Does Connection Replace a CV?
No. Even if you have a strong connection (“man-know-man”) pushing for you in a Nigerian company, HR still requires a professional CV on file to justify the hire to management or auditors. A terrible CV makes it impossible for your connection to defend you.
“Forget packaging, this is Nigeria. Na who you know.”
I hear this nonsense every day from frustrated job seekers. Yes, networking (and let’s be honest, nepotism) plays a huge role in the Nigerian job market. But you are making a massive mistake if you think having an “Uncle in NNPC” means you can submit a trash CV.
HR Needs to Cover Their Backs
Let me explain how it works internally. Your Uncle calls the HR Director and says, “Please look out for my nephew’s CV.”
The HR Director says, “Sure, tell him to send it.”
If you send a CV full of grammatical errors, badly formatted, and showing zero competence, you are embarrassing your Uncle. More importantly, HR cannot hire you. They have files to keep. They have auditors (often external) who check hiring standards. They cannot put a garbage CV in the company file just because of “Uncle”.
Connections Open the Door
Your connection gets your CV pulled from the bottom of the pile of 5,000 applications and placed on top of the HR manager’s desk. That is all.
Once it is on the desk, the CV still has to do the talking. It has to prove you have the baseline competence to not crash the company. Don’t fumble your golden ticket because you were too lazy to use spell-check.