skill sets like leadership, communication, problem solving and team building and as backed up with the achievements on the job.

Also, I will suggest that you don't include the names of your referees and "make them available on request" unless of course there is a request to do so by a potential employer.

Overall an average resume but there is still room for improvement.

One more thing, try as much as possible to keep all the info in one page max.
All the best!

No biggie about the sneakers. This is not the limited edition and alot of peeps here rock these sneakers (even regular college students and normal run off the mill peeps that are not "celebrities")

No beef but he should try get him self a customized limited edition 24 carat gold plated Buscemi sneakers that cost 7,000 USD (heard only 200 pieces are made and sold yearly and you have to be on a coveted waiting list to get one) or top of the range LOUIS VUITTON sneakers with a starting retail price of 9,000 USD

Peking order theory in finance connotes that most business owners prefer to use equity as a last resort of financing. Typically, they prefer to inject their own capital first, then consider debt financing as the business expands and when it is no longer feasible to use debt, equity is considered as a last alternative.

In this regard and with reference to the topic, several scenarios can play out

Listing Narialand on the stock exchange has its own pros and cons. If listed, Nairaland will now be owned by external investors (depending on the shareholding structure). This means that it could be turned to a “lean mean money making machine” (it is a money making machine now but with limited potentials IMO). However, once it goes public, ROI will be the main topic of discourse especially for contemporary investors who are always eager reap bountiful returns on their investment

Secondly, it can be a cheap way to source for funding to embark on some strategic expansion drive (the “FB IPO” comes to mind) and for this to happen a lot has to be spent on awareness, branding and packaging to make the website a good sell to investors. Assets (tangible and intangible) have to be valued, cash and profit projections made etc etc
One merit of considering the equity alternative is that there is no moral obligation to pay dividend to shareholders (ordinary shareholders) and there is no punitive measure for this( the Daar Comm, Cap Oil and Gas, Wema Bank etc etc examples come to mind). Unlike with debt where interest payments have to be made on a periodic basis to the debt financiers

Overall, the entry requirements for public listing on the NSE will also be considered and based on the information at disposal (which is very limited), I doubt if the Nairaland can at this moment meet the eligibility criteria (this claim is subject to debate as Nairaland is still a privately held , closely knit business model).

Personally, I am also privy to and aware that sometime in the past, a couple of mouth watering offers (via capital injection and PE funding) was turned down by the owner and quite frankly I would do same if in his shoes.
Finally, I think we should all enjoy the magnanimous generosity of the owner who around 2004-2005 brought his dream of creating one of the best website in this part of the continent to reality thereby providing leeway for numerous people to express their opinions on a broad range of subjects with minimal restriction and almost free of charge!

Just my two cents

Racism is still very strife in the world.

I have been a victim several times here in NY. I don't even consider it to be anything again because, the only revenge (albeit the sweetest kind) is to be very successful at your endeavor. Thankful to God, I am doing very well and that is what matters to me now and quite frankly there are a lot more important things to worry about.

On a lighter note.....I wonder what Mr Kanye "Yeezus" West would have done if this happened to him.

@ manie.....I can tell you for certain that Stanbic IBTC equity fund and ARM discovery fund have out performed the Nigerian All share index on several occasions even during the stock market meltdown. You can goggle it to confirm my claim.

As indicated in my earlier post, investing in mutual funds has its pros and cons but giving the whole investment a bad name is not appropriate especially for uninformed investors. I have consistently invested in a mutual fund as part of my entire portfolio for over five years and the returns (dividend payout and capital appreciation) has outperformed the NSE all share index.

Also not every body can analyse and take investment decisions regarding equities.

I keep telling people that the inflation rate we use in Nigeria is very flawed especially when we are all aware that data used to compute it is not accurate. The rate of inflation should be determined by a combination of consumer index, balance of trade payments,LIBOR etc and not the apex bank unilaterally setting it.

Finally go through my post again and you will note that I have include "continuous learning" as a criteria for the investment curve to be complete and YES one needs to invest long term in a good and tested mutual fund albeit in small tranches if a sustainable ROI is to be achieved.

I rest my case!

Apparently, there are a lot of uninformed people on this thread.

Mutual funds are not a bad idea once you get your investment strategy right.

What I see with most typical Nigerian investors is that they always want the quick way out. Always looking for the next "big transaction" that will turn their investment principal of 100k into 10 million etc etc. However, sorry to bust your bubble investments are not that way and if you are not rightly informed and use the information in due course, there is a high tendency to be back at "ground zero".


A mutual fund is a collective unit investment scheme where a fund manager pulls together funds from all categories of investors (retail, corporate, institutional, government etc) and put such in varying investment vehicles depending on the risk appetite, expected ROI and investment decision of the investors. A unit price is usually ascribed to the pooled investment scheme. This is the reason why we have mutual fund managers that use names such as "aggressive growth fund, equity fund, capital market fund, ethical fund, money market fund" etc all coined to differentiate the different classes of investment.

The name used for the type of pooled investment is usually determined by two basic factors namely the risk appetite and expected returns. Hence in this regard, a money market fund would typical fit investors that are risk averse and would prefer just minimal returns on their investments which would mostly consist of government backed securities (T.bills, bonds etc). A risk loving investor might consider investments in aggressive or equity fund wherein risk is high and so also returns.

Mutual funds can also be closed ended or opened ended. A closed ended MF is one where the fund is not open to secondary investors and wherein an original investor can only liquidate their investment after an agreed period has elapsed. This type is very uncommon in Nigeria and used mostly by pension fund managers in the West. The open ended is the opposite.

I usually advice people to have a portfolio depending on their risk appetite. A typical portfolio should have the following cash, FD, Tbills, your voluntary RSA contributions with a seasoned PFA,money and capital market investments, proprietary holdings, real estate (not essential for beginners) and mutual fund investments. The advantage with MF of course is that you don't have to worry about daily monitoring as you are already paying the fund manager to do that and there is also the risk of portfolio decline as we have with all other investments including the "almighty risk free T bills".

Speaking of T bills, do people really consider the real rate of inflation when calculating their ROI on T bills? I guess the answer is in the "affirmative" since every body here seems to think that T bills is the next best thing after man "discovered fire" and for those who think that T bills are risk free, just wait till the government defaults on repayment of a maturing T bill tranche.

I guess a lot of people are quick to forget the silent trigger that caused what we all now know as the "European Debt Crisis".

Finally, please do your homework well, read far and wide, understand why you want to invest, create a balance between short term profit taking and long term gratification, check the amount of funds you are willing to commit and lose (yes you will surely lose some) and ensure that your investment strategy is backed up by consistency in three areas namely....consistent contributions, capital reinvestment and continuous learning

All the best!

Good One. Please continue to make our great country proud.

Thank God that the likes of Yerima and his cohorts didn't marry you at the age of 13

This is just the start of great things to come for you.

God bless Blessing Okagbare, God bless Nigeria!

The flag off simply meant paper work has been completed. There are still a lot of logistics to be addressed. For example, many houses will be demolished for the expansion to be effective. This means that those affected will be compensated, this will also involve some paper work, verification of house ownership and I am also very sure that some of the affected won't give up without a fight so the entire project isn't going to be a typical walk in the park.

Besides the contractors also have to sort out their own internal logistics like manpower and capacity planning, equipment deployment etc

You don't expect the project to immediately kick off just because GEJ came and rode a tractor on the road recently do you?

I am amazed at the people complaining here. It is on record that the trio of Jim, Tony and Uncle T(RIP) worked odd hours too at their prime.

Why are people complaining? Didn't they know what they were signing up for when they accepted the offer to "work in a Nigerian bank"

Bank work is not for the fainted hearted and its relatively easier now with the advent of technology.

I wonder what people will do if they were employed during the ledger and trial balance/brick and mortar banking days of First bank, Union bank and the likes.


By the time the cashless initiative takes full swing and people are made redundant because technology can now perform what they do and even better, I will see what will happen.

I think we should all be grateful that we even have a place to wake up and go to every morning.

Just my two cents!

Fast forward 15 years down the line and Mr Wizkid is no longer relevant in the industry and after he has gone through countless bottles of Moet, Champagne etc and putting his vital organs at risk.

Mr wizkid will now come out start begging his contemporaries then to help him raise funds to take care of himself.....and the vicious cycle continues...yet no body learns any life changing lessons.

Congrats on your new ride Wizkid

Treasury bills will be best investment vehicle for your uncle. It is risk free, interest is paid upfront and can be invested in for 91, 181 and 365 days

If you ask me, I will recommend that you stay put at you current job. It might not fetch you much in terms of pay but I can assure you that the sacrifice will surely pay off many times over as you would have acquired the requisite skills and experience to accelerate your growth in the industry and then the big bucks starts to flow in.

The downside to what you are about to do is that though you might think that the sales job will provide financial advantage but in the long run, you could be stuck in a position for quite a while and in the end you put your career in a limbo, wherein you miss out potential opportunities that are prevalent in O and G for people of your skill set.

I have friends that opted for banking in the hey days when there money to be made in banking instead of gradually building their career in oil and gas.
At this moment, some are out of their jobs and those that stayed put in O and G are greatly reaping the benefits

My two cents and all the best!

An indian colleague discussed this over the weekend and he is a huge fan of the deceased

I understand stuff like this only happens in bollywood movies and she was a talented actress. Perhaps she took her acting too far and a little bit over the edge.

May her soul rest in peace and find solace where ever she is now.

I am still wondering why a beautiful actress who can have hordes of men at her disposal will kill herself over a boy who is still practically in diapers!

And this is our "Bank of Industry Ambassador".

Talk of misplaced priorities and mediocre displays at its peak!

The basic truth is that he can’t afford it and I am happy that he has categorically accepted this. What a lot of people especially in Nigeria don’t understand is that that some people make a living (and a very profitable one) from being wine connoisseurs and art collectors. This hobby of course is not for the faint hearted.

We have reclusive billionaires from Asia, Europe (esp. Russia) and the Middle East who collect art and wine and even build a private museum of such collection (Not all wine is meant for consumption contrary to our Nigerian belief).

There are art exhibitions and auditions herein NYC where people have paid millions for art work, kept it and sold at a future date for a higher price. Check put the sales of most art paintings by Picasso, etc

For those who keep over rating the duo of P Square, I know they make a lot of money and I am extremely proud of their success till date but please the exaggerations are a bit over the top. To the best of my knowledge, the best, they have ever received for a show is 150k USD for a show organized in East Africa. Typically, they charge around 100k USD for international shows and even less at home and bear in mind that the money has to be shared into many parts to accommodate the marketers, organizers of the show and their crew (dancers, band etc)

The highest they have ever received is 1million USD for the KORA awards which was used to build their mansion SQUARE VILLE.

The wine is not for mediocres no doubt, but I think it is a good investment though, for those who can afford it since its production will be limited. Hence one can buy it, keep it for some time and watch it age (they also say that wine becomes better with age) and sell at a higher price to one of these eccentric and bored billionaires that don’t know what to do with their money.

I don't see anything wrong in it in my own opinion. Don't we have people in Brasil, Portugal and Columbia that name their children "Jesus" right from time immemorial. Have we even bothered to listen to the album before shouting sacrilege and blasphemy?

I don't claim to be a perfect christian and I am not judging anybody here but there is one thing I know for sure.....God looks at the intention and not the action. Once the intention which is only known to man and God(because He is all knowing) is not right, the action don't count in His presence.

The irony of course is that we humans always focus on the action.

May God open our eyes of understanding!

Okomu Oil had a fantastic ride 2011-2012 hence the reason for the stellar rewards in bonus and dividend payouts (N5 in 2011 and N7 in 2012 payout). However, declining global commodity prices has really affected their Q1 2013 performance and analysts are further estimating a further decline in commodity prices so Okomu Oil might be in it for a long haul (over 59% of their revenue is from international sales). For those who have access their Q13 results, you will see that there has been a decline in all indices. I would recommend a gradual reduction in portfolio holdings for the above mentioned for those that bought to enjoy the windfall. For people like us, who bought when it was around N42.50, we have already checked out before the closure of the register making over 100% ROI. Finally, the 1:1 bonus and N7 dividend is the reason for the “mark down” in the market price. Funny though that the price is climbing gradually even when their performance is dropping. I guess “HERD MENTALITY” is at work.

@ true love, just for the record, BOI partners with commercial banks on a regular basis. Most of the green fund loans availed to Dangote, Innoson etc were disbursed through commercial banks. This is normally done through a syndication whereby one bank is appointed as a mandated lead arranger that will represent other banks and the customer. They also do some work with the IFC, AfDB and world bank who also advise in technical capacity and provide financial due diligence.

Finally, they have started providing venture capital, mezzanine and hybrid funds for PE firms that show commitment towards investing in start ups particularly in the real/manufacturing sector.

Please let's get our facts right and not mis-inform people.

Thank you!

Good for him but this is misplaced priority. The BOI is like our own local world bank or even IFC. Now let me ask this, will the world bank call somebody like "Lil Wayne", "Kanye West" or even 50 cent to be a brand ambassador? The answer is in the obvious. A typical BOI brand ambassador should be a successful entrepreneur who has benefited from any of their intervention loans and can be sold as a success to the public.

Quite frankly, I don't think Dbanj can even stand and speak about real sector development in front of an international audience (a sector that BOI was set up to develop) so I think the whole charade is like adding "salt to pap" as one poster put it.

The money that they have wasted on this whole exercise can be repackaged as SME loans for small business owners with very low interest rates. We will all be amazed at how many businesses close shop every day in Nigeria because they can't afford the high interest rates loans that banks throw at them and yet this.

Well this is my beloved country Nigeria where a satellite the size of three ships can just disappear in space and a gas turbine the size of two big warehouses can also get missing at the Port, so this is not news for me.

God bless Nigeria!

N.B no disrespect to "Wezzy, Ye and 50 cent".....I think they are some of the greatest entertainers of our generation!

@ Sunny 45 if the FBI, CIA and PENTAGON websites can be hacked into, what more of an ordinary token?

No doubt the token is meant to be a last security resort but remember that it was invented by a human and the level of greed and avarice amongst mankind is mind boggling. The point I was trying to make with my statement is that we as internet banking users shouldn't get carried away just because we have a token, then we can walk on water.

We also need to be extra careful when we do transactions online, be careful divulging personal details even on facebook. You will be amazed at the kind of personal info that you can gather from just reading people's FB comments alone. I know this may sound paranoid but hey the world itself is a very complex and paranoid entity.

All the best!

@ madejibo, I don't work with DB and don't have any affiliations whatsoever with them but we need to be unbiased in our assertions. Also, there is not need to be unruly. It is uncalled for and uncivil. The OP will be questioned if the case is escalated and I can bet you that what he has said here will be totally different from what he will say if interviewed. I do empathize with him on the loss but I will still say that he is economical with the truth. For the OP have you at any point in time made purchases online via a payment platform that is not verified?

Still again, banks don't have access to your ATM pin that is why also you are by default required to change your pin once you get a new ATM card. Secondly the long number on your ATM is blotted out on any invoice containing ATM transactions e.g the print out you get when you make a withdrawal. Even at that, you are expected to destroy such after use.

In most cases, as one poster has put it, the OP maybe by error clicked on a link online that put a virus in his system that gathers sensitive info and transfers to a remote system.

I will repeat again that I am not absolving the bank nor trying to support them but let's listen to both sides of the story before we begin to throw stones.

I hope our "very intelligent nairalanders" will pick up strong learning points from this whole fiasco.

It is apparent that a lot of people already have a biased stance against DB and I will say again from experience that the OP has been economical with the truth. What has happened is quite unfortunate but he has only told us his own side of the story and albeit a side that potrays him as the victim.

I will ask again is there any time that you may have supplied your details online, does your wife have access to your internet log in details, is there any possibility that you might have compromised your details at any point in time. The OP must be sure that the crack in the wall that has aided this fraud is not from his own end. It is always very easy to throw jabs at the bank and please don't think that the CBN will automatically compel the bank to refund just because you have filed a complaint, they will also conduct an investigation and I think it will be very embarrassing if at the end of the day, the bank is not to blame.

As regards the token, the bank or any of its staff for that matter cannot have access to your token just as they cannot have access to your ATM pin unless you divulge it
On a final note the token can be bypassed by a very good systems analyst/hacker so total reliance on it will not prevent fraud. The best prevention is never compromise your log in details, routinely change your password and do your internet banking transactions on a secure system and connection.

All the best!

No apologies, but I think the poster is being economical with the truth. It is possible that he may have filled one of those scam online reactivation forms and in the process provided his bank details to a fraudster. Additionally, it is also possible that he may have been a victim of another scam that is made possible, when you use your computer on an unsecured public WiFi network wherein some people can use some software to access your information on your system. One more question, how reliable is the antivirus and anti-maleware software that you use on your laptop.

I am not exoneratiing the bank but I doubt if Diamond will directly steal money from your account. If they want steal they will hide it behind an intricate web of charges and commissions and take it over a long period of time and not in quick successions.

Either way, you have the names of the beneficiaries and the banks why don't you try and conduct an independent investigations

All the best

It is only in Nigeria that people who are yet to have experience within the four walls of an Ivory Tower offer advise to people with a rich wealth of experience and feel that their advice should be treated like some sort of dogma without questioning.

Don Jazzy first and foremost is a producer which means that a larger chunk of his income comes from music production and other related activities. The decision to open a night club is a good one because it peharps indicates that Don Jazzy knows that he won't continue to produce music forever and is investing in other lines of business to secure his future and also to offer some form of diversification for his portfolio of business.

The decision to also close down the business after a test run is also a good one because quite frankly there is no point if the club is not giving any returns.

Afterall, Dangote divested from his flour business when it was no longer offering him the expected returns. It will be sheer foolishness in my own opinion to keep the club open as a show of bravado.

Finally, for all those criticizing him, I have one vital question. How many businesses have you owned, run or managed successfully?


God bless Nigeria

One question for the poster is it the government that blocked the drainage? I am not a fan of our present government because I am of the opinion that they can do way and far better than what currently obtains but I won't at the same time agree with this mentality of passing the bulk which has become the norm in Nigeria.

I have seen people disobey traffic lights, vandalise them, throw litter in drainages and yet blame govt. The irony of all these is that these same people behave like exactly opposite when they travel outside the shores of Nigeria.

The change we are all clamouring for has to start from us as individuals if not we are in for a long haul.

God bless Nigeria!

A lot of people have provided suggestions for the OP but one question comes to mind for me. How many people in the real sense are qualified to give the OP a candid advice devoid of bias? Most have said he should jump at the MSc because Nigeria is "shit hole". Yet in this "shit hole" a friend relocated back home and set up a firm that helps banks verify customer contact details and is raking in millions daily. In this same "shit hole", another friend relocated and currently helps banks, IOCs and MNCs carry out overseas reference and academic verification for Nigerians in diaspora who are returning in droves to compete for the few jobs with their Nigerian counterparts. This is the same shit hole that the PE that I work for in NY has been able to do significant business in the last three years in a row.

To be honest with the OP, 28 is not an ideal age to commence a career( both home and abroad) so count your self lucky. I stay abroad and there are a lot of people with degrees doing menial jobs. Don't let the pictures that people post on facebook and other stories you read here deceive you.

I will advise that you take the job even if you are posted to Kano, are people not living here? Have an exit plan and work towards it. Without any job experience and a MSc, you will still come and compete for the same entry level jobs and bear in mind that you would have gone past the eligible age for entry level roles by then.

Please take the job. Get your ACA and save money to go abroad, after this the worst that can happen is that you come back to a job in the banking industry whilst searching for better offers.

A friend of mine that left for the US immediately we finished University is still wandering around even with his MSc and MBA. He is in a quodrum as we speak because he has no job experience and most employers both home and abroad consider him "un-employeable with all his degrees. He is considering a Phd now and this is the question I asked him the last time we spoke "after the Phd what next"? he just mumbled a few words to indicate his uncertainty and lack of direction and hung up.

May God open our eyes of understanding

I quite agree that recruiters should be able to create a pointer as to how much of a range fresh graduates should expect and possibly negotiate for.

I recall that when I got my first job, I had four offers and it was really tough deciding on which offer would be the best not just in terms of pay but career growth and prospects. I look back now and I can tell you this for sure: sometimes an initial trade-off between career growth and pay actually benefits in the long run. I am a living testimony to this.

I will give an example to buttress my point. Three candidates that I helped interview for an analyst role for the firm cited in my original post asked for absurd packages. One even started negotiating in DOLLARS just because she has a masters from NYU (like we too don't have such and more from Ivy league schools), didn't have any work experience to show (even summer internship or placements) and funny enough her first degree is from a Fed Uni in Nigeria. The other started from 9m per annum with a masters from a red brick university in the UK. The offer finally went to the third chap who is currently training with GE in Malayasia (GE Capital is one of the core partners of the Power and Agri fund the firm will manage)

This said, I am also not encouraging employers to pay peanuts nor am I canvassing for fresh graduates to accept such from their prospective employers.

I quite admire and encourage ambition in our younger generation but it should be an ambition fueled by passion and not the crazy rush for material gain from the onset. Once there is an alignment between passion to succeed and ambition, money will eventually flow towards your direction in leaps and bounds. I am also a living testimony to this. I just hope I am able to change at least one person's orientation through this.
God bless us all

I am compelled to ask this question as I have noticed with dismay that most of our fresh graduates with their array of qualifications and no work experience feel that they should start at the top of the remuneration ladder even though they don't have the requisite skills for the job.

I was invited to be a guest interviewer by a recruitment consultant who got a contract to recruit for a start up investment firm hoping the do major business in the power and agric sector and I was amazed at the humongous salaries the fresh graduates were quoting even when most didn't have any work experience to show. I am also dismayed when I see posts related to the above referenced on Nairaland and other domains.

In my own opinion,having a first class or distinction and a foreign degree is not enough.

This is peharps one of the reasons why employers have opted for the contract staffing option which has become common in the workplace. Because, most employers already know that investing in a fresh graduate (who is concerned with how much he/she will earn instead of building a career) by way of training will amount to nothing at the end of the day.

I hope someday that there will be a paradigm shift from this delusion.

@ OP as a fresh graduate, do you have any other professional qualifications? If the answer is NO, then you won't have much of a bargaining power unless you want to price your self out of a job. Please bear in mind that you are not the only one called for the interview.

As a fresh graduate, your bargaining power won't amount to much because the company will still need to invest in you and will already have a structured salary range for fresh graduates by the way. You can only negotiate if you have relevant work experience or certain skill sets that is hard to find in the market place e.g I.T skills.

Besides, have you worked before or currently working, if the answer is NO, then which salary will you use to negotiate as a base start?

I think you should be more concerned with presenting yourself as a top candidate for the job rather than this.

Best of luck anyway!