Job Hunting

After being in Cameroon for about 4 months, I decided that it was time for me to look for a job. My uncle had aided me in preparing a curriculum vitae which is important for job hunting around here. It was early December 2005 and I was given by my Dad a number of companies and people to contact in Douala.Douala is the economic capital of Cameroon and if you are looking for a job, it is the place to start your search. That is where all the major companies are. The list that my dad gave me was handed to him by my late uncle’s wife; Mrs Ebai in Limbe.She has a lot of weight in the community and most of the people in the list she knows personally. I headed to Douala and the first place that I went to was Akintola Williams(now Deloitte & Touche).My elder brother had worked in this place in the early 80s and most of the people that are managers in the firm, he personally hired. The saying around here is that job searching is "man know man». You have to know somebody or else your job search will be doomed from the word go. I went to Deloitte and introduced myself. I gave them copies of my composed documents which included a CV, copy of my Accounting diploma and a copy of my CPA certification. They were impressed and promised giving me a call. They did call me twice for interviews but I never got a job offer. The other companies that I went to were Standard Chartered Bank, Ecobank and Guinness Cameroon. I did not get a call from any of these companies and subsequent follow ups did not lead to any job interviews. There was a company that I did go to that was mentioned to me as an after thought. The feeling was that I would be hired right away but the wages would not be very attractive. I did go to the company though and talked to the owner. He took my documents and promised that I could work for him if by February of 2006 I have not gotten a job offer from another company. This was the last company that I visited. I left for Tiko and spend the Christmas holidays there. Up until the Last week of January 2006, I did not get a job offer from any other company, so I decided to take on the offer of Akale & Co, that is the name of the firm that I could come work for in February. It is an Accounting Firm, the owner being a chartered accountant by profession. The owner is involved in different businesses and his firm has an accounting section that does auditing and tax work in the area. I came back to Douala 2 days before I was to start work. I had arranged to stay with a friend of mine for at least a month or two before I could get a place of my own. I worked for Akale& Co for a total of two months before things got very slow in the company and the owner and I agreed that we should split company. I headed back to the provinces but this time to Buea.I liked the weather in Buea. Places are not as hot as in Tiko or Douala. I rented a "mini-cité" in Molyko Buea, close to the Buea University Campus and started living there for some time. I had saved the money for the two months that I had worked so money was not a problem at that time. I had to look for another job. Since these are the days of the mobile phone, one could be reached from anywhere. You do not have to stay in Douala to look for a job. You can place your CVs with contact information and you will be reached if your services are needed. I stayed in Buea for about 5 months before I got a call from Deloitte& Touche. They had decided to set up a tax division and they needed somebody to come head the division. That will be me. I interviewed with them in late August 2006 and they said I would hear from them real soon. They called me up in the middle of September and I started work at Deloitte on the 16 of September 2006.I worked with them for a total of two full months before personal differences separated us. The salary was decent, the promised job description was great but the reality of working in the firm was different. We parted company after two months and I headed back to Buea. I had kept the "mini-cité" at Molyko during the two months that I was in Douala. During my stay at Deloitte, I lived with my aunt at her place in Bonaberi. I did return to Douala in June 2007 and this time I joined a company called Pro-Service Cameroon. I worked there as a consultant. The company provides travel management and business consultancy throughout the country. I have been at this company for a total of 9 months. It is a start up company so we are still building our clientele. The money is not flowing right now but that would change in the future. I am in charge of the business consultancy part of the business.