Why You Need SHORTLIST Nigeria: Read Bisi’s Story on Job Hunting as a Professional in Nigeria

 

Online job search website, SHORTLIST Nigeria, is offering you the chance to get chosen for job posts other won’t even hear about. They’re not like other sites you’re used to – candidates on www.shortlistnigeria.com don’t need to look for jobs, jobs find them.

All you have to do is register, complete an online resume and let employers contact you directly with job offers that match your skill set.

Finding it hard to believe? Read Bisi’s tale of how she got a job after a while of searching through SHORTLISTNigeria.com.

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1 year and 5 months; that’s how long I’ve been back in ‘Naij’. Moving back here from the UK has not been easy Oh! Let me tell you. I’ve had to make a big mental adjustment. Everything works so differently.

I was lucky enough to be able to stay with family, so accommodation wasn’t my greatest concern.

Finding a job however, was a priority and it proved a lot harder than I expected. I landed in Nigeria fresh from jand with my Finance and Banking degree and post graduate diploma from the reputable Portsmouth University in my hands. I’d already completed two high profile internships in London, so I’m not going to lie, I felt pretty confident. I thought employers would be wowed by my technical brilliance and my experience. Sadly I was mistaken.

Going for jobs in the big companies, there was so much competition. I felt lost in a sea of qualified candidates and I grew increasingly desperate. I think I underestimated just how much it matters to have personal contacts in the companies you apply to. It was so frustrating not even being shortlisted for roles that I felt OVER-qualified for. I knew I needed serious help. I didn’t want to overstay my welcome at my Aunty’s house and my savings were running low, meaning I couldn’t really afford to contribute much.

I had already been using all the usual job sites. They were useful to find out where vacancies are, however, any Nigerian job seeker will tell you sometimes by the time you apply, the vacancy has already been filled. You will wonder why on earth they are still advertising jobs that are not available.

Anyway, I saw an advert in the paper for SHORTLIST Nigeria. It seemed to offer a new system that almost works in reverse. Employers select you to apply for vacancies rather than the other way round. I was a bit skeptical so I asked around and actually none of my friends and family had even heard of it. There was a N3000 naira subscription fee for 12 months–not a lot, but more than I wanted to waste if it was some type of scam operation. In the end, the fact that it was linked to Phillips Consulting was what convinced me to give it a try.

One month later–nothing. No employers reached out to me. It was like I’d just thrown my money away and wasted my time writing my profile. I was angry. But, just as I had given up on the whole idea and feeling like I’d been duped, two employers shortlisted me in the space of 2 days.

When I looked at the job descriptions, one of the roles did not really interest me. It was too junior with a correspondingly low salary. I still had (a little) pride left so I declined that one.

The other role however, looked more promising. I’m happy to say that they interviewed me over the phone and then asked me to come in for a second face-to-face interview. I got the job! It wasn’t even with a company I’d heard of, so I would never have approached them or heard about the opportunity if not for the Shortlist Nigeria site.

My advice for other job seekers, especially those who have recently returned to Nigeria from abroad, is just to use every avenue open to you. I looked at a lot of jobsites and newspapers, in the end it was Shortlist Nigeria that worked for me. It saved me having to know about and apply to every vacancy out there by instead getting companies to come to me because they liked my skills.

And just don’t give up. I moved back home because I felt like Nigeria would have more opportunities for me in the long term and I wanted to be close to my family. So far I have not regretted my decision. I am not in my dream job yet, but I am on my way!

 Check out SHORTLIST Nigeria (www.shortlistnigeria.com) and let job offers come to you.

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