Guest Speaker at TCN EU NCG --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/dearcandidate01/message

Guest Speaker with TCN EU NCG --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/dearcandidate01/message

After an avalanche of rejections over a 2 year period, what did Yemi do differently? Episode 19 of the Dear Candidate podcast is out! This episode features my interview with Adeyemi who was able to successfully land a tech job in Europe from Nigeria. What did Yemi do? How was he able to position himself? How did he catch the eye of his recruiters and convince his potential employer that he had what it took to deliver the required value they were looking for? ‘My favourite phrase from...

Welcome to episode 18! The Very First Episode for 2022........whoop whoop 🥳 Salary Negotiation everyone: Such a hot topic right now! There is a lot of false information about this topic. Now I know this is a pretty controversial topic but it’s one I’m willing to get on because as a recruiter, negotiating and aligning on offers is part of what I do in my 9 to 5 Job. Additionally, as one who supports candidates outside my 9-5, with their Job search journey, I also have the privilege of...

This is my last episode for 2021 and I'll like to say thank you to everyone who has listened, shared, sent feedback or offered one support or the other. I'm very grateful and that has inspired me in many ways. So I'll like to wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year in advance! How do you convince someone who has little or no interest in meeting or talking to you to talk to you? Think of that for 5 seconds while I count down Ok, were you able to think of anything? Maybe or maybe...

Question 6 says: I’m of African descent and I currently live in Europe. I have applied to several Jobs but so far all I get are rejections. I remotely suspect that my colour may be an issue here. Am I being discriminated against because of the colour of my skin? Would like to hear your thoughts. According to a popular quote, ''Assumption is the lowest form of knowledge" When in doubt, always ask questions. Now, I think that’s a fantastic quote. Why? Someone might ask, well, here is my...

I like the popular quote that says, 'Until it’s my turn, I’ll keep clapping for others'. I know that in practical terms, this may be very difficult for some people particularly if all you see all day, every day on LinkedIn for example, are announcements about all the big wins happening in different parts of the globe. Usually accompanied with fancy pictures of people having the time of their life with all those fancy office gears. Yeh! And then on your own side of the universe, the...

The Job search journey can be very exhausting and sometimes the journey might come off as a never-ending one. Recently I was privileged to write an article for a tech community on tips that entry-level candidates can employ to help them land their first job or internship and putting my thoughts into words took me down memory lane. I thought about the challenges I faced both in my home country Nigeria and here in Germany during my Job search journey. One of such experiences left me so drained...

(Scroll past the Announcement on the Dear Candidate Slack Community to part 2 for the answer given to the question of the day) First Part Announcement on the Dear Candidate Slack Community We are extremely excited to launch the Dear Candidate Global Slack Community, a safe space where you can inspire and be inspired. some of the channels you’ll find here are: General-channel: where you can ask questions, share your challenges and ask for feedback. Germany-connect: for those already in...

As a candidate belonging to one of the minority groups, should you be concerned about being hired to fill a diversity quota?  Diversity hiring, (let’s even start from there) what does all that mean? Hold that thought, Dear Candidate. Now, I carried out a little online research to find out how this all started and interestingly, the topic of workplace diversity started as far back as the second world war. Now history has it that women had to take up active roles in the workplace because of...

Today's podcast continues the 'Ask the Recruiter Series' and today's question is as follows : I am a fresher just starting out in my career but I noticed that most of the available Jobs are for experienced candidates. What can I do to increase my chances of getting hired? The thoughts I share in this episode resonate deeply with me because I can clearly say that I have walked in these shoes as a candidate. I have walked this path two major times in my career. The first time being when I...

Today's podcast begins a new series titled: Ask a recruiter. You get the chance to ask any questions you have and I'll be glad to share my thoughts and insights on those areas. At the moment I have a pool of 10 questions and I’ll take my time to talk through the rest of the questions in subsequent episodes. Also, you are welcome to contribute to this pool by sending your questions to [email protected]. Today I’ll be answering question 1 and I hope this also helps you in your job...

Today's podcast is focused on adding value through your interaction and your engagement on Linkedin because someone who adds value (now real value) is already an employee of choice. By adding value you demonstrate : Proactivity (an entrepreneurial mindset); one who can take initiative because you need to come up with content. Empathy: you show that because you have worked and felt what they are feeling by virtue of your experience and your exposure, you are able to offer help from a place...

Episode 8 drops and it is GEM-IFIED (Yeah that’s my own word for saying filled with GEMS)! In this episode, I interview Dipo, my very first guest on ‘The Dear Candidate podcast’. Dipo tells us how he navigated through a wave of 150+ rejection messages (not counting the countless companies that never got back) and no interview invites whatsoever to landing a full-time permanent job after months of consistently showing up. Imagine if he gave up the month before he sent that one message that...

I attended a virtual conference a couple of weeks back and the speaker at the event used a very interesting phrase when she spoke about Linkedin; She called it free real estate that is accessible to all. One of the basic things you learn about when getting a financial education is that there is a clear difference between an asset and a liability. Real estate is one standard example of what you would call an asset. Some assets can yield returns all by themselves but some other types of...

This is stage 3 of the process, it's SHOWTIME! At this point, your ability to do the job in practical terms will be tested. Can you 'walk' the 'talk'? This is kind of the make or break point (in actual fact all steps are like this but this one is pretty crucial). From my own experience, this is generally the stage where the second-largest candidate drop-off happens and the reason is not far-fetched. That which you say you can do would be tested at this round so this is not a 'round' to...

If you pass the cv screening stage, you will receive a positive response from the company to let you know that you are proceeding to the next round. That’s the kind of news we all love to get righttttt😃but wait! Before you throw that party, I want you to take a step back as we consider what this invitation actually means. This invitation might be a step closer to the offer, however, you must understand that, to move along in the process, you will need to nail this interview. This next round...

A typical application process consists of 4 major stages. It can be more or less depending on factors like the seniority of the position, the type of role, internal requirements, and so on. However, for these series, I’ll treat the entire application life cycle as a 4 stage process. Stage 1 is where your application for the role is submitted and at this stage, the review of your cv takes place. If your profile fits what the team is looking for, you will be invited to proceed to the next...

The importance of preparing for your interview cannot be overemphasized because as the saying goes,  'the one who fails to plan has already planned to fail'. Today, our focus would be to discuss some practical tips that can help you communicate better during your interview because the truth of the matter is that passing an interview particularly in a well-structured company does not happen by chance.  Therefore, a certain level of intentionality is required from your end. Now someone might...

Preparing for an interview? Or trying to understand why that process did not work out when you felt it went well from your side? Listen to my thoughts on what may have been responsible for that and the pitfalls to watch out for. Key takeaways: Don’t over-talk so as not to overwhelm, Don’t under-talk so as not to wear out, and Pace as you speak. Have fun listening!

Are we not all candidates? Candidates in search of a Job, candidates trying to get that promotion, candidates trying to secure that scholarship, candidates trying to get one thing or the other. We all get into selection processes and our hope is that we emerge as the shining star that is selected. However, the harsh reality of life stares us in the face as we are bombarded with rejection emails or letters. Where do we go from here, some of us might ask? Welcome to the Dear Candidate...