In Nigeria, job seekers are usually at the mercy of recruiting companies. Candidates are treated like trash that can be disposed of at will because after all, they are the ones in pursuit of a job. Companies do certain things that might be considered illegal in some countries just because they can, like making candidates wait ridiculous hours, sending them on erratic errands and having as many as 5 recruitment stages all for a job they know the candidates have no chance of getting.

I once waited 11 hours for an interview with one of Nigeria’s leading banks that was meant to start at 8am, and what upset me the most was the fact that they didn’t care enough to address us on why we were being delayed. They weren’t apologetic and did not provide lunch for any of the candidates. I didn’t realize how late it was until I got outside and noticed it was pitch black. As I left the head office at around 9pm, I was starving, exhausted and found it very difficult getting a bus back home. At the end of it all I didn’t get the job, and that’s one of the nicer interviews I’ve been to.

Most Nigerian companies already know who they want to employ but they place false recruitment adverts for protocol sake, which is unfair to those of us spending the limited resources we have chasing a job that doesn’t exist. Only if we all had an Honorable somewhere to facilitate getting the job we want, since that’s the way things are done in this part of the world.