Having the right information at the right time is very important in securing a job. Lack of information about available job vacancies is one of the major reasons why many graduates fail to get jobs. Another reason is not being able to present their resumes to employers due to their location.
The internet has made information very easily accessible. Smart job seekers now use the internet to search and apply for jobs. In this page, we will provide information on how the internet is used as a job search tool. Examples will be specific to Nigeria.
Career page of organisation
One place to start your job search campaign on the internet is to visit the website of employers. If you have some companies in mind, visit their websites and look for their career or job vacancy page.
This page will usually contain a form that will enable you to upload your CV to the company’s database. Some will have a form that will allow you enter your details. You will have to create an account by creating a username and password. This account will make it easy for you to update your account in the future.
Some company’s career page has systems that can alert you when there is a job vacancy that matches your resume so that you can apply. Organisations like MTN, Total, and Zain (formally Celtel) have such features on their career page.
If you submit your CV at a company’s career page, they will invite you whenever there is a job vacancy for you. However, with the high rate of unemployment in Nigeria, this option is not very effective in Nigeria except for an obscure company. This is because thousands of job seekers submit their CVs just like you.
Our advice is that you should submit your CV online only to organisations with the job alert feature on their career page. This is because you will be alerted automatically when there is a job vacancy to be filled and hence the company is ready to attend to all applications.
Note that for the job alert feature to work very well, you need to properly present yourself using your resume. Note that the whole system is automated (i.e. handled by computers garbage in garbage out) so make sure you put a lot of thought into it. If you do not describe yourself well you may be invited to apply for job vacancies that you are not qualified for. On the other hand not describing yourself well may lead to your not being invited for a job you are qualified for.
The alert feature is automatically deactivated if you do not update your CV for a while. So make sure you update your CV at least once in three months.
If you submit your CV to a company without the job alert feature you are only trying your luck and we wish you all the best. Off course with more people following our guideline your chances of success will increase.
Here are the career pages of some companies in Nigeria:
- Careers at Celtel
- MTN Career
- BAT career
- Starcomms job vacancy page
- Union Bank Career page
- For more Career pages visit our Career page list
- Add more, use our comment link
Related Topics:
- Jobs in Nigeria: Career pages list
- Creating Jobs: become a web publisher
- Why dream job remains elusive for applicants
- Searching for job vacancy online
Social networking and forums
Research over the years has shown that networking is one of the most potent job search channel available today. Jobs are applied for by people who have information of their availability. Most often this information will come from someone within the organisation.
Networking is all about building contacts and the internet provides you with a platform for doing just that. There are websites that enable you to chat and make friends with people. These friends may give you lead on job openings in organisations where they work. If you are looking for job, make sure everyone that can help you know of your employment status. Your contacts on Facebook and twitter can also help.
You can build a profile of yourself as unemployed if you don’t mind.
You can also visit forums especially those dedicated to job vacancies. In these job vacancy forums visitors who hear of any vacancy in the organisation they work or in a newspaper, freely publish such information on the site. Visitors to these forums can add job vacancy info as well as view job vacancies that have been listed by others.
Here are some Nigerian job networking sites:
- www.naijahotjobs.com
- If you know of any other, inform us using our comment link and we will check it out and add it in this page.
This should not be taken as an endorsement of any of the services. You can also share your experience with any of the services using our comment link.
Related Topics:
- Jobs in Nigeria: Career pages list
- Creating Jobs: become a web publisher
- Why dream job remains elusive for applicants
- Searching for job vacancy online
Job search/agency/listing sites
Job search/agency websites provide you with online features that enable you to connect with employers. You may be required to open an account and upload your CV. Some online job search/agency offer their services free while you have to pay for others.
In Nigeria because of the high unemployment rates, a lot of agencies and search firms have emerged. A number of these services are now online. Some of these services require you to pay a yearly subscription before you can create an account. But most of them are free to use.
Ironically, we have found the free services to be more effective than paid services especially for fresh graduates.
You may be provided with a search feature that will enable you search the sites database for job vacancies that matches your competence and personality. Some will also provide self-improvement guide to help you for example in preparing for a job interview or producing a winning resume/CV.
Some of these job search/agency websites simply provide a list of available jobs, in this case they are called job listing websites. They are usually free and may or may not require you to open an account on the website. Some build communities/forums where members or any visitor can list any job that he/she is aware of.
We have found job listing sites to be the most effective for graduate job search. You simply browse through available vacancies and note the ones that interest you and you are qualified for. You thereafter can apply using the appropriate channel (email, snail mail, or web link).
Here are some job listing/agency/search sites in Nigeria:
- Jobberman
- Jobzilla
- Indeed Nigeria
- MyJobMag
- HotNigerianJobs
- For more jobs listing sites visit our Jobs listing sites page
- If you know of any other, inform us using our comment link and we will check it out and add it on this page.
This should not be taken as an endorsement of any of the services. You can also share your experience with any of the services using our comment link.
Search engines
Search engines are full of information. You can also search for jobs using your favourite search engine (Google, maybe Yahoo or Bing or MSN). Enter search terms like, career, job, jobs, vacancies, vacancy and so on in your favourite search engine. For effectiveness these search terms should be followed or preceded by the name of your country or city.
For example, if you are in Nigeria you can enter a phrase like vacancies Nigeria, Nigeria vacancies, Jobs Nigeria, or Jobs in Nigeria in any search engine of your choice.
You can also use job specific terms like ‘management trainee’, ‘graduate engineer’, trainee, ‘network administrator’, marketer, ‘software developer’, CEO, etc. Do not forget to add the country or city of interest in the search terms. Also, add the name of the company of interest if you are interested in a particular company.
Good luck
