₦airaland Forum

Good day people. Been in UK for a month now. I’m a network engineer and hold a CCNA. Any one here who can show me which way to go please ?

Hello gurus and ancestors, I’m coming to the UK hopefully next month to join family. I hold a CCNA certification. Anybody knows about the availability of jobs for network engineers? Are there any network engineers here too please? Thanks

Oludanobi we’re waiting for update Na

oludanobi:
Back again

OK let me apologize again for the last break and all future breaks, like everyone else, it is difficult to remain consistent and honestly my style of freestyle writing didn’t read like I wanted it to, maybe I am overthinking it ( maybe it is just me who cant be consistent and write daily) , so I am back to planning the flow in my head and letting it crystalize before grabbing paper and pencil. Anything goes remains anything goes though.

Wow a lot has happened since my last post, ENDSARS , US elections, Covid on the rise, let's continue to keep our heads up , las las we go dey OK, but of course there is plenty work to do.


I got asked about How I got to the US, I think the question was more about how did I get a visa - Chapter XI

I'll say it's luck by birth, yes I could have been luckier to be Bill Gate's son , or maybe a Dangote but anyways I was lucky that my brother and sister were born in the US , this meant that when they turned 21 they could petition for their siblings ( me and my other 3 brothers) to become US residents, so they did. I hope POTUS doesn’t change this law , perhaps this is why many of my people still see giving birth to a child in the US as a good investment. Personally, I think it a good investment for whomever can afford it.

The application itself is straight forward I think, you pay a fee, list the names of siblings and parents and some other info , then you wait , and wait , and wait , I am not exaggerating, it is like that line in Amaka "I don wait you sote, I don dey lose weight o", I think the waiting period is 10 - 15 years , it's not really something you can plan your life around, well at least I didn’t , I was excited when the application was put in but after a year or 2 you realize life must go on , so I just did that.

Anyways about 13 years later we got letters saying each person could start their application for an immigrant visa, so you fill the forms online , pay a fee and then upload the necessary documents, a lot of back and forth here, the customer service and processes of these immigration/ visa processing centers is terrible , it is like dealing with robots , they reject a document, you send an email, you get an auto response saying your email will be responded to in 14 days, on day 12 you get a response that provides a link stating all the reasons why your document was rejected and then you need to figure out which one of the 17 reasons ( I feel the need to remind us here that this visa wasn’t free !) , anyways after multiple email exchanges I decided to call , well this time around it was a 21 min wait on the phone to speak to someone and then you had to beg them for information, it was exhausting !


After all documents are accepted, there is another wait, maybe a few months and then you get invited for an interview , I think there is another fee here too , some document gathering required here too, immunization info birth cert, document from the petitioner etc. I had the option of interviewing in my home country or country of residence and I just chose my country of residence , no need travelling all the way to the motherland because of interview of 5 mins. Medicals was another matter, well I didn’t have my immunization info readily available so I had to take shots all over again, of course I had to pay for medicals, some shots were available on the NHS so they were free, other I had to pay for. Interview was straight forward, a few questions about the petitioner, a question about how I moved to the UK and stayed etc , I think there was another wait of 7 days before my passport and visa got delivered. Initial visa was due to expire in 6 months, imagine waiting for 15 years and then you get a visa that you must use in 6 months, yes just up and go , 6 months to wrap up and move your life. To be fair, most people started putting things in order once they get the letter to apply for the visa, I didn’t . I was already loving the UK so the whole thing was more of a back up plan in case things didn’t go as planned in the UK. A few months later I visited the US with my immigrant visa. I wanted to get a feel for the land again.


The bad customer service carries through to the immigration officers , no smile just straight face asking you 21 questions , I don’t remember most of it but they took my photo, scanned my 10 fingers and let me in. I had to go and register for my social security a few days later, it was nice to see some of my family members that I hadnt seen in a long time, some of my siblings from Nigeria had already arrived as well, I suppose they were more keen than I was.

I wanted to get a feel for their job market so I applied for about 10 jobs in my field , these were direct company applications, you know those annoying ones where they ask for your CV and then you have to answer 40 other questions , most of which are already on your CV. I got responses from 2 recruiters asking to inform them of my availability for a telephone interview, I think 1 of them didn’t like the fact that I only gave then a slim slot so I only got a call from 1 of them, the phone interview went well , it was your standard why do you want this job, what skills do you posses, a week after that they scheduled a face to face interview.

I enjoyed driving in the US, roads were bigger than our UK roads with not as many round-abouts, I found that people were not as warm as I was used to, there was this frostiness I couldn’t understand, yes I was in a predominantly white state but still … I returned to the UK 6 weeks later to continue my life, I withdrew from the job application, 1 week was too long in my opinion to get back to someone following a telephone interview. All in all I wasn’t convinced I wanted to move to the US

Caveat - I apologize to anyone who has asked me for some kind of help or another and I haven't been able to because of my anonymity, I think it helps me remain true to telling my story without worrying about myself or how people may judge me , the story is more important that my identity and honestly it is more fun that way. All I am trying to say is no vex I am not ignoring you , I just am not able to if it requires me revealing my identity

Finally. Fingers crossed

oludanobi:
Chapter X , work life

First week at the bank

I remember day 1 at the bank , it didn't start well , I had to go to the area office to get my branch assigned , I somehow thought it would be wise to get there within the time window specified on my letter , of course my sharp colleagues had gotten there way ahead of me and had first dibs , I ended up being assigned to the worst branch in the area , about 40mins on the bus from my house and in a very tough area. The excitement of my first day quickly vanished , I tried to use my connections to get reassigned but it was a done deal , even though the area manager was friendly , his PA didn't appreciate me name dropping . I learnt a lesson from that - never name drop unless it is absolutely necessary and also only do that with the decision maker .

I got to the branch around 10 am , the younger members of staff were friendly , the older ones not so much , as if they were threatened , a few months later when the bank had to lay people off , their fears made sense , a lot of them were panicking , even though the bank hired them when they just had secondary school leaving certificate and in some other instances primary school , the bank expected they'll have miraculously found time to get a degree despite their tasking banking job , these people had an average of 15 years experience under their belt . I'll talk about the lay off on another day .

Interesting experience at work , someone or some people start testing you from day 1, on day 1 , I was asked to get drinking water for one of the cashier's , this wouldn't have been a problem in itself , but the older person that asked me then asked other people if they wanted water too. I gladly got the water for both of them . That didn't last though, I quickly blended in and became their friend , even though I was younger I could tell them that I was busy in a friendly way.

I don't know where I got the courage but I asked my manager for permission to take my Oracle exams , I had to miss my last month of Oracle training to attend the 4 weeks orientation for new starts . My manager allowed me leave early for my first week , the Head of Banking didn't like that , in his mind I wasn't ready for work . I didn't mention that the Oracle training cost N200k and I was really passionate about it . Well he got over it and I passed my OCA and OCP exams.

I was so scare when I started working on the bank , the fear of shortage or the fear of receiving fake money , you learn about accountability and ownership in Nigerian banks , any shortage or any fake notes you received is your liability and not the banks.

There really wasn't any need to be scared , the shortage and fake notes didn't come , well they didn't come until later .

I’ll make it

I’ll make it!

Hello. Please is there anyone with an expired EEA family permit visa. ? If yes how did you go about replacing the visa vignette. Thanks

Oludanobi. We’re waiting sir

This Laycon is a fool. As a staunch laycon fan I give up. Is it by force for a girl to admire you? Ah. Move! And people kept raving on about his intelligence. Where’s that intelligence? Laycon and Ozo two simps!

Chapter we’re waiting

oludanobi

I want to believe you’ve not abandoned this project op.

oludanobi

Gradually becoming my favorite thread. Like how you relay your stories. You’re doing a great work.

oludanobi:
Still in London

Thinking about why I felt underwhelmed, there must have been some kind of misconception that what makes these countries appealing was something I would instantly see , but a lot of it was more about the processes in place and the people .


My cousin and his wife worked 2 jobs each , they had 3 kids 2 boys and a girl , all under 10 at the time . Chai those kids showed me pepper , I think it was just kids being kids and reacting to a stranger coming into their space and trying to tell them what to do . We became friends eventually , but not after a few knocks and pinches. My being around meant my cousin and his wife could pick up extra shifts since they didn't need to be home as early as they did .It also meant their kids had a new figure of authority they needed to test their rebellion with and rebel they did. I was glad to be of some kind of help , afterall I was eating their food and sleeping in their house for free.

One of the first things I did was to cancel my return ticket , I had a ticket valid for one year and even though I was initially scheduled to return to Lagos 2 weeks later , I thought I'd explore East London a bit more and who knows perhaps I could make some of those cool pounds I had been hearing about. The cool pounds did not come, the under the table job that I was so looking forward to proved elusive.

I started going to the park to while away time, there was a basketball court there as well so I would play a little and also just enjoy the scenery ( some fine fine London girls were part of that scenery too ) , no harm in looking eh. I remember one day when I was enjoying the scenery and these 2 girls waved , that's how I summoned the courage to go and speak to them , in my mind I was a cool guy from the streets of Lasgidi . These girls weren't having it , I ended up messing myself. I learnt another lesson about London girls, they can be very forward and mean at the same time.

I remember following my cousin to his friend's kid's birthday, my people in London find any excuse to party, it was a house party and when we got there it felt more like an adult party, anyways there I was enjoying the scenery and this fine gey came over with her "you look familiar line", I smiled , apparently that line is a global pick up line, I told her it couldn’t have been me in a very friendly voice as I brought out my Nokia 3310, we exchanged names and just as I was about to progress I remembered this little matter of age, you shouldn’t ask a lady their age unless you think that info is crucial , appearances can be deceiving you know. Turns out she was 15, even with all her assets, I just smiled and thought to myself "I waited too long for this visa to allow one girl, whether fine or not take it away" , I put my phone in pocket and said see you in a few years when fraternizing with you will not be a crime.

That’s how my story could have easily changed and my they would say my village people were after me.

We’re waiting Op

oludanobi:
Chapter 1 cont'd


My first suprise was how cold it was , yes I knew it would be cold but I just didn't imagine it being that cold , it must have been about 10 Celsius but for a local boy like me , that was extreme. On the drive to my cousin's house I think I'd sum up what I felt as being underwhelmed , I don't know if I somehow overhyped the city in my mind or if it was all the nice stories I heard from the "been tos" . then we got to my cousin's house flat in Plaistow and again I thought , "is this it ? "

They lived in a 2 bedroom flat on the 4th floor of a high rise building , later on I'd find out these buildings were called council flats. Interestingly I didn't feel like I had left the motherland until after I stepped into the flat itself , the furnishing , the smell , the big screen plasma , talk about a stark contrast between the exterior and the interior . The flat felt tiny though , I guess it would considering I lived in a 4 bedroom house in Lagos . In this flat if you do an number 2 , the whole house would know .

I spent the next 2 days indoors , mostly making phone calls putting the word out that I was in the building . I had a few friends from secondary school and uni that had since relocated so we arranged to meet, my cousin also introduced me to some of his friends ,I remember thinking people spent a lot of time on the phone in this country.

So started my long interesting relationship with London

With each write up comes a another lesson. We’re with you.

Ride on Op. we’re following.

oludanobi:
Chapter X - Interviews

I only attended 2 interviews in Nigeria , one of them was a connect via my dad who referred me to another friend , the man made me travel all the way to his office for a 3 min chat and formed that he was busy . I don't remember the details , only that he shouted at me when I called for a follow up . Needless to say I didn't get that job.

The second one was with a bank, I remember writing the entrance test and leaving when I had enough , there must have been thousands of us and man the exam was hard and the room was super hot , so I did what I could and just left , I felt sorry for some people that wore suit to take the exam , why ?? The person marking the exam doesn't care what you were wearing . My pride didn’t let me use my connects this time , I didn't tell anyone that I applied until after the interview . I hope but doubt that the recruitment process has improved since then. I mean to get selected to come and write test sef was a chore , you had to count your blessings for each stage you scaled through and don't even get me started with all those foolish companies that call you for 7 stages , I mean WTF do you need me to explain to you 7 times! Am I applying to be the president.

There must have been at least 150 of us that attended this interview , we must have all arrived around 9 or 10 in the morning and I didn't finish until after 7 , I remember it was after 7 because I was fasting on that day and didn't break until I left . Most of that time was spent just waiting . Around 5pm I got called in with a group of about 7 others to discuss how to solve the problem of unrest in the Niger Delta . Come and see people blowing grammar , this was my first experience with overambitious candidates , you know those that automatically assume everyone else came to watch them speak . I had to really raise my voice in order to be heard . I remember someone saying the people of Niger Delta needed reorientation ( in his mind he was blowing grammar), I pointed out that these people were happy fishing and enjoying their lives before our ogas decided to extract oil , destroy their means of livelihood without giving them an alternative and then brazenly use all the proceeds to build Abuja , reorientation my foot ! I want to believe I got a few points in , then they sent all of us out and called us one by one for face to face. One of the other candidates said he ran into one of the interviewers in front of the toilet and the guy said - "You are X , you finished with a 1st in Economics abi, I studied Economics too , I'm ready for you " . I think that shook my guy a bit. A lot of the other candidates had MSc, fair to say 90% of the people there were smart ( if you could pass that exam you are book smart ) .

The first question I got asked was "What is Statistics ?" followed by "What is data ? " then "What is information ?", I studied Mathematics and Statistics for 5 years and that is the best they could ask me , really ? They asked me about my work experience and I told them I had worked in London answering calls so I had customer service experience , I quickly regretted it because one of the interviewers pointed out it wasn't real customer service since it was on the phone. Who asked me to mention London sef , all that did was get me perceived as proud. They asked me where I wanted to be in 5 years and when I mentioned that I wanted to be CFA certified they asked me what CFA was ? Apparently they hadn't heard of it , but god forbid they didn't know about what this boy from London was talking about . They looked me in the eye and said I was lying , I tried to explained that I had researched CIMA, ACCA and all but they weren't having it. This was in 2007 and as I said in a previous post , I did a lot of research scouring through jobsites for high paying jobs so I could plan my career , I also had some guidance from a young accountant then ( he is probably a chairman in his country now ) . Anyways their response was "You think you can just come here and bamboozle us ".

After I finished the interview , I activated my connects, had done my part.

I am purposely not drawing any conclusions about interviewing in Nigeria, I only did 2 so I feel I don’t have enough experience , feel free to share yours .

One of my first interviews in UK was with Three for a call center job, simple application process online and the first stage was a telephone interview . It was mostly scenario based questions . One of them was "Tell me about a time when you displayed exceptional customer service ", my imagination ran wild and I told them about being very patient with a deaf and dumb customer so that I could communicate with him and meet his needs . In my mind I killed the interview , now I am thinking " What a foolish response , any sensible person would have known that's a lie ", needless to say I didn’t get past that stage. Interesting thing about most UK interviews is that people would hardly call you out when you are lying . Many years later I would interview a guy that claimed to single handedly deploy SAP , yes that's what he said and I asked him if he meant part of a team and my guy kept on saying he did it all by himself , my colleague and I didn't even bother thinking about him for the role .

One UK interview that I always comes to mind was for a Software Tester role that was paying 27k GBP/annum, this was pre 2010 so that was cool money, actually it is still not a bad starting salary for graduates now. As I sat in the reception lobby a fellow black brother saw me and tried to give me expo, told me about DNS and asked if I knew SQL. I had been reading on W3school. My interviewer was a friendly white guy, he asked me about DNS and what I had found most challenging in my career, I honestly said Calculus and we had a chat about that. Then the SQL came, he gave me paper and pencil, described tables to me and asked how I would select from 1 table, I wrote the query so he decided to give me another one, this time around he asked me to select from 2 tables. I knew I dint know that one, I was hoping they wouldn’t ask me about 2 tables because I struggled with it when I studied it the day before, anyways I went ahead and wrote down some gibberish , my guy looked at it and said "Interesting, I haven't seen this method before , I'll have to try it out".

The recruiting agent called me the next day to give me some feed back, they really liked me and were impressed with most of my responses, in the end they were disappointed that I was too adamant to admit that I didn’t know how to join 2 tables , the way they saw it they were looking for someone who wasn’t afraid to ask for help when needed. All I had to do was simply say "I don’t know " . Someone had told me before to never say I don’t know during an interview, I quickly filed that into the foolish advise section of my memory. This one still pains me till today.

I'll have to split this one into multiple posts, more on UK interviews and US interviews later.

oludanobi:
Only if I knew , I like Mancala's advice though. I am also trying to anticipate what most people would need in the short term and long term and position myself to meet some of those needs.

We’re still waiting sir. You should come and update your thread