At Ginax International Enterprises, we help mini importers source for hot-selling products, save cost and grow their mini importation businesses in Nigeria. If you are a mini importer in the country, we can help you make payments or help you purchase any item from any Chinese web site while you pay us the exchange equivalent in Naira

PAY FOR ME SERVICES

If you have already done your research and seen the product(s) you want to buy from any of these websites: Alibaba, 1688, AliExpress, Taobao, Tmall, JoyBuy, JD and Global Sources, we can help you make payments for the product(s). You will only pay us the total cost of the product in USD + money transfer charge. The money transfer charge is the exact figure (not exchange equivalent) of your goods in Naira and it is used to cover the transfer and transaction charges that would be deducted from our account.

For example, if you want to buy 100pcs of an item from a particular link on AliExpress and the total cost of the item is $300, you will pay us $300 (total cost of your item) + N300 (money transfer charge) to help you purchase or make payment for the item on AliExpress. If you also want to buy 500pcs of another item from a particular link on Alibaba and the total cost of the item is $5000, you will pay us $5000 (total cost of your item) + N5000 (money transfer charge) to help you purchase or make payment for that particular item on Alibaba.

How It Works

Step 1: Send Your Links and Payment Request − Take your time to search for the item(s) you want to buy from any of the Chinese websites listed above and then send us their individual web link(s) via email or WhatsApp.

Step 2: Payment Request Confirmation − Once we confirm your links and approve any of your payment requests, you would need to deposit or transfer the total cost of your goods + money transfer charge to any of our local bank accounts. You can pay us in USD or the total exchange equivalent in Naira. Contact us for our bank account details. After making your bank deposit or wire transfer, fill our online payment notification form or bring your bank deposit/transfer slip to our retail store. Filling of the online payment notification form would enable us to quickly verify and process your payment within 4 working days. Failure to fill the payment notification form will result to delay in processing your payment.

Step 3: Paying For Your Items − We will notify you via email or WhatsApp once payment is done and you can then contact your supplier/manufacturer for shipping.

P.S. We do not and would not verify the quality of the products or authenticity of the manufacturer/supplier as our service here is to only help you make payments based on the web link(s) you provided. So, if the qualities of the products supplied are substandard or if the manufacturer/supplier refuses to ship your goods, you would have to contact the manufacturer/supplier of the product, and not GIE. GIE, its staff and agents will neither be held responsible for products that were not supplied nor products that were supplied at poor quality after payments were made. One of the ways to verify the quality of any product on most Chinese websites is to read the product reviews, check the seller’s ratings and the number of orders sold. Or better still, you can order for a real sample and confirm the quality first before booking your main order.

If you need our services, you can find my phone numbers and website in my signature.

A new job site now connects employers and recruiters with the best project management talents in Nigeria. If you have project management knowledge and skills, it's currently the best place to be.

CareerinPM is a project management recruitment and career development platform. The social startup is currently in beta and it's ideal for employers who want to attract candidates with project management knowledge and skills to their organisations. Employers can create a free account and post unlimited number of jobs for FREE. Their job ads would also be promoted on social media.

The platform is also ideal for job candidates who are searching for project management-related jobs or project management-oriented roles in Nigeria. They can create a free candidate account, update their profiles, upload their CVs, write their cover letters, and search for jobs on the platform.

For more about CareerinPM, visit http://careerinpm.com.ng.

Back in the days, professional assistant service were reserved for the rich and busy professionals. They were the ones who could afford to hire a highly-rated Personal or Executive Assistant to perform certain professional services for them and also take care of their to-do lists. Now, that exclusive service has been made open by a startup that's set to revolutionise the way people request for help or hire a personal assistant in Nigeria.

Meet [url]JustPingUs.com.ng[/url], a new personal assistant and customer service startup that's making it possible and easy for everyone to have their own personal or executive assistant in Nigeria, without actually hiring anyone.

JustPingUs was founded by a Nigerian, in Nigeria and for people living in Nigeria. The startup is currently in beta and only serving users/customers in Lagos. However, the team of Pinging Experts are working as hard and as fast as they can to make their service available nationwide.

Now, imagine the roles and responsibilities of a Personal or Executive Assistant...

Some persons have been asking why we perform numerous tasks and we tell them to try and imagine the roles and responsibilities of a Personal or Executive Assistant. What exactly are the roles and responsibilities of a Personal or Executive Assistant? To be a good Personal or Executive Assistant, you should be able and ready to perform various tasks for your employer in a professional, timely, convenient, efficient and conversational manner. And that's what we do at JustPingUs.

JustPingUs helps people get things done via messaging. Whether you want to book movie tickets, pay your mobile bill, book a flight ticket, reserve a table at your favourite restaurant or need help with shopping – you can ask JustPingUs to get it done. You can even ask JustPingUs to give you a wake up call or remind you about your meeting or friend’s birthday.

In essence, JustPingUs is one of Nigeria’s first conversational commerce platforms that is powered by real humans who fulfil requests via messaging. The Pinging Experts currently work from 8:00AM–7:00PM, Monday to Saturday, but can also fulfil some of your requests outside the working hours.

Let’s say, you have to travel to Abuja from Lagos, and want to know the cheapest flight available – just ping your request or query and a Pinging Expert will immediately respond to your query and ask you a few simple questions like departure and arrival city, travel dates and time preferences. Based on your inputs, the Pinging Expert will do all the search work and get back to you with the details of cheapest flights available. You can now select one of the flights and ask the Pinging Expert to book it for you.

Let’s take one more example. Suppose you are looking for an electrician – just ping that you need an electrician tomorrow between 2 to 3pm. A Pinging Expert will get back to you with rate card and seek your permission – “Should I proceed with the booking?” – now the choice is yours! And one the best parts about using the JustPingUs service is that each Pinging Expert will get back to you with solutions in seconds.

To sum it up, with JustPingUs, you can simply outsource your everyday tasks or to-do lists to a Pinging Expert without having to do them yourself. It helps saves time and eliminates stress for every little task, and you can ping your requests via WhatsApp (+234 701 156 6010) or Messenger (m.me/JustPingUs).

From November 2016 to January 2017, I was busy executing a construction project at my village. When I came back to Lagos, I decided to seek for a digital marketing or digital project management role in any company that values social media, technology and project management.

However, I was more interested in startups because I wanted to gain some kind of experience in the startup ecosystem. I wanted to help a startup grow big through my blogging, social media marketing, online research, SEO, content writing and project management skills. I already knew within me that I would launch my own startup someday but I felt I needed some kind of practical experience in the ecosystem before thinking of creating mine.

So, I created my job search strategy, kept fine-tuning and executing it, and got invited for some interviews with some startups at Yaba and Victoria Island. I went for the interviews, did my best and kept pushing on while waiting for some of the feedbacks.

During my job search period, I was also close to a team of 3 friends who were working on a startup. I kind of joined them, contributed my thoughts and ideas to the startup business model, and also learned a lot from the team. And being someone with an entrepreneurial mindset and some real-life business experience (10 years of doing business at Idumota), it was an interesting moment.

My job search and my involvement with my team of friends continued for some time until it got a stage when I discovered that I could actually gain the needed experience I was looking for in the startup ecosystem by launching something of value and learning along the line. I sat for some days, pondered on that thought and the result led to me quitting my job search. I distanced myself from some of my friends so as to have a quite time and avoid some unnecessary flexing distractions. I used those quite moments to do some serious research on a problem I could solve or a service I could improve using technology. (Sorry friends, now you know why I had been scarce.) My weeks of serious research, asking questions, doing some analysis and comparisons led to the birth of [url]JustPingUs.com.ng[/url].

The startup is currently in private beta and my entrepreneurial journey and learning experience has just begun. JustPingUs is everyone’s personal assistant. With just a ping on WhatsApp (Messenger coming soon!), we can help you get your daily tasks done – so long it’s legal. I’m also using the startup to improve customer service in Nigeria via messaging.

LESSON: If you are a job seeker, it won’t be a bad idea if you’re doing a small side project while seeking for a job. Don’t sit idle and do nothing just because you’re seeking for a job. Find something that would keep you productive even if you’re not making any money from it yet and surround yourself with great thinking and inspiring people. That side project could be end up helping you move from being a job seeker to an aspiring entrepreneur.

Now, join me on my entrepreneurial journey…

JustPingUs is a new Nigerian personal assistant and customer service that helps you spend your time doing what you love while its team of Pinging Experts helps you get your daily tasks done.

Think of the startup as a virtual personal assistant that's ready to fulfil your requests, tasks or chores so you could relax and enjoy your precious time with your loved ones.

How Can JustPingUs Service Benefit Me?

Do you remember those special moments or occasions when you really, really needed something but you were too lazy or too busy to go out and get it?

Do you also remember those moments when you were running out of time or getting frustrated with numerous tasks that you really needed someone to help you do some important things such as shopping? Now, you don't need to worry or stress yourself anymore. With just a ping, your wish could be fulfilled – so long it's legal.

JustPingUs is everyone's personal assistant. With just a ping, they can help you buy and do anything.

How Does JustPingUs Work?

JustPingUs communicates with its clients/customers via messaging and their services are FREE of charge. You only pay for what you requested for.

If you want them to get your chores done, just ping them on WhatsApp and one of their Pinging Experts will connect with you to clarify and confirm your requests. They are also very clear on the requests they accept or process and will let you know if they are unable to find what you’re looking or if there is any issue with your request.

After confirming your requests, they will ping you the fee to get it done, which is based on the service/product requested. It’s only when you accept the fee that they will send you a secured payment link to proceed with payment.

Once your payment is confirmed, they will quickly execute your requests or get your tasks done. It's as simple as that.

One thing that is obviously noticeable about JustPingUs is that they are truly passionate about what they do and they want to be able to make a difference in the lives of people.

Do note that they are currently in beta and you can check them out at http://justpingus.com.ng/.

The world of communication via mobile phones is moving towards messaging. Millennials are texting more than using phone calls or emails. Consumer service is also moving towards messaging and that is why [url]JustPingUs.com.ng[/url] was born.

JustPingUs is a mobile personal assistant service that is set to revolutionize customer service and the way people get their daily tasks done via messaging. It is like having a personal assistant you can ping or chat with to perform certain daily tasks for you. Think WhatsApp – but instead of pinging with your friends, you are pinging with a virtual personal assistant. With JustPingUs, you can request for help on anything you desire - as long as it is legal and possible.

My mission is to create an easy, convenient and conversational means for people to get their daily tasks done and have access to various services and information on a single platform, simply through messaging. My vision is to be one of the leading providers of personal assistant and customer services and make commerce more conversational through messaging.

Beta Testers

The startup is currently in private beta and you can be among the 1st-100 invited persons to test our personal assistant and customer services in Lagos. To get invited, simply fill the online invitation form at https:///forms/9IE4IUhYiBteRGm02. Once you’re invited, you would receive a ping from JustPingUs on the WhatsApp number you entered in the form. Then you can start pinging us your requests or queries and we will process them – so long it’s legal.

JustPingUs would be entering the public beta phase soon to serve more people in Lagos. We are also working hard towards launching and serving the whole of Nigeria.

Why Messaging?

JustPingUs is among the first conversational commerce platforms in Nigeria and here are the main reasons why we chose messaging:
• Messaging has outranked phone calls as the dominant form of communication among millennials – those born between 1980 and 2000. They love to ping!
• Almost every smartphone user in Nigeria has WhatsApp downloaded on their phones for pinging purposes
• Messaging consumes less data and cost less than phone calls
• Most people are very familiar with messaging apps as they use them everyday
• Messages have a higher read rate than emails

Why Should I Use JustPingUs Services?

Let's imagine you want to spend your weekend in a nice hotel at Victoria Island and you need a 4-star hotel that would offer you the best deal for the weekend. To get the best deals, you would have to browse through various hotel booking sites and apps. Now, that's time consuming and stressful.

Now, let me share with you how our services are convenient and unique…

With just a simple ping, we would do all the searching with our own time and data and ping the best deals (hotel names plus their booking fees) you. Our human assistants – Pinging Experts – are the best in the searching and pinging service. You would then choose the deal that’s best for you or you can simply ask us to choose for you. Once you agree with the total fee, we would ping you a secured payment link that you would use to make payment with your debit or credit card or you can choose to do a bank deposit. As soon as your payment is confirmed on our end, we would immediately book the hotel room and ping you the booking details. It's as simple and as convenient as that and our services are free.

Let’s also imagine you are looking for a startup to officially partner with that would help sell your products and services to its users/customers in Nigeria, you can officially partner with JustPingUs. For example, if you are offering cab services, JustPingUs would do all of its cab booking on your platform for users/customers that request for a cab.

JustPingUs currently has 16 categories of services which are all listed on the website, but our services are not limited to those categories. You can request for anything you desire and we will get is done – so long it’s legal and possible We also have a detailed and comprehensive list of startups and companies in Nigeria and the services/products they offer, and we are constantly adding more startups and companies to the list. Whenever a customer pings us with a request, let’s to deliver a particular food at their office, we would scan through our list of food delivery startups and offer the customer the best deal.

Smart, creative and sophisticated job seekers are now creating and implementing good job search tactics and strategy that would help them land their dream jobs within a short period of time. Their tactics and strategy focus on what actually matters:

1. Demonstrating credibility. (By building a unique and winning personal brand, having an up-to-date and optimised digital resume, by building their network and creating connections with influencers and experts in their niche, industry or sector and also tapping into their vast network, and by having a mentor and career coach.)

2. Demonstrating creativity. (By showcasing your skills and thought process, by researching on how you can add value to organisations that interest you, and by being proactive.)

3. Demonstrating preparedness. (By having an effective CV, resume or cover letter, by preparing well for any interview, and by appearing confident.)

Conquer those three things, and you would land a good job in any company. To learn HOW you can properly conquer those three things, enrol for my FREE 8-Day Email Course here: http://promo.jerryihejirika.com/8-day-email-course

Are you confused about your project management career? Do you have a degree or certification in project management but still confused about your project management career? Or do you want to change career into project management but confused as to how to go about it? I have a FREE e-book that will teach you how to discover, define, plan and advance your project management career, just keep reading…

You see, having a degree or certification in project management won’t define your project management career. After all, not everyone is interested in practising what they were taught in school. I was never thought about blogging, teaching, career coaching and digital marketing throughout my days in school but I have built one of the most popular blogs on project management in Africa, and I do teach and coach people who are interested in project management how they can discover, define, plan and advance their project management careers. This is because I have discovered what makes me come alive in the world of project management – and that is teaching and coaching people who are interested in the profession and helping them achieve success. If you are interested in pursuing a great career or getting your dream job in the world of project management, I am here to help you.

What is Your Career or Job Search Plan?

Project management is one of the most sought after professions and skills in the world. It’s a profession or skill that can be practised in any industry or sector. It is a blessing in disguise for those who not only know how to practice the profession, but also how to develop and achieve success in their project management careers.

However, if you have a formal knowledge of the profession and you do not have a success career map, it might as well be a curse in disguise! This is because the project management profession is so wide that you would keep moving across different paths and pursuing different certifications and scrambling for different jobs without an aim. At some stage, you would find the profession to be more stressful than fun!

If you are among those who are still confused about their project management careers, you need to find a way of creating your own career map. How? Two ways: You either create a success career map from scratch or legitimately get hold of the career map of someone who has successfully threaded those same paths you want to take and learn how to customise their success career maps to your own benefits. How would you build from scratch or get someone’s success career map, you may ask? That is why I am here to help you.

I have also noticed that most persons who do not have a strategic job search plan, apply what I call the “Scatter-and-Wait” formula – a formula whereby you ‘scatter’ your CVs to various companies and ‘wait’ for any of those companies to contact you. It might work for you some of the time, but you have to be aware that the best jobs are not advertised!

The “Scatter-and-Wait” formula was very effective during the industrial revolution era. W are now in the digital revolution era and a new digital formula is now making waves. Keep reading to discover the formula…

Grab My FREE E-Book

The e-book is titled, “6 Steps to Your Career Development in Project Management.” It is an excellent book that will teach you how to discover, define, plan and advance your project management career. It contains the 6 secret steps to discovering, defining, planning and advancing my project management career. You can get your FREE copy at http://eepurl.com/caLA55.

I will break down each of the 6 steps and go deep into more details at my career class. There will be a combination of written contents, videos, images, tasks, assignments, life stories, challenge competitions, and feedback during the career classes. It will be fun, educating and engaging!

I have always wanted to provide something to you guys – my awesome and loyal subscribers who are interested in project management and have been sticking around and supporting my blog. This e-book is it, and I’m really excited to give it to you for free.

In the e-book, you will…:

+ Get to know how I successfully discovered, defined and planed my project management career

+ Discover how I am advancing my project management career to becoming a project leader in the future

+ Get to know how I use social media to build my digital resume and attract job offers without submitting my CV to any of those companies

+ Discover how I got two international recognition on the same year I received my bachelor’s degree in project management technology

[center]PROOF: In 2014, I was selected as among “The 2014 PM Oscar from @pduOTD” and “The Top 14 Project Managers to Follow on Twitter“[/center]

+ Discover how I am building my personal brand and global network

+ Get to read my interview with a project management career expert

+ Get to see my list of my top 30 project management blogs

+ Plus, get a free admission into my private online community where you can learn from me and other members of the community.

You will also be notified of my special pre-launch discount and behind the scenes launch to my first career class. Get your FREE copy now: http://eepurl.com/caLA55

Join My Private Online Community

I have created a private online community. In the community, we discuss and share ideas ranging from career development to career advancement, from career management to job search strategies, from traditional resume to digital resume, from CV writing to CV review, from entrepreneurship to project management, from blogging to social media, from interview preparation to job promotion strategies, from internship to volunteering, from mentoring to career coaching, and other relevant topics. Join us and you will also have access to network with other members of the community.

The link to my private community is in the e-book. You will have free admission into my private online community where you can learn how to discover yourself and develop your project management career.

If you want to be awesome, you also can share this page with some of your friends using the share buttons. Help them discover their own dream career paths in project management, too.

I believe this is a question that is on the lips of most persons who are currently pursuing a bachelor’s or master’s degree in project management. I have been there before so I know how it feels when you are confused as to how to define or plan your project management career as a (degree) student.

In 2008, when I gained admission to study Project Management Technology at FUTO (Federal University of Technology Owerri), I was so excited of not only overcoming the JAMB (Joint Admission and Matriculation Examination) stress but also overcoming the admission stress. JAMB really jammed me for some years, and anyone who has passed through that JAMB jamming experience knows how bad, frustrating, and insulting it is.

Gaining admission into a Nigerian university is so highly celebrated because if you miss out, then you would have to wait for another one year. During the waiting period, you would have to write JAMB again. If you beat the JAMB cut-off marks, then you would have to write the university’s post-UME examination and make sure you beat the department’s cut-off marks. So when you undergo all these stressful examinations’ protocols and you finally gain admission, it calls for a huge celebration in Nigeria.

During your first year, it is about you feeling fly that you are now a “university student” unlike your peers who could not make it and would now have to wait and write the almighty JAMB again. The first year is one of the most disorganised and stressful years in any Nigerian university.

It is in your second year that you would realise that pursuing a bachelor’s degree is not “fun” most especially if your first year results were not good enough. You would also get to realise that it is a time-consuming, an energy-consuming and a money-consuming “work”. No wonder most Nigerian graduates are always among the best graduating students at the master’s and doctorate’s levels in any international university that you find them because the system there is nothing compared to what they might have experienced while pursuing their bachelor’s degree in Nigeria.

Now at your third year, you should begin to think of not just your academic career (that is, your schooling) but also your professional career (that is, who you want to be). For project management students, you are now at a level where you would need to think of what kind of project manager you would like to be when you graduate. If you were not clear on that aspect (of who you want to be) before graduating, you would end up graduating with more confusion about the profession. Trust me, I am telling you from experience. No one gave me this candid advice during my schooling days but I am giving it to you now for FREE.

The project management profession is so broad that if you do not have a definite plan about your professional career before graduating, you would end up pursuing “any type of job in any industry” irrespective of the salary and with so much lack of focus that would make most hiring managers and recruiters confused on what to do with someone who has a bachelor’s degree in project management. YOU NEED TO HAVE A DEFINITE CAREER PLAN BEFORE GRADUATING. Do not adopt the jack-of-all-project-management-trade school of thought. Do not be drawn into the “I can practice project management in all industries and sectors, so no need for me to have a definite career plan” school of confusion thought. Do NOT limit your reading only to books sold by your lectures. Most of those books were academically written to help you pass their courses or exams and it would limit your scope of project management if you rely solely on them. Blend your reading or learning with good books that have been written by professionals who are currently practising or have practised project management in those industries or sectors that interests you. Books like that would help you understand how project management is being practised in those industries or sectors and in turn would help you to properly define or plan your project management career.

At your fourth year, you should begin to have that thought or feeling that soon your academic career would be over and you would enter into the labour market. Doesn’t that scare you? In most federal universities of technology, your fourth year period is when you would go for your 6-month industrial training (IT). The IT period will help you have a feel of the labour market, as you would need to search and apply for internship jobs. It is also a period you should use to practice your project management and communication skills, network and communicate with experienced project managers in your field or industry of choice and ask them intelligent questions concerning the project management profession in that industry and your career. By the end of your fourth year, you should have a clear vision of the type of project manager that you would like to be. By the end of my own IT period in December 2012, I knew that I would still like to be a Project Manager but I didn’t know what type of project manager I would like to be. No one gave me such specific advice then, so you should be lucky that I am giving it to you. However, I got to know what type of project manager I would like to be before graduating so continue reading.

In your final year, you should be clear on what type of project manager you would like to be or the industries or sectors that you would like to practice project management. You should also have an idea of how project management is being practised in those industries or sectors based on some of the books you must have read and the project managers you must have communicated with.

Now, I told you earlier on that I got to know what type of project manager I would like to be before graduating. When and how? It was during my final year. Around June 2013, when we were about to start our second semester examination, we were then informed that the school will be joining others in an indefinite strike. The strike lasted for almost 7 months. That 7-month period was the turning point for my career. That was the period when I knew I had to define my project management career and I did. That was the period when I discovered that there was a huge gap between the project management professionals and the project management (degree) students in Nigeria in terms of information dissemination relating to project management, and that was the period when I created this blog to help bridge that gap. That is not all. It was also a period when I discovered that I had in the dark in terms of “things” happening in the world of project management. In addition, I was not the only one who was left in the dark, most of my fellow project management students where there with me, too. With the intent to create my definite career plan and my passion for the profession, I began to connect, network and communicate with project managers around the world via the internet. It helped me a lot as I began to have a clearer vision of how I could use my blog to not only enlighten and update our project management students in Nigeria, but also to contribute my knowledge, ideas, opinions, thoughts and experiences to the world of project management, and help raise the next generation of project leaders in Africa.

I know a lot of our current project management (degree) students are in the dark regarding the profession and most are confused on how to create a definite plan for their project management careers. To help them, I recently launched a Project Management Career Clinic (http://jerryihejirika.com/project-management-career-clinic/) on my blog. The JI’s Career Clinic will offer FREE career advice via email to students who are currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in project management in Nigeria. All you need do is send an email with your name, mobile number, academic level, registration number, department, institution and your career questions to career[AT]jerryihejirika.com. Remember to replace the [AT] with the @ sign. Our partners (project management career experts) are willing to help you define or plan your project management career so start sending in your questions now.

Please note that we are NOT offering jobs but career advice and tips, and some of the questions with their answers will be selected and published on my blog from time to time.

In Nigeria, and in most other countries, there are legalised bodies set up to monitor and regulate the practices of some professions. It’s not easy for persons without a formal knowledge or training or registered licence to practise or break into those professions. In addition, these professions, when hiring persons for low-level or mid-level positions, tend to understand the value of persons with a Bachelor’s degree relating to that profession. Can we say the same of the project management profession? What percentage of organisations globally know that there are persons with Bachelor’s degree in Project Management?

I was reading one of Lindsay Scott’s articles titled “Project Management Degrees – Challenges and Opportunities” at http://www.arraspeople.co.uk/camel-blog/projectmanagement/project-management-degrees-challenges-and-opportunities/ and quoting her from that article she said, “Should a Bachelor’s degree in project management even exist? The focus should switch to Masters degrees that require so many hours of practical project management experience to qualify to undertake it.” I’m a Bachelor’s degree holder in Project Management Technology, and if persons like us do not come out to let the project management world know the value of our degree, the world might think it’s valueless.

If a Bachelor’s degree in project management should not exist because of the “lack” of practical experience of graduates at that level, then…

A Bachelor’s degree in most medical or health professions should not exist also because of the same “lack” of practical experience of graduates at that level. Just imagine a recent graduate with Bachelor’s degree performing a major surgery on you!
A Bachelor’s degree in law should also not exist because of the “lack” of court experience of new graduates at the Bachelor’s level. Just imagine a young lawyer with only a Bachelor’s degree representing you on a billion dollar case!
Furthermore, a Bachelor’s degree in architecture should not exist too. Just imagine your organisation awarding a 50-storey building plan to a young architect with only a Bachelor’s degree qualification!
Now my question is: Would any of these aforementioned professions scrap the Bachelor’s degree because of the “lack” of experience of new graduates at that level? If no, then why the project management profession?

All well-structured professions know that any new graduate with just a Bachelor’s degree qualification doesn’t have enough experience yet to manage big or complex projects. However, they also know that these young graduates, with just Bachelor’s degree qualifications, are very much relevant for the continuity of their profession. Except we want to keep encouraging the fact that the entry-level and mid-level positions in the project management profession be filled by “accidental” project managers, then maybe we should stop the universities from awarding a Bachelor’s degree in project management. And then, just imagine the medical profession and the legal profession being totally dominated by “accidental” medical practitioners and “accidental” legal practitioners, respectively, in the future, I bet you know what would happen next to their system of practices.

The project management profession is not well-structured yet (some even argue if project management is a profession!) like these other professions mentioned above. For entry-level and mid-level positions, those who have a Bachelor’s degree in project management seem to be less favoured to those who have a certification. And there a lot of certification holders who can’t even defend their certifications! So, we still have a long way to go in properly structuring the project management profession.

Lindsay also asked if universities could include modules that are more practically focused. That’s a very good point and some universities are already offering practical opportunities to their students. I graduated from FUTO (Federal University of Technology Owerri) here in Nigeria. At the end of your 200 level, you are asked to go for a 3-month industrial training. Then after your first semester at your 400 level, you must do a 6-month industrial training. These industrial trainings are part of the school curricular and you must submit an official report regarding your experiences learnt and defend that report at the start of a new semester or asked to re-do the training if you fail your defense.

Most persons would encourage or advice the young ones who just finished their secondary or high school to go and pursue a degree or diploma that’s directly connected or relating to their career choice. For example, if you want to practice accounting in Nigeria, most persons would advise you to go and pursue a degree or diploma in accountancy, and then after graduating, maybe do the ICAN (Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria). Such advice are given so you would have a sound foundation knowledge of the profession.

Now let me ask you, “What advice would you give to someone who just finished his/her secondary or high school and wants to pursue a career in project management?” Share your answer in the comment section.

The project management profession is an open ground. Anyone and everyone is invited. There are no legal framework or body regulating its practitioners or monitoring their practices in most countries. So anybody with or without a formal training and with or without a licence can claim to be a “professional” project manager and freely practice the profession.

There are some very good points though in Lindsay’s article concerning the project management degree. I would advise you to read it up if you are interested in the development of the project management education.

This article was originally published on JerryIhejirika.com at http://jerryihejirika.com/should-the-bachelors-degree-in-project-management-be-scrapped-off/.

With the high rate of unemployment in the country, I wonder how many of our recent graduates in project management have landed their dream jobs.

It is now common knowledge that the first thing recruiters and employers do is to search for you on social media. So the best place to position yourself first is on social media. But, with the numerous profiles of job seekers online, how do you actually stand out from the social media crowd? The answer is through BLOGGING.

Gone are those days when blogging was meant for the journalists, writers and gossip mongers. In today’s world, a good blog can land you your dream job in a company that values project management (PM) in Nigeria. How so? Let’s take a look.

My Story

I discovered the power of blogging in 2008 when I joined my first Internet Network Marketing Company. I set up my blog to promote the company’s travel products and services and also recruit members into the company’s Network Marketing system.

I’d expected to generate some local and international traffic by doing this, but I did not anticipate the overwhelming, positive response I got from my upline member who took the time to check out my blog. I also used the blog to a great success in building an international team.

Although I’ve since giving up on the blog as the company is no longer existing, I wouldn’t be engaged in my current blogging activities of which I am passionate about if it weren’t for my early blogging experience.

Blogging to Your Dream Job 

In this post, we will be looking at how you can use blogging to get the attention of talent managers, hiring managers and recruiters from top companies and government agencies seeking for the best employees or workers with project management skills.

Showcasing Your Project Management Knowledge

Write about problems as relating to project management that you have come across, and offer your solutions. If you don’t have a lot of experience in the field of PM, then do your research. Look at the common challenges PM students and practitioners are facing, and offer suggestions for better ways of doing things differently. Blogging not only keeps your PM knowledge ahead of the curve, but it also keeps your skills sharp as you continue providing consistent posts for your readers.

Positioning Yourself as One Who’s Current in the PM Industry

Writing and sharing news and updates on things happening in the world of project management shows that you are staying current, you are engaged and that the PM industry is valuable to you. This also sends a message to recruiters and employers that you “get” it because you are not just telling, but showing that you can be valuable to their organisation in helping them stay up-to-date on project management trends.

Networking with Project Management Professionals

One of the aims of establishing your project management blog is to create conversations with persons who are passionate or interested in project management – conversations create connections, and connections can land you your dream job. Also, another good way to create an online conversation with companies that you want to work for is to follow their blogs, and leave thoughtful comments on their posts. Perhaps even link back to your own blog. Every step you take to get your name in front of a prospective employer makes you more memorable when your CV/resume reaches them.

Showcase Your Project Management Portfolios

If you are one of those project managers who are also skilled in the art of communication, web designing, software programming, artistry, product/service research, graphics design and photography, then show it off on your blog as there are companies out there seeking for persons like you. Share your stories, photos and projects on your blog so it can act as your professional portfolio, which in turn would complement and supplement your CV/resume.

Build Your Personal Brand

You blog is like a billboard that promotes YOU. It tells employers and recruiters who you are and what you believe in. So without getting to meet you, they already have some ideas of your personality and how you might fit in their company.

If you don’t know how to start a blog or you're still thinking about whether to start blogging, then read the articles listed below:

However, if you are wondering whether I’ve gotten my own dream job through blogging, I haven’t yet. But let me tell you that I have been receiving some calls and emails from some employers who are interested in employing me though I haven’t agreed with any, yet. And trust me when I do, I would share it on the blog.

If your blog has helped you in landing your dream job, I'd like to hear from you in the comment section.

If you are thinking of applying for a project management training in Nigeria, there are some factors you need consider before choosing any project management academy or training center, and in no particular order, here they are:

1. Location: To reduce transport cost, no one would like to be in Lagos and applying for a training in Abuja, unless you would have to travel and stay at Abuja during the duration of your training. There are a lot of project management training centers scattered across the country. You need to do a little research to not only discover the ones around you, but those ones that offer quality training.

2. Training Fees: Getting a project management training in Nigeria can cost anywhere from tens of to hundreds of thousands of naira, depending on the academy offering the training. Some fees cover the course materials, parking permits, access to the academy's knowledge database, etc, so you need to find out from the academy what their fees cover. Also note that the amount fees charged does not determine the quality of training being offered, so perform some more research before risking your hard-earned money.

3. Quality of Trainers: When I say "quality," I do not mean professionals in other fields who are claiming to offer project management trainings, but certified project management trainers. Request for the data of the trainers at the academy and perform some due diligence on their profiles. If such data or information is not available, you might want to search for other training centers within your preferred location.

4. Courses Offered: Are you sitting for the PRINCE2®, PMP®, ITIL®, or any other project management certification examinations? There are some numbers of courses that you need to cover to be fully prepared to sit for such examinations. These courses have been listed in their respective body of knowledge (BOK). Examples of BOK are the PMBOK and APMBOK. So, you need to find out if the academy will cover the relevant courses during the duration of your training.

5. Duration and Schedule: Would you prefer to receive your trainings on weekdays or weekends, or do you want to customize your schedule? You need to find out how the academy schedules their trainings and duration that each schedule would take.

6. Training Methods: Would you prefer the traditional, online or a combination of both methods? When I say traditional, I mean, physically attending the training center throughout the duration of your training.


7. Lifestyle: I know some of us might be wondering what I meant by lifestyle! Now, let me tell you. Some persons do not like the idea of attending a project management training center, maybe due to security, health or personal reasons. And these same persons might not be interested in an online training. So the best is for them to seek private trainings. Some academies have professional project management tutors and coach who can offer you private trainings or coaching at your home, office, hotel or any preferred location that's safe and convenient. Such trainings are usually offered at a much higher fee.

I have shared with you the basic factors that you must consider before choosing any project management training center in Nigeria.