How to land a global IT job from Nigeria with possible relocation

I recall telling my previous colleagues that I was leaving when I first started at my current job and the first question was, “How do you work for a European company from Nigeria?”. It hit me then that, while the Pandemic had made many people aware of remote work, there were still many tech-savvy professionals in Nigeria who were unaware of the possibilities of cross-border remote work.

Oh I had to give a lot of explanation on how my experience in landing the job was and I thought why not share tips with people in my new community 🙂 

Here’s some helpful tips to note when looking for an IT  job from Nigeria

Position Yourself:

The truth is tech is broad. Not all tech professions require coding knowledge. People sometimes assume tech jobs in Nigeria are solely for coders, however there are also Product Marketing, content management, Graphic design, research analyst, Social media management, and more that are non-tech engineering roles. You can be a tech bro or tech sis if you fit into any of these categories, but you must define if you are a tech engineer or not. This will assist you position yourself and show which career platforms you use in finding a great fit. If you’re a tech engineer, then Landing.Jobs is where you want to be.

Have skills and experience:

I have learnt from experience that the best way to land your dream job is by having something to offer. Whatever role you are applying for, it helps to have at least 2 years of experience on the job. This way you would have acquired relevant skills which is what every employer is looking for. How do you gain skills & experience? 

1. 1. Internship opportunities
   2. Volunteering roles 
   3.  Self learning new skills and showcasing your best works on social platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter etc. where your work will be recognized and valued.

Your CV should reflect you in the best possible way:

We do have a way of saying a lot in our CVs without saying what the employer needs to know about us. We spend so much time on irrelevant details like age, marital status, hobbies etc, that we omit relevant information like skills and competencies, the languages you code with if you are an engineer, the years of experience you have and achievements if any. The trick to a good CV is keeping it short and simple, but with the key information that matches the job description.

Create a profile on career platforms:

Once you have a good CV, identify the career platforms that have the types of jobs/roles you are interested in and create a solid profile that makes you stand out. The platforms should have different job types like; remote works, remote work across borders, relocation etc.

Join a Tech Community:

This point cannot be overemphasised! There are a lot of tech communities both in Nigeria and abroad that you can join to learn more tips, network and connect with other techies like you. It also gives you access to senior techies that can become your mentor and help you on your tech career journey. Here’s a few tech communities to note in Africa for both tech engineers and non technical engineers;

1. • forloop Africa: If you are a software developer and enthusiast in Africa, Foorloop is one to check out. They have their chapters in different states across Nigeria, and in other African countries, namely, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Zambia.
2. • Kotlin User Group: This is a more generalistics community for developers that work with the Kotlin programming language. It also provides an opportunity for tech enthusiasts to learn about the programming language. 
3. • DevOps Nigeria is a community for professional DevOps engineers and developers looking to change their career path. You can join the community on Slack or Telegram.
4. • Facebook for developers: They have 14 circles spread across Nigeria, Facebook Developer Circles bring together developers to explore shared interests,  from open source technologies, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and Internet of Things. 
5. • Figma Africa: If you are a designer, then this community will be of interest to you. 
6. • ProductTank: This is one of the largest communities of product managers in the world. They have monthly meetings that provide room for networking and ideas sharing.
7. • Lastly, if you are not in the Landing.Jobs community, you are wrong 🙂 We have one of the most active communities for techies across the globe.

Be consistent with your applications:

Remember you are not the only person looking for a good fit. You have to apply to as many jobs as possible but make sure you have required skills because you don’t want to be a blacklisted candidate.

Take Assessment:

Most tech jobs require candidates to take technical assessments. It is important that you take practice tests often, it will help you ace the assessments when you eventually get the right fit. If you fail it the first time, don’t get discouraged, just keep at it. Practice they say makes perfect!

Another key thing to note is acing the interview for that dream job. Things you should consider;

• Ability to speak and write English fluently: It is important that you have good English speaking and writing skills. Even though English is our official language in Nigeria, my experience in the job space has shown that some Nigerians don’t speak well during interviews (blame it on nerves, maybe) and it gives foreign employers an impression that Nigerians can’t speak English fluently. It’s best you practice possible interview scenarios ahead of time to ease the nerves.

• Be prepared: These interviews are always virtual. Make sure you have a stable internet connection, power supply – get a generator if you must or go to a work station where you are sure power won’t be interrupted and lastly, get a proper computer that won’t hang or cut you off. Also make sure you look neat, speak well and give a good impression overall. 

• Don’t do multiple full-time roles: I know Nigerians pride themselves in being multi-taskers and these sometimes mean taking on multiple full-time roles. Truth is, while this might be okay with some Nigerian employers, global employers see this as a major red flag. It’s okay to do 2 part-time jobs but having 2 full time jobs sends a message that you will not be fully committed to either of the jobs. 

I know this is a long read, but I sure hope it helps you answer all the questions about landing your global tech job from Nigeria. Check these fully remote global job vacancies for a quick start.