Hi Ogaolopa, the ball is entirely in your court. Your age has nothing to do with your ability to find and build a productive and great career here. It is against the law for any employer to ask your age in this country. I came with over 13 years banking experience in a specialised field. It seemed daunting at first to fit into the system, trying to find how my skills in fraud investigation can be applied here. As you can see, I have experience working with bank regulators/police in solving financial crime and recovering funds. I then sought out Nigerians via LinkedIn who have landed here as well as others in my target sector and slowly built a relationship with them, finding out industry trends and how best to make my self attractive professionally. I also attended training programmes which helped me to gain understanding of how things work here and get networking opportunities but above all, God was faithful. As I was attending the programs, I would get back home each day and share with my wife all I learnt. My wife took the tips and strategies and applied it in her job search and got a fantastic job in finance before me! See where Joshua overtook Moses
We only used our Nigerian experience in our resumes. This breathrough of course showed me I was on the right path and shortly after, I landed a management role in a position similar to what I was doing back home but a far higher level. I am considered an expert because I come from Nigeria with our peculiar 419 and other financial crimes
and because of how I packaged my self.
You can do it as well, don't be discouraged at all. One of my investigators is a former army officer from Bangladesh and he's served with UN peace keeping force in Sierra Leone, he's now working in a bank as an investigator. He understood the value of rebranding his skills and experiences and packaged himself accordingly. There's also another investigator in my team who has become close to me and opened up that she's 56 years old! You can equally join the federal, provincial or regional police here or other security outfits and even companies in their security departments. Once you land, avoid the company of people who are comfortable 'managing' anything just to pay the bills, seek out those who are striving for greater things. I don't despise the days of humble begninnings, not at all but I know that Almighty God created me for great things so I come with the mindset to compete for the best jobs and earn the best pay. White skin does not mean they are better, infact your coming with foreign experience can be a plus!
Join a specialised training/bridging program, not the general ones for newcomers. There is value in specialised newcomer training if you know what you are looking for and how to apply the knowledge obtained. With perseverance, patience and above all, God's favor, you and your wife can make it well here. I've only spent one year in this country but the heights I have attained and the achievements I have recorded, it could only have been God. The same and even more can be your testimony as well, cheers
