I got to interview the amazing Pai Gamde, the current Head of HR at the Nigerian Stock Exchange. I had a fantastic time with her and I learnt soo much.

As usual, I went in there with a bunch of questions, as part of my quest to understand things from the perspective of the professionals that are in charge of the recruitment process. Why are young job seekers in Nigeria finding it soo hard to get on the employment ladder?

It’s almost a general consensus that our graduates unemployable, but what can be done to bridge the gap between where they are and where they need to be?

Listen to the interview here - http://skillsonthehouse.com/interview-with-the-head-of-hr-at-the-nigerian-stock-exchange/

Op abeg nor vex, na whch of d ladies for d pic be d head of the HR.?


I knw why I dey ask

Cutehector:
Op abeg nor vex, na whch of d ladies for d pic be d head of the HR.?


I knw why I dey ask

The one wey wear red with

The Head of HR is on the left, I'm on the right

dazzle101:



The one wey wear red with

lol just imagine say n d slim one be d head of d HR

Cutehector:
lol just imagine say n d slim one be d head of d HR

No na she be the interviewer ! She did something like this a fortnight ago!!! I'ld love to ask her how she's seeing these top hr ppl maybe next time she can take me along

dazzle101:


No na she be the interviewer ! She did something like this a fortnight ago!!! I'ld love to ask her how she's seeing these top hr ppl maybe next time she can take me along

lol I have this natural hate for Nigerian HR people no offence I think they should all be whipped at golgotha

Cutehector:
lol I have this natural hate for Nigerian HR people no offence I think they should all be whipped at golgotha

U too funny bro!

dazzle101:



U too funny bro!

but it will be wise being friends with one, don't u think?

Cutehector:
lol I have this natural hate for Nigerian HR people no offence I think they should all be whipped at golgotha

LOL!

PasNina:

LOL!

omo d thing just tire me... hw person go just wake up one mornin advertize one position come shortlist 1000 people


E make sense at all?

Cutehector:
omo d thing just tire me... hw person go just wake up one mornin advertize one position come shortlist 1000 people


E make sense at all?

Hehehehehehe.. Not @all but that's Naija for us.

Ah, Cutehector, please try to love them o . I can understand how you feel, but to be fair a lot of them also have a tough job to do and are trying their best

Cutehector:
lol I have this natural hate for Nigerian HR people no offence I think they should all be whipped at golgotha

GenoMI:
Ah, Cutehector, please try to love them o . I can understand how you feel, but to be fair a lot of them also have a tough job to do and are trying their best

hahahaha I tell u solemnly, they r the ones giving themselves tough jobs by themselves.

I think they should all have special advicers

LOL @ special advisers - But what is it about them that you do not like?

Cutehector:
hahahaha I tell u solemnly, they r the ones giving themselves tough jobs by themselves.

I think they should all have special advicers

GenoMI:
The Head of HR is on the left, I'm on the right

Hope you asked her why the NSE places 24 abi 23years as maximum age for graduate trainees?

No I didn't o - I actually put up a post some days before the interview asking people to submit the questions they would like me to ask her, and this wasn't one of them

I'll ask her though and post her response here..

PresVA:
Hope you asked her why the NSE places 24 abi 23years as maximum age for graduate trainees?

GenoMI:
No I didn't o - I actually put up a post some days before the interview asking people to submit the questions they would like me to ask her, and this wasn't one of them

I'll ask her though and post her response here..

Alright, thanks. ..

Will love to read her response. ..

GenoMI:
LOL @ special advisers - But what is it about them that you do not like?

my brother, you and I know very well that the reasons aren't farfetched.


OK let me use dangote refinery job application as an example

Dangote called for executive trainees in different fields of engineering, people where shortlisted obviously the secondclass upper and first class... now this is a nationwide thing so applications are coming in from all 36 states.

Mistake one.

You invited a lot of people to travel from all states to Lagos just for a written exam, u wasted resources by photocopying thousands of question papers, made these job seekers to waste transport for an exam dat almost half of them may not succeed...


Why not instead be like PwC (pricewaterhousecoopers) and conduct an online assesment first, which will then shortlist further the jobseekers, thereby managing resources, den those who passed the online job test will nw come for a verification test, note that the number of job seekers will be reducing at a faster rate... than that of dangote's refinery own..


Mistake two

It's not easy to pass a job test. Cuz u knw dat those who passed have average to very good IQ. Then u foward them to an oral discussion test, those who didn't succeed, u slash dem off.. why? Are they still dullards? Weren't they the people who were sent success mails that they succeeded? Why send dem off again when u have bright people...


I suggest that after a job test, those who passed should be given equal opportunity for a final interview stage with d HR dept. So anybody dat fails will know dat it's definitely their problem, not the company.

@Cutehector WOW - I didn't know about the Dangote thing, that is definitely an extremely inefficient process. Why would anyone bother to do that with all the technology we have available? I don't understand it, and it might actually not be the fault of HR, because a lot of these decisions are made by the management teams at these companies, especially the Nigerian ones (I have worked at a few indigenous companies and there is a very, very clear difference between how they run their companies when compared to the multinationals).

e.g. PwC - I actually currently work with the recently retired MD of PwC (Ken Igbokwe) and he's very tech savvy and extremely forward thinking, even though he's in his 60's - PwC must have picked him to run their company for a reason and we can already see the reason why these multinationals outlive their founders and continue to grow stronger with each generation. This is a problem that Nigerian owned companies seem to struggle with and I can't name one Nigerian owned and run company off the top of my head that doesn't die when the owner or founder dies.

With regards to your 2nd reason, can you please shed some more light on these 'oral discussion'? Are they interviews with line managers? Or who exactly conducts these discussions?

From my experience, a written test is usually followed by a series of interviews, each one acting as a 'sieve', where candidates deemed unsuitable are weeded out.

Cutehector:
my brother, you and I know very well that the reasons aren't farfetched.


OK let me use dangote refinery job application as an example

GenoMI:
@Cutehector WOW - I didn't know about the Dangote thing, that is definitely an extremely inefficient process. Why would anyone bother to do that with all the technology we have available? I don't understand it, and it might actually not be the fault of HR, because a lot of these decisions are made by the management teams at these companies, especially the Nigerian ones (I have worked at a few indigenous companies and there is a very, very clear difference between how they run their companies when compared to the multinationals).

e.g. PwC - I actually currently work with the recently retired MD of PwC (Ken Igbokwe) and he's very tech savvy and extremely forward thinking, even though he's in his 60's - PwC must have picked him to run their company for a reason and we can already see the reason why these multinationals outlive their founders and continue to grow stronger with each generation. This is a problem that Nigerian owned companies seem to struggle with and I can't name one Nigerian owned and run company off the top of my head that doesn't die when the owner or founder dies.

With regards to your 2nd reason, can you please shed some more light on these 'oral discussion'? Are they interviews with line managers? Or who exactly conducts these discussions?

From my experience, a written test is usually followed by a series of interviews, each one acting as a 'sieve', where candidates deemed unsuitable are weeded out.

u recently currently work with whaaaaaat? Bros show me d way to the promise land na



So the oral discussion thing is this, the job seekers are divided into groups, let's say 12 each with 2 members of the HR team. Now each of the group is given a topic to discuss on for a given number of time. Lets say 30 minutes. The idea is to test for d job seeker's vast knowledge on that topic and how well he or she is able to articulate points and reason. It also used to test for team play. It's a pity many job seekers think they knw wat teamwork is but sadly enuf, most don't. Am sayin this from first hand experience. That method is the best method to test for team work and leadership potential. That is, the oral discussion chat. So each job applicant is given a chance to chip on what he knows about the topic given to them in each group.


Then the two hr team will keep quiet and listen to each job applicant and record their observations and score them....

Nice one ma'am
I'm really enjoying these little chats of yours

Ah wait o, I'm not a bros, I'm a sister na!

Now I understand what you are talking about - I've been through a couple before, when I was a fresh grad. They are called 'group interviews' and are usually administered as part of an assessment centre. You are absolutely right about what they are checking for with this type of interview, but it's not just about what each applicant is chipping in. In fact what you actually say doesn't hold nearly as much weight as how you interact with the rest of the group, from your body language to your level of interaction with the team. Are you taking charge of the discussion without being overbearing? Or are you just sitting quietly in the corner watching and not participating?

All these things count and just a way for companies to drill down and get to know applicants a bit better, in order to identify if they are the right fit for the job they've applied for.

Cutehector:
u recently currently work with whaaaaaat? Bros show me d way to the promise land na



So the oral discussion thing is this, the job seekers are divided into groups, let's say 12 each with 2 members of the HR team. Now each of the group is given a topic to discuss on for a given number of time. Lets say 30 minutes. The idea is to test for d job seeker's vast knowledge on that topic and how well he or she is able to articulate points and reason. It also used to test for team play. It's a pity many job seekers think they knw wat teamwork is but sadly enuf, most don't. Am sayin this from first hand experience. That method is the best method to test for team work and leadership potential. That is, the oral discussion chat. So each job applicant is given a chance to chip on what he knows about the topic given to them in each group.


Then the two hr team will keep quiet and listen to each job applicant and record their observations and score them....

Thanks @yorex2011

yorex2011:
Nice one ma'am
I'm really enjoying these little chats of yours

GenoMI:
Ah wait o, I'm not a bros, I'm a sister na!

Now I understand what you are talking about - I've been through a couple before, when I was a fresh grad. They are called 'group interviews' and are usually administered as part of an assessment centre. You are absolutely right about what they are checking for with this type of interview, but it's not just about what each applicant is chipping in. In fact what you actually say doesn't hold nearly as much weight as how you interact with the rest of the group, from your body language to your level of interaction with the team. Are you taking charge of the discussion without being overbearing? Or are you just sitting quietly in the corner watching and not participating?

All these things count and just a way for companies to drill down and get to know applicants a bit better, in order to identify if they are the right fit for the job they've applied for.

babe, leave all these employment things, hw far. show me d way connect me to ur ministry

Haha! I have been working in Nigeria for the past 8 years since graduation so I've built up a considerable amount of work experience and delivered value to the best of my ability wherever I've found myself. That's how I've been able to build a good network that I can easily leverage to discover opportunities and meet great people.

No shortcut oo, it all takes time

Cutehector:
babe, leave all these employment things, hw far. show me d way connect me to ur ministry

GenoMI:
Haha! I have been working in Nigeria for the past 8 years since graduation so I've built up a considerable amount of work experience and delivered value to the best of my ability wherever I've found myself. That's how I've been able to build a good network that I can easily leverage to discover opportunities and meet great people.

No shortcut oo, it all takes time

babe oginidi? Why these long and short grammar. no be soo ooooooooooo... olajumoke no pass Tru all these ur yarnings oooo... person wey wan help person go help am irrespectiv of what it takes.. so leave all those protocol.. first of all, make we continue this chat for pm first follow me bak please.

Cutehector:
but it will be wise being friends with one, don't u think?

Sorry I don't make friends for the fun of it! What would be the outcome of my making friends with them? That's the key... not by mouth of so so hr is my friend ehen ehen!

Abeg let's leave matters, I'm reading hr guys have a tough job! Which yeye tough job: they should employ me and see how I streamline the processes they have put between a rock and a hard place!!! Smh...

@GenoMI I will say u've surely been doing a great job. I have read through most of your posts on your site and its quite educative. However I'd like you recommend assistance to we the job seekers through your vast network of top professionals in the industry, on maybe how our cv can reach these top HRs with the ease through which you get to meet them. Thanks.

Thanks for your compliments, I appreciate it. I will try my best with regards to your suggestion.

adedee14:
@GenoMI I will say u've surely been doing a great job. I have read through most of your posts on your site and its quite educative. However I'd like you recommend assistance to we the job seekers through your vast network of top professionals in the industry, on maybe how our cv can reach these top HRs with the ease through which you get to meet them. Thanks.

I don't seem to be a fan of hr ppl sha, maybe because of the way the Nigerian bottleneck system has made it....And many of dem be yabbin nigerian graduates when they don't use the best methods to source for the best of the best,a typical example is using age as criteria in an employment in a country like Nigeria, dt way you already lost like 50percent of the geniuses in that 'academic generation'

GenoMI my babe


I don't haff data...

Please include downloadables on ya blog...

Trust me....it'll boost ur traffic.