Based in Malaysia, Kayode Muyibi is not only one of the well-known names in the Nigerian dotcom industry, but is also an avid lover of technology. His first experience with using the Internet was in 1997. It has been a long journey since then and he now commands some respect in Nigeria’s web space due to his knowledge & experience, as well as his active participation in the social media space.
Kayode Muyibi recently announced the launch of the first Vertical Job Listing in Nigeria, nairajobs.com
In this interview, he shares the vision behind the website, some of the features, the future plans and also reacted to some feedback.
Oluniyi: You recently announced the launch of nairajobs.com What is the motivation behind launching this new website?
Kayode: The idea behind nairajobs was actually formulated 2 years ago. Then when I thought of the idea, I was more interested in providing job finding services via mobile phones on the go. Over time I streamlined it to a more recruitment based portal to now an aggregator. The idea was to help job seekers to actually have a chance in at least knowing where there is a job and when on the move. Over time a lot of Nigerian job sites came up, and I thought it wasn’t a good idea to fix a problem that has been fixed but to make it more accessible, hence the current concept.
Oluniyi: How long did Nairajobs.com take from planning to full implementation?
Kayode: It took me a considerable amount of time to roll it out, because I was quiet busy with my other projects and I couldn’t see how I could actually play a role, considering I do not belong nor have a Human Resource firm.
Oluniyi: In other words, nairajobs.com is a job search engine that indexes and shares job openings from other leading Nigerian job websites. Right?
Kayode: Yes, absolutely, you don’t have to go to every single site looking for jobs, its a daunting process, no matter how desperate you are to get a job. That is where Nairajobs comes in, we aggregate everything and link back to the original source.
Oluniyi: The convenience advantage is obvious. Does Nairajobs accept any job listings directly or entirely relies on listings from other job websites?
Kayode: Currently No, but in the future its something we would likely consider introducing. We just want to focus in collection and indexing the jobs currently available and thereafter present it in a more user friendly and accessible format, rather than just doing exactly what the content providers are doing that makes the experience relatively cumbersome.
Oluniyi: It has been about a week since the website was announced. What has the response been so far?
Kayode: Feedbacks perhaps, quiet good. Responses I guess comes from actual real job seekers coming in to use our tools. We are still working on ways of promoting it. Its quiet new but we look forward to a very positive user base feedbacks and even testimonies on how we have played a role in helping every Nigerian seeking for a job find their dream job easily and painlessly.
Oluniyi: In addition to the SMS alerts and social media friendliness, what are the other features that make nairajobs.com the place to be for job seekers in Nigeria?
Kayode: Our SMS job alert system is still not yet activated due to the apparent cost of doing it for free. Yes we are considering launching that for free. We currently have an email alert service whereby when a job seeker opts in for a mail alert based on certain keywords, industry or even location of preference, we would automatically send jobs in our system matching that criteria and deliver it when the job seeker actually needs them. It could be daily or even weekly. Other features are quiet apparent when you visit our website. Our support full text search with very high tolerance for any keyword used, be it company name, relevant information about the job and even just an interest. Other features include sorting your search results the date it was posted, by the location the job is and even by the industry and much more. The tools we have and would have to make it a worthwhile experience are endless.
Oluniyi: In essence, Nairajobs.com has something for Nigerian job websites, employers and job seekers.
What are your long term plans for the future of this website? Do you have plans to monetize?
Kayode: Yes, and regarding our future, we would like to surprise the user base overtime instead of promising a future we can only start building today. Currently we are more interested in the user base, but monetization is something that we have considered, but it would probably be in the future.
Oluniyi: Fair enough. You have announced a few dotcoms in the past, which are no longer operational. An SMS ads website, an LR exchange website. What assurance is there, that nairajobs.com is here to stay?
Kayode: I would rather let time judge that, regarding the other dotcoms we announced, it was discontinued as the plan was either logistically too costly and in some cases we couldn’t secure the funding we needed to make it a reality. With Nairajobs its a different story, its funded by me and managed by the public. There is actually a feature that would be rolled out that would allow the public to contribute and get paid per contribution, but then again that’s something we are researching.
Oluniyi: I can see that nairajobs.com includes listings from jobcentrenigeria.com and careersnigeria.com What other Nigerian job websites are you indexing (covering) and how do other Nigerian job websites get into your system?
Kayode: We plan to aggregate every single Nigerian job site on the internet, we are considering developing a system that allows them to automatically contribute their links to us, but that is something that is still in research, for now we list a handful of Nigerian jobs sites as you mentioned. The idea of this approach is to reduce the time spent on checking which job website has updated what etc.
Oluniyi: Implicitly, other job websites can contact you directly to get indexed. Right?
Kayode: Yes they can, but we do not intend to wait for them to do that. We plan to go to them and seat down and discuss how we can work together in a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Oluniyi: I have read some criticism from webtrendsng.com:
“…there need to be a Nigerian touch on the site, it is currently a mix of red and blue, He should look at localization in terms of colour mix. A green feel will make it more Nigerian looking at the URL (Nairajobs.com which makes use of Naira).”
How do you react to the suggestion that Nigerian websites should necessarily use at least some green colours in their website design?
Kayode: If you remember, Advertfarm did have a green themed concept, and it was relatively appealing. Patriotism should not be defined by colours, but rather the willingness to create and give back to the community that you feel indebted too in one way or another.
So designing a system or developing an idea should not be based on how you paint it, but rather the impact it makes, or how it plays a role in changing the life of your focus user base
So if Nairajobs is not greenish enough to some people, and that is their contribution in regards to usability feedback etc., well then we have nothing really to say in regards.
Oluniyi: Its been an eye-opening session with you Kayode. Do you have any parting comments or insights into the future of your dotcom exploits?
Kayode: A friend of mine said something interesting yesterday, my job is to help the program code life scenarios, not seek life to live in my codes. So I would say this, If as a programmer, you change your perspective, you will end up with the best solutions that would not only contribute to your society, but to the entire mankind. Anyone can code, but few can provide solutions that can impact to life itself. I hope and pray that I can do just that, develop solutions that can impact to not only my society but mankind.
So if you have a great idea that you think would contribute to your society, be it dotcom or not, by all means, don’t let anything stop you.
Oluniyi: Thanks for your time Kayode and I wish you all the very best with your current enterprises and your future exploits.
Kayode: Thank you
