Key Learning Strategies for the African Job Market

One of my passions is to mentor young professionals and I had the opportunity to share my journey with a group of young graduates who were interested in understanding how they could fast track their careers. This is a snippet of what I shared with them. 1. Focus on institutions that will give you training vs money early in your career. Learning organisations. 2. Apply to participate in your organisation's Management Associate or Leadership Programs. 3. Position yourself to attain international educational requirements even if you have a 1st degree from a Nigerian university: Masters (offshore), ACCA, CIMA, CFA, PRINCE etc 4.Where possible focus on working with multi-national organisations: Accounting firms, FMCG & Banks. Provide international exposure via global practices, short or long term international assignments. Ability to work in multi-cultural and multi-functional teams. 5. Make yourself visible and vocal (speak only when you need to. Be well prepared for your presentations and meetings. When you speak focus on strategic and not tactical issues. 6. Be bold and take chances. Believe in yourself by being prepared. This will eliminate the Imposter Syndrome. 7. You must put yourself forward when there are opportunities: Corporate Projects - community development initiatives etc. 8. Self mastery & Self leadership: You must be assertive, learn to say No and know your capacity (never take on more than you can handle as this would impact the quality of your work) 9. Get a mentor and ensure it's a symbiotic relationship. Also mentor others as part of developing your leadership capacity to lead teams. 10. Build your network- engage in extracurricular activities. Provides good leverage in identifying opportunities.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀 (𝟬-𝟱 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀) Over the past three years, I applied to over 16 jobs with an 18 per cent success rate (3/16) 🙂. Here are four things I learned. 1️⃣ 𝙄𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙣-𝙖𝙘𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙘 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨 You can’t fill up a CV if all you have is coursework and class projects. Join extracurricular societies. Even if you have finished school, there are opportunities for volunteer programs where you can build skills, get opportunities for self-discovery, and make friends. If you don’t have non-academic experiences, your answers in interviews will be a bit boring because you have no stories to share. Pro Tip💡: some companies value social responsibility so volunteering can help you stand out as a good culture fit. 2️⃣ 𝘼𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 As Socrates said, “Know thy self”. You cannot apply intentionally if you don’t know what to be intentional about. You are not likely to figure it out completely but it will help you avoid spam applying. When you apply intentionally, your success rate goes up. Pro Tip💡: HR people advise that you tailor your CV to the role you are applying for. 3️⃣ 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 The easiest way to stand out in an interview is to know what the industry is thinking and speak to that. Every industry has its go-to media outlet (e.g. Nigerian Tech = TechCabal ) So reading that will give you a clear edge in any interview. It also allows you to know the pain points of companies and provides an opportunity to make an immediate impact when you join. Pro Tip 💡: These outlets are also great job leads. E.g if you see an article about a startup raising funds for expansion, then they are probably hiring and reaching out to people in those firms can help you get opportunities. 4️⃣ 𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙨 The creators of SEO Africa and alx_africa are legends. SEO provides opportunities and equips you to take advantage of those opportunities. Their Nigerian in-country programme starts next year. Second ALX for all things Tech. Their programme is rigorous and it will stand out on your CV. Also, the community they provide to their participants is really good. There are many other options like Jobberman and one of my favourites, Ingressive For Good (I4G). I4G offers scholarships, has a community and also has an active job board with awesome tech gigs. Pro Tip💡: Most of these communities have community-specific jobs that are usually announced first to their members. If you have any other tips that have worked for you, drop it in the comments 😁😁 #graduatejobs #internships

✈️ "From Benin to the World: Building a Global Career as an African" I didn’t go to an Ivy League school. I didn’t have rich parents or passport privilege. But I had Wi-Fi, grit, and the annoying habit of believing I could be more. I started my career with free webinars, poorly lit Zoom calls, and applications that ended in silence. But slowly, things changed — one email, one international opportunity, one mentor at a time. Here’s what I’ve learned about building a global career as a Nigerian (or African): 🌍 1. Local work, global lens. That thing you’re doing in your community? Frame it in the language of global relevance: policy, impact, innovation. Don’t downplay it. 📚 2. Use the internet as your university. If you can watch skits on Instagram, you can also learn global tools — M&E, human-centered design, SDGs, grant writing. It’s all out there. 🧭 3. Be findable. Your CV is not your brand. Your work should speak online. Share your story. Post your lessons. Visibility is currency. 🛠️ 4. Build before you’re ready. Start the blog. Host the webinar. Launch the small initiative. The global stage respects those who take initiative — even from a small corner of Africa. 🤝 5. Collaborate like your future depends on it. Because it does. Partnerships are bridges. Don’t walk alone. You don’t need to “japa” to be global. You just need to think globally, show up locally, and keep showing up consistently. From Abuja to Kigali to Nairobi to Accra — the world is watching us. Let’s give it something to look at. 🌍✨ #GlobalCareer #NigerianProfessionals #CareerGrowth #LinkedInAfrica #SDGs #DevelopmentCareers