₦airaland Forum

Amie69:
Please I just got a mail from Rand Merchant bank for an assessment. If you could help me with any information about their assessments and also past questions, I'd highly appreciate it. Thank you

dasparrow:
I wish I had an answer but I don't. I have never moved or lived in Lagos. Let's wait for others to see this thread so that they can contribute accordingly.

Originalsly:
Hmmm.... this can be very interesting. I like this way of trying to get input to make a major decision.

Skyfornia:
I won't tell you

Milesbillions:
I studied Zoology and Environmental Biology...
Graduated well
Just concluded my service this year.

I wanted to study medicine initially but UNN dashed me zoology and Environmental Biology. Lol
I had no other choice than to accept it.

I am currently job hunting although in other fields that are not related to what I studied but Iam using the grade I graduated with as a leverage.

I believe I will make it....the goal is to japa, and do Masters and phd in Bionformatics or environmental toxicology offshores of Niger

Saw this thread immediately I finished writing a recruitment exam of a bank.....deep down, I know I did not do well because it is my first time.....lol....man must survive.

Only time shall tell

membranus:
The Interview

By Bayo Adeyinka

March 15, 2022

Each time I conduct interviews, I usually end up shaking my head and lamenting about the state of education in Nigeria. Our tertiary institutions are churning out graduates who are mainly unemployable. Earlier today, I interviewed almost 50 candidates and by the end of the whole session, the only conclusion I could arrive at was that we have a BIG problem.

In one particular instance, I was alarmed when I read the CV of a particular female graduate of one of the Universities in the South West. It was full of outlandish errors and so I asked her to spell a few words. She spelt the word 'redeemed' wrongly four times before she got it right the fifth time. On her CV, she described herself as one of the officials of the church fellowship when she was an undergraduate but she wrote the name of the church wrongly. She couldn't spell the word 'corper' despite trying more than five times. Yet, during her national service, she taught pupils at a school. I underlined about 10 grammatical errors on her CV and showed them to her. She couldn't even determine where to use apostrophe s.

A particular candidate couldn't speak a whole sentence without committing serious blunders. Even when I repeated those errors while thinking he would correct himself, he repeated the blunders again. Another candidate found it difficult explaining what he studied in school. Some have not developed themselves in any way since they graduated. I had to spend some time to talk to a lady who had her Ordinary National Diploma fifteen years ago but had not done anything to improve herself since then. When she mentioned the issue of paucity of funds, I pointed at her designer bag and her well braided hair as evidence that fund was not the problem.

I asked a female candidate what her aspirations were if money was not a restraining factor. Her answer left all of us on the interview panel with mouths wide open. "I want to live large and live big", she told us. One of the candidates told us he studied 'BSc Economics'. He made the mistake thrice until I corrected him that he studied Economics and not BSc Economics. A fellow was asked to introduce himself and he started with 'My names are...'. I asked him how many people he's introducing. Even when I tried to correct him, he insisted he was correct so I gave up on him.

On one occasion, I asked a female candidate what her husband does. She replied, 'I'm sorry but he's a driver'. I asked her why she was sorry about the legitimate job that her husband does. I told her that the job of her husband does not define who he is. His job is simply a job. I told her I also drove a cab before. I spent the longest time with her as I wanted her mind to be disinfected of the low self-esteem she seemed to carry. I played the video of Femi Ogedengbe, the Nollywood actor turned security guard in the United States and encouraged her to be proud of her husband. Interestingly, the husband is a graduate and I've asked her to give me her husband's CV. She almost broke down in tears when I told her I'd rather hire her husband than her. She knelt and apologized before she left my office.

A few guys had the labels of their suit on their sleeves- at least three of them that I recall. When I asked why the labels were not removed, they grinned sheepishly. One of them told me that is the current trend. When that same guy sat down, I observed that he wore ankle socks with a significant part of his legs showing bare skin. One candidate was particularly striking for his naivety. He came in shaking and stammered while introducing himself. He could barely string a sentence together. When I tried to make him comfortable by asking him to take a deep breath, he answered by saying, "I don't know why I'm like this today. This is actually my first interview". He just finished his national service and anxiety was written all over him.

I made two major observations during the interview session today:

1. Candidates who engaged in extracurricular activities while in school turned out better. There was a lady who was a member of SIFE- Students In Free Enterprise- while she was on campus and she was one of the bright spots. There was another fellow that represented his University at a competition outside Nigeria. He was also outstanding. Likewise, a lady who was Vice President of her Students Union while she was an undergraduate. She demonstrated so much confidence during the interview.

2. Candidates that went to private universities performed better generally. There must be something the private universities are getting right as their graduates communicated better. They demonstrated a far more superior level of intelligence. I was disappointed by the performance of most graduates of mainstream universities and polytechnics. One could almost guess whether a candidate attended a private university just by listening to them.

If you're preparing for an interview, it's in your best interest to do some research about the company you want to work with if you know the company. Google is your friend. Work on your communication skills. You should be able to talk about yourself very clearly and also describe what you have done before-if you're an experienced hire. Your body language is critical- no fidgeting and no show of anxiety. All of us have butterflies in our stomach when we face strange people on an interview panel but with a smile on your face, no one will ever know. A lady cracked her knuckles throughout the interview today. It's very irritating but also shows she was nervous. Your posture is important. Dont slouch on the chair. Sit straight with your back on the chair and your legs together.

Mind your language while being interviewed. It's better to be brief than to be unnecessarily verbose. By talking too much at times, you demonstrate that you know so little. Pronounce words well. It can take some practice but stand in front of a mirror and rehearse until you get better. Be ready to defend your certificate. Demonstrate that you actually earned your degree. Maintain eye contacts. That shows your level of confidence. Good grooming is key to your success. No matter the current fad, it's safer to be conservative in your dressing. Dark coloured suits are best for interviews. Stay with white or blue shirts for men. You can never go wrong with them. You must have a great sense of colour to want to try very bright colours. It's either it turns out so good or you turn out like a magician's apprentice. Ladies have the latitude to try out more colours but the simpler, the better. Pay attention to your hair and hand bag. Synchronize your colours properly. Avoid loud jewelleries. Look your best as the book is often judged by the cover during interviews. Your appearance is what we see first before we hear what you have to say.

We need to declare a state of emergency in our education sector and even start to teach intending graduates certain life skills. Nigerian graduates will not be able to compete with their African counterparts in a few years at this rate.

SOURCE

Jokkarm2:
Guy, you will do well, find your way to Lagos , island precisely, link with real estate companies, you will succeed.

Zeal2rhyme:
Has anyone been invited to take assessment test for the 2022 Citibank Nigeria analyst recent application or completed the test and waiting for the interview stage?

UmmZayd:
You can check Clemson University and see what they have for you.
Best of luck

Gokoyer1401:
3.81/5.00 right? I will advise you to go and write GRE. My CGPA is very close to yours and I just got a partial funding so far. Let me state that I didn't write GRE but I submitted IELTS result. i have 4 publications too. I am expecting two more schools' decisions right now.

Gokoyer1401:
Ok, i understand that. but how high is your CGPA? Do you have any publications or post-graduation work experience in the related field?
Btw, i am also expecting admission with full funding myself. I can't pay one Kobo for any tuition .

Gokoyer1401:
In case you are not financially bouyant enough to register for GRE, why can't you do research on schools where GRE is not required to gain admission in your prospective course(s) of study?

Zulu2022:
u get American cl plus u de work bfr

Zulu2022:
you de work Wella,if so drop contact mk I update u shaa,site ND other app

OlamideTosyn:
Has anyone reached you on this? If no, drop your e-mail address here. I've got a few stuff on GRE.

Heroicvic:
Before I added my own comment, I made sure you're still very much here and replying comments
Go and visit fiverr.com and become a seller and start rendering your skills there and try to expand by doing research.... everything you need is on Google

This might actually be the comment you're waiting for

Bbbw:
Think for yourself

bonnyhope:
Don't bother yourself much

Just a month ago you finished NYSC and you are already worried for job

Relax your brain and be strategic, don’t just move up and down.

Job will certainly come

Lisaint:
On the Cv /resume stuff
Please did you know any website that do it for free

I was able to create one below!! But they won’t let me down without paying


I can only download in plain text for freee

virginchaser:
Take it easy on yourself. Last last, everyone go bellefull. Things will definitely fall into places. You are lucky you are out when all information is out at your disposal. I believe you will be okay. You only need to watch whom you are associating with.

eduj:
one of the easiest ways to get job experience in Nigeria is to volunteer/ intern for free in a firm.

Bro,if Mohammad refuses to come to the mountain,the mountain will come to him.

3 months after service (NYSC) no work. I began thinking.Most of the firms I applied to wanted a minimum of 2 years experience.and I had just one from my service year and many firms don't like a CV with NYSC experience as your only working experience.

I woke up one day, dressed up and began visiting firms for fun . I walked into the garage of a multinational logistics company ,met the workshop manager and told him I was a young engineering graduate looking for experience .He told me that there wasn't any vacancy and I insisted that I can intern/work for free.

He was impressed and told me he did the same as a young graduate, eventually getting employed and rising to managing an expanding fleet of over 200 trucks.

He took me on unofficially and I began my learning.It wasn't easy but I worked for free for months.

I got valuable experience that helped me gain a job with another multinational production company less than half a year later. I even had 3 job offers to choose from. one from where I was working for free, another from my present workplace and another from a firm in Lagos.

make no mistake ,it wasn't easy ,am not there yet but am on an enjoyable and financially stable path in my engineering field.


in Nigeria , getting the best paying jobs is through "I know pesin " or being exceptionally good at what you do (experience),it's mostly a combination of the two.

By working for free, I gained a connection that hundreds of fresh graduates applying to same firm won't ever get ,plus I got the experience

Jarus:
Watch out for recruitment sdverts of PwC, KPMG, Deloitte, Ernst & Young and banks (You may also enrol for our course, Path to Big 4 - Google it)

Subscribe to

Read jarushub.com from time to time

Don't be too hard in yourself, you just completed your NYSC one month ago, don't put yourself under unnecessary pressure)

dollyj1996:
It is very important to put God first in all things as He will direct ur steps

kingACK:
In as much there is a God who allow you to exist, in as much God allow u to finished ur studies and see you through with your service, same God will provide you with a JOB. Most of us does not even know the power we have, we allow fear of the unseen to separate us from the love of GOD, we are even scared to Pray, becoss we never believe in it. dear, you don't have problem. isn't job you are looking for? Apply like every normal graduate and seek God's help in prayer, where ever they call you for interview please go and u will be employ . I shall add you in my secrete prayers, pls once more God love's you.

marcelofrancis:
I will advise to find a recruitment agency in your location and register, there few are jobs in the east and most firm or employer source for applicants from recruitment agencies.

If you want to work in lagos, focus on job with accommodation since you don't have someone there. U can easily find such jobs when you register with certain recruitment agency in Lagos.