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Beat the Recession – Get a High Paying Job in Nigeria

 For many Nigerians abroad, the current recession has provided an opportunity for career soul searching. A need to reappraise their current situation in the light of the global job market. Previously, Nigerian professionals abroad had little difficulty getting or keeping their jobs. The ability to do this was greater if you had attained a qualification from one of the adopted country’s institution of learning.

 Sadly, this has changed as there are now job loses, redundancies and company failures to deal with. A case study is the latest UK unemployment figures shows their highest in twelve years. A massive 2.26million unemployed with the fastest rate of growth per week in years. The figures in America are similar if not worse.

 The reality on the ground due to these dire statistics is increased competition for the few positions available. To say the battle for these positions is tough is a huge understatement. Where previously employers would employ you when you has some fit to the desired profile, they are now very picky and prefer to fit the profile very closely and disqualify candidates for the slightest reason. A real life example is a Nigerian born project manager in the UK who was made redundant in March. He had never previously had any problems getting jobs or contracts but for 3 months was unsuccessful in his job search. This is despite having an MBA, Project Management qualification to Practitioner level and years of experience in blue chip companies. One feedback was that he spent the bulk of his professional experience working in a bank in Nigeria. The irony is this used to always be an advantage for him as he was usually put on international projects due to his “international” experience.

 This is just one example where in the current economic environment your unique circumstance COULD count against you. An option for him would be to decide to accept a huge pay cut and get a low paying job. But this could be an opportunity for some people to consider, going back home. The goal – get a high paying job in Nigeria.

Of course there is the possibility that given enough time, patience, numerous job applications and some good fortune; he might eventually get the kind of job he wants. However, it bears reason that in addition to anti immigrant sentiments in the UK and elsewhere, the glut of very qualified candidates; he is left at a disadvantage. The Nigerian professional could find him/herself at a serious disadvantage in such an economic, political and social environment.

The question then arises; how to change a disadvantage to an advantage and remain relevant career wise in a global recession. One answer lies in looking beyond your current shores – looking back home for opportunities. Find a high paying job in Nigeria. Nigeria has a vibrant bubbly job market. Though affected in many ways by the global economic downturn, there are still exciting possibilities for highly educated, trained professionals. The interesting fact is that just as your unique circumstance can be a disadvantage in Europe or America; in Nigeria, it’s a huge advantage and selling point.

There are countless companies based in Nigeria or based abroad with offices or projects in Nigeria actively looking to recruit people trained abroad and with international experienced to join their organisation and they are willing to pay high rates for such people. The obvious usual suspects are the banks and oil companies. You could get a bank job or an Oil & Gas job in Nigeria. However, the telecoms, construction industry, international development agencies etc have made huge strides and frequently have top jobs paying high salaries available.

CNN International recently featured a report on the rise of Nigerian professionals returning home to jobs paying equal if not more than their previous jobs in Europe and America (view the video here). They benefits and challenges of taking this path were highlighted and this is a reminder that the decision to go back to Nigeria may not be for everyone but it’s worth considering and who knows, if your circumstances permits might be one of the best professional decisions you can make.

This is Part one of article by DE Otalor guest writer for www.expertjobsnigeria.com

To help with making that decision, we will be publishing a series of articles by DE O’Sullivan over the next few days. Other articles in this series include

Part two – Opportunities and benefits of working in Nigeria.

Part three – Find a high paying job in Nigeria – Tips and Tricks.

Part four – How to make the move to Nigeria seamless and stress free.

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 DE Otalor is a guest writer for www.expertjobsnigeria.com and www.expertjobsafrica.com she can be contacted via feedback@expertjobsnigeria.com