You will agree that getting a job in Nigeria is no longer an easy thing. Here are facts you need to get right while job hunting:

*1. Waiting to be done with NYSC before you begin to seriously apply for a job is one of the greatest mistakes you ever want to make.*

This is one mistake many of us make or are about to make. You may nearly slap yourself if you wait till then. In fact before you finish NYSC you should have applied for at least 20 jobs and attended at least 2 interviews, that’s the mindset of a serious job seeker. Except you have a job waiting for you somewhere.

*2. If you made a 2:2 or third class, you are in a more competitive market and so you may need a super strategy to standout.*

This is because the job market is saturated and so one way many employers try to streamline the number of applicants is by stating that they need 2:1 or first class only.
This should not be a source of worry but should be a reason why you have to up your game. You need to go for additional training that are relevant (mark the word relevant), add some more skill, make your CV on point and all your applications superb! You can’t have a 2:2 and you are applying with different first class and 2:1 and you won’t do something different. You just have to stand out to improve your chances. Also you should apply in more places to increase your chances.

Tony Elumelu graduated with a 2:2. His first banking job. The requirement was a first class or 2:2. But he still applied. Tony Elumelu applied but added a cover note, explaining why he felt he was still qualified despite graduating with a 2:2. Guess what? He was hired!

*3. You don’t always need to know anyone to enter a company*

I don't know where most young people got this mindset from. They just conclude that all jobs can only be gotten by connection. I want to ask you a question. If you owned a company and you want that company to really grow. As in, you really want it to move forward. Say the truth would you like to hire all your employee based on connection? Wouldn't you want to use common sense to ensure that you have 1..2..3..4 who are really really qualified? Because if all workers were by connection it means the company will crumble. It means they are not looking for skill. And you know what that means.. the company will fall!!!

So because they know this, they can't keep giving all the jobs by connection. There is a place for skill, for those who are truly qualified. So the big question is..Are you among the few qualified?

*4. Getting into a company or organization is one thing, how you get in is another thing.*

This point is very crucial, please follow carefully!

The route via which you enter a company goes a long way to determine your salary, your future prospects in that company, your promotion or even the benefits you will be entitled to.

Its one thing to be working in shell or Mobil or Total, but the big question is how did you enter? You entered as what?

Have you heard of any of the following terms: Graduate Management Trainee, Technical Trainee, Contract Staff, Intern, Outsourcing?

Let me explain further taking the routes I mentioned above one after the other.

Do you know that the best way to enter a multinational company (MNC) as a young graduate is either as an intern or a graduate trainee.

Let me explain. An *intern* is not yet employed. He/she will be paid, but is being trained to work. If they find you competent they can now fully recruit you to become a trainee.

Now if you must enter a company and you want to enjoy the highest benefits, try your best to enter the Management Trainee programme.

Those who eventually become MDs and Head of Departments are those who enter as *Graduate Trainees*.

They are the ones the company likes to send abroad to do one course or the other. They are the ones with the fatter salary. They are the big boys and girls. This is why they are usually few!

The truth is not every one can enter as a graduate trainee, but aspire to do so, there is no harm in aiming big!


A *technical trainee* is usually for all the technical work. They usually like to take HND and OND for these roles. They believe they have the technical knowledge

The only thing is that, they are not paid as much as the Graduate Management Trainee

Then for *contract staff*, that one your salary is smaller. You are on contract and so your contract can end anytime, and you end up jobless again
*Outsourcing* - The company hires another company to do something for them. so you are working with company A, Shell hired company A on contract. so shell will pay your Company, then your company will pay you.

*5. When applying for a job in which you were given an email address to forward your CV, there are seven points you need to note.*

I. Your CV should be in pdf format- it should not be in word because it can scatter when opened on the other end. Except you were specifically told to send it that way.
II. You should ALWAYS attach a cover letter. Listen to me they may not say it but it’s a secret why they screen candidates out (it should be in pdf too)
III. You must have a subject and the subject should state the position you are applying for.
IV. Your email must not be empty! It’s a sin, many make that mistake. Your email should have a catchy and stimulating body which is similar but more straight forward and direct like the cover letter
V. Your application must have a complementary close (and optionally a picture which you insert through your email complementary close setting)
VI. You must do a proper search of that company and the role you are applying for.
VII. Try to use a computer not a phone. The greatest error you want to make is having the employer see things like “sent from my blackberry Z10” or “sent from my tecnoc8”. That shows how lazy you are and how you can’t make the extra effort of applying with professionalism

I have seen a lot of graduates err in this regard. They keep saying they have applied everywhere but they never get called. It is because your application was shabby and not pleasant to your employer.


*6. Cc vs Bcc*

-How many of us have seen this stuff in our emails?
-who knows what they are used for?
Okay, let me explain.

Cc stands for "carbon copy." Anyone you add to the cc: field of a message receives a copy of that message when you send it. All other recipients of that message can see that person you designated as a cc: recipient.

Bcc: stands for "blind carbon copy." Anyone you add to the bcc: field of a message receives a copy of that message when you send it. But, bcc: recipients are invisible to all the other recipients of the message including other bcc: recipients.

Now what is the importance of this knowledge of Cc and Bcc?

Sometimes if you are being referred by someone to apply for a job, you may sometimes need to put the person that referred you in copy to further strengthen your chances. Its more like a referral.

If you want the person you send the application, to know who referred you, you use Cc, if you want to code it you use BBC.

*7. Most of the available jobs are not usually advertised*
No matter how thoroughly you search for job openings on online job portals, job agencies, newspapers ads or even on the company's website - whatever jobs you find that way is only 15 percent of what's available. only 15 percent!!!

That's because 85 percent of jobs are never publicized. This is absolutely true, and done for good reasons.

The employers try to avoid the painful and costly process of sorting through the thousands of mostly crappy applications that follow any publicized job opening, so they would rather use other means of hiring the right people that don't require public advertisement.

The fact that you don't see any job openings doesn't mean a company is not hiring. So you can connect directly and can convince the company that your are the right person. You will be hired whether or not any job was advertised.

Again I must say... This doesn't mean jobs are not advertised at all.

Now there are three key people whom, if your CV can just get to them, they have the power to get you employed.

1. Heads of the department, unit or team in which you wish to work
2. The HR Manager
3. The CEO, MD or founder of the company

*8. Doing a Masters immediately after NYSC is very dangerous for some categories of people!*

I know some people want to add something to their 2:2 or to their courses because they may not have studied some kind of courses that are very well appreciated in Nigeria
-But Masters immediately after NYSC is not for everybody.
i. If your family is broke and waiting for you to come and help them out
You would rather take that job, start looking for certifications, then you can sponsor yourself for masters.
ii. If you are like 24 and above, doing a masters immediately may not be advisable. By the time you are done they tell you not more than 26 years old (so you have no job experience, and you have lost on the age side)
-If you must do masters, do your calculations and consultations well. Don’t be a copy copy! Don’t follow crowd. Understand why you want to do it.

*9. Some of your CVs never get read by the employers*
Some companies use what is called an optimization software to scan through thousands of CVs looking for keywords. Any CV that doesn't have some keywords they are looking for get trashed.
Only after they finish optimization does a human being now start looking at the CVs remaining one by one.

*10. Getting a job is a full time job!*

You need to prepare for a job. Get necessary professional certifications, skills and become employable.

Thanks HumbleVictor for these Facts. I really appreciate ur kind advice &it was quite insightful, atleast for those that are still searching will make amends &restrategise to land themselves their dream jobs. God Bless. You.

Prevent your children from carrying cv's here and there in the future like their parents. Open a small business and and grow it now that you're still young. That talent you are using to help grow another man's business, helping him to achieve his dream, use it to open and grow yours.

Thumbs up OP interesting topic

Fact: 1st class and 2:1 Certificates don't get you automatic jobs in Nigeria.

I bet a large percentage of the so called graduates are too lazy to read even half of the post.

Bla bla bla every time about job seekers in Nigeria.

Good points
But since September; just a few comments?
the youth in this country really have their priorities misplaced

Lol where person see space for internship ? Is it possible in Nigeria ? I have been searching bro, internship without pay just give me transport fare

Iosrite

God bless the original writer of this post.


This will definitely change the orientation of many job seekers... I was there too... Thank God today.

.

That's true. Networking is the sure way to get a job though you didn't list it.

How about acknowledging JarusHub as the original source? This is a compendium of various articles published on JarusHub.

That said: http://www.jarushub.com/10-tips-for-graduates-with-2-2-and-lower-grades/

http://www.jarushub.com/qa-what-next-after-a-2-2-chemistry-degree/

http://www.jarushub.com/how-i-got-my-first-job/

http://www.jarushub.com/msc-health-economics-or-a-big-4-firm-job/

Cool

Nice write up.

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Una don start with this tony elumelu bullshit. Even if he had 2.2 there was no online application den. Use 2.2 and apply for access bank or diamond if d computer application no go bounce u.

QuitNotice:
Prevent your children from carrying cv's here and there in the future like their parents. Open a small business and and grow it now that you're still young. That talent you are using to help grow another man's business, helping him to achieve his dream, use it to open and grow yours.

And buhari will sponsor you abi?


All these unnecessary advice sef...

Ugosample:
Good points

But since September; just a few comments?

the youth in this country really have their priorities misplaced

They are busy keeping up with BIG BROTHER Nigeria

.

Everybody dey find job,i dey find Record label to sign me.

QuitNotice:
Prevent your children from carrying cv's here and there in the future like their parents. Open a small business and and grow it now that you're still young. That talent you are using to help grow another man's business, helping him to achieve his dream, use it to open and grow yours.

As a result, no one will be an employee. Everyone will be an entrepreneur.


Hint: It's not possible.

Good one

This is very insightful... thanks

Some salient points though but not all. Some of the points there have no validity.

Thanks OP. The write up was quite insightful.
I think I've been missing some facts on CV.

Jonathan:

They are busy keeping up with BIG BROTHER Nigeria

There is mo crime whatsoever in keeping up with BBN (i watch the show occasionally)

It's just that everything has it's place, and some things should take the front burner, while others fall behind

Nice write up..

TourismMan:
Some salient points though but not all. Some of the points there have no validity.

Like the one of the search for Job and attend interview before you are done with service year.

If you are serving in a state like Kebbi, Zamfara or Ebonyi, how possible can that be?

HumbleVictor:
You will agree that getting a job in Nigeria is no longer an easy thing. Here are facts you need to get right while job hunting:

*1. Waiting to be done with NYSC before you begin to seriously apply for a job is one of the greatest mistakes you ever want to make.*

This is one mistake many of us make or are about to make. You may nearly slap yourself if you wait till then. In fact before you finish NYSC you should have applied for at least 20 jobs and attended at least 2 interviews, that’s the mindset of a serious job seeker. Except you have a job waiting for you somewhere.

*2. If you made a 2:2 or third class, you are in a more competitive market and so you may need a super strategy to standout.*

This is because the job market is saturated and so one way many employers try to streamline the number of applicants is by stating that they need 2:1 or first class only.
This should not be a source of worry but should be a reason why you have to up your game. You need to go for additional training that are relevant (mark the word relevant), add some more skill, make your CV on point and all your applications superb! You can’t have a 2:2 and you are applying with different first class and 2:1 and you won’t do something different. You just have to stand out to improve your chances. Also you should apply in more places to increase your chances.

Tony Elumelu graduated with a 2:2. His first banking job. The requirement was a first class or 2:2. But he still applied. Tony Elumelu applied but added a cover note, explaining why he felt he was still qualified despite graduating with a 2:2. Guess what? He was hired!

*3. You don’t always need to know anyone to enter a company*

I don't know where most young people got this mindset from. They just conclude that all jobs can only be gotten by connection. I want to ask you a question. If you owned a company and you want that company to really grow. As in, you really want it to move forward. Say the truth would you like to hire all your employee based on connection? Wouldn't you want to use common sense to ensure that you have 1..2..3..4 who are really really qualified? Because if all workers were by connection it means the company will crumble. It means they are not looking for skill. And you know what that means.. the company will fall!!!

So because they know this, they can't keep giving all the jobs by connection. There is a place for skill, for those who are truly qualified. So the big question is..Are you among the few qualified?

*4. Getting into a company or organization is one thing, how you get in is another thing.*

This point is very crucial, please follow carefully!

The route via which you enter a company goes a long way to determine your salary, your future prospects in that company, your promotion or even the benefits you will be entitled to.

Its one thing to be working in shell or Mobil or Total, but the big question is how did you enter? You entered as what?

Have you heard of any of the following terms: Graduate Management Trainee, Technical Trainee, Contract Staff, Intern, Outsourcing?

Let me explain further taking the routes I mentioned above one after the other.

Do you know that the best way to enter a multinational company (MNC) as a young graduate is either as an intern or a graduate trainee.

Let me explain. An *intern* is not yet employed. He/she will be paid, but is being trained to work. If they find you competent they can now fully recruit you to become a trainee.

Now if you must enter a company and you want to enjoy the highest benefits, try your best to enter the Management Trainee programme.

Those who eventually become MDs and Head of Departments are those who enter as *Graduate Trainees*.

They are the ones the company likes to send abroad to do one course or the other. They are the ones with the fatter salary. They are the big boys and girls. This is why they are usually few!

The truth is not every one can enter as a graduate trainee, but aspire to do so, there is no harm in aiming big!


A *technical trainee* is usually for all the technical work. They usually like to take HND and OND for these roles. They believe they have the technical knowledge

The only thing is that, they are not paid as much as the Graduate Management Trainee

Then for *contract staff*, that one your salary is smaller. You are on contract and so your contract can end anytime, and you end up jobless again
*Outsourcing* - The company hires another company to do something for them. so you are working with company A, Shell hired company A on contract. so shell will pay your Company, then your company will pay you.

*5. When applying for a job in which you were given an email address to forward your CV, there are seven points you need to note.*

I. Your CV should be in pdf format- it should not be in word because it can scatter when opened on the other end. Except you were specifically told to send it that way.
II. You should ALWAYS attach a cover letter. Listen to me they may not say it but it’s a secret why they screen candidates out (it should be in pdf too)
III. You must have a subject and the subject should state the position you are applying for.
IV. Your email must not be empty! It’s a sin, many make that mistake. Your email should have a catchy and stimulating body which is similar but more straight forward and direct like the cover letter
V. Your application must have a complementary close (and optionally a picture which you insert through your email complementary close setting)
VI. You must do a proper search of that company and the role you are applying for.
VII. Try to use a computer not a phone. The greatest error you want to make is having the employer see things like “sent from my blackberry Z10” or “sent from my tecnoc8”. That shows how lazy you are and how you can’t make the extra effort of applying with professionalism

I have seen a lot of graduates err in this regard. They keep saying they have applied everywhere but they never get called. It is because your application was shabby and not pleasant to your employer.


*6. Cc vs Bcc*

-How many of us have seen this stuff in our emails?
-who knows what they are used for?
Okay, let me explain.

Cc stands for "carbon copy." Anyone you add to the cc: field of a message receives a copy of that message when you send it. All other recipients of that message can see that person you designated as a cc: recipient.

Bcc: stands for "blind carbon copy." Anyone you add to the bcc: field of a message receives a copy of that message when you send it. But, bcc: recipients are invisible to all the other recipients of the message including other bcc: recipients.

Now what is the importance of this knowledge of Cc and Bcc?

Sometimes if you are being referred by someone to apply for a job, you may sometimes need to put the person that referred you in copy to further strengthen your chances. Its more like a referral.

If you want the person you send the application, to know who referred you, you use Cc, if you want to code it you use BBC.

*7. Most of the available jobs are not usually advertised*
No matter how thoroughly you search for job openings on online job portals, job agencies, newspapers ads or even on the company's website - whatever jobs you find that way is only 15 percent of what's available. only 15 percent!!!

That's because 85 percent of jobs are never publicized. This is absolutely true, and done for good reasons.

The employers try to avoid the painful and costly process of sorting through the thousands of mostly crappy applications that follow any publicized job opening, so they would rather use other means of hiring the right people that don't require public advertisement.

The fact that you don't see any job openings doesn't mean a company is not hiring. So you can connect directly and can convince the company that your are the right person. You will be hired whether or not any job was advertised.

Again I must say... This doesn't mean jobs are not advertised at all.

Now there are three key people whom, if your CV can just get to them, they have the power to get you employed.

1. Heads of the department, unit or team in which you wish to work
2. The HR Manager
3. The CEO, MD or founder of the company

*8. Doing a Masters immediately after NYSC is very dangerous for some categories of people!*

I know some people want to add something to their 2:2 or to their courses because they may not have studied some kind of courses that are very well appreciated in Nigeria
-But Masters immediately after NYSC is not for everybody.
i. If your family is broke and waiting for you to come and help them out
You would rather take that job, start looking for certifications, then you can sponsor yourself for masters.
ii. If you are like 24 and above, doing a masters immediately may not be advisable. By the time you are done they tell you not more than 26 years old (so you have no job experience, and you have lost on the age side)
-If you must do masters, do your calculations and consultations well. Don’t be a copy copy! Don’t follow crowd. Understand why you want to do it.

*9. Some of your CVs never get read by the employers*
Some companies use what is called an optimization software to scan through thousands of CVs looking for keywords. Any CV that doesn't have some keywords they are looking for get trashed.
Only after they finish optimization does a human being now start looking at the CVs remaining one by one.

*10. Getting a job is a full time job!*

You need to prepare for a job. Get necessary professional certifications, skills and become employable.

this is a good advice... please how do I know the key words you talking about?can I get your email