How I landed a remote job for a US company while in Nigeria
The CV I used, notes from my interview preparation and many more
Context
In 2021, I held a product management role in a leadership capacity with ~5 years of experience. At the time, I was living and working in Nigeria for a Fintech startup. The company was not a good fit for me, so I sought other opportunities.
Although my job was a hybrid role, I wasn’t particular about my next job being remote.
I was keen to migrate to the UK, so I applied for jobs that offered visa sponsorship, while remaining open to other opportunities.
By the end of the year, I landed a remote job for a US company. Specifically, an insurance-technology startup company.
In this article, I share how it went down.
Learning about the job opportunity
Then, I was eager to join some of the world's top innovative companies, such as Facebook, Amazon, and Apple.
I applied for jobs in those top companies, but I was unsuccessful. Not one interview.
I sought mentorship on Adplist to have a foreigner review my CV. I thought - perhaps I am missing something companies abroad seek.
I was blessed to connect with a Product lead at a US startup company who accepted my mentorship request.
During the session, he reviewed my CV. We discussed my skills and experience to refine some phrases and structure my CV more effectively.
I believe he was somewhat impressed with my skills, including my experience writing SQL and building API products. He told me that the company he worked for was hiring.
After the session, I reviewed the company website to learn more about the position and applied for the job.
The recruitment process
The application process consisted of the following stages:
Stage 1:
Online application
Stage 2:
Prescreening call. A chat with the Head of Product to discuss my experience and learn more about the role and company.
Stage 3:
Product Manager exercise (take-home assessment).
An interview with the Head of Product, co-founder/CTO, to review the exercise and discuss my reasoning.
Stage 4:
Interviews with the Head of Insurance, Lead Engineer, and CEO.
All 3 interviews were scheduled at the same time, although they were held separately within a 2-day period.
Stage 5:
Yet another (final) interview with the Head of Product for a case study discussion and to discuss my previous experiences.
Stage 6:
References. 10-15 mins calls with 3 references.
Job offer.
Yes, 6 stages. :-) It remains the most rigorous job application process I have ever experienced.
Online application
The online application form required me to upload my CV and enter a few notes about why I was the right fit for the position.
I revised my CV based on the notes from my adplist mentor and hiring manager.
Some advice he gave me was:
Reframing my CV content to add product management keywords.
Reducing my CV to 1 page. This is more common in the US job market, while other markets, such as the UK, are more comfortable with 2 or 3 pages, depending on your years of experience.
Revising and collapsing certain work experience to demonstrate growth within the company.
Here’s the CV I used to apply:
In retrospect, I don’t believe my CV was perfect. However, I had the opportunity to discuss my skills and experience with the hiring manager (unknowingly at the time) before I applied for the job, which may have given me an edge over other applicants, at least at the online application stage.
The product exercise
As part of the interview process, I was asked to apply to conduct the product management exercise.
While I don’t recall the question in detail, I was required to solve a company-related problem by creating a prioritised list of user stories based on certain constraints and itemising assumptions.
Here’s the work I submitted: PM job assessment.pdf
My work is not an example of perfection. However, it’s an example of what worked. I’d do a few things differently today.
Key wins for me:
I linked my solutions to the company vision and objectives.
I detailed my reasoning/justification for each user story.
I was open to interviewers challenging my decisions and responded appropriately.
The interviews
You always hear about preparing for interviews, but it cannot be over-emphasised.
I like to write down notes on how I will respond to popular questions, such as ‘Tell me about yourself’ and ‘Why do you want to join this company?’
Here are some notes from the preparation:
Things I did well before and after the interview:
I researched the company to provide relevant context to the interviewer. For example, give examples from my fintech job experience because they were looking to integrate their service with payment gateways, highlighting my experience in a fast-paced work environment, because I was applying to join a startup company, etc.
It wasn’t a one-size-fits-all. I was aware of the interviewer’s role and the interview's objective, so I prepared accordingly. For example, when preparing for the CEO interview, I researched online how to perform well at an interview with the CEO.
Following up after each interview to thank them for their time and remind them of my keen interest in joining the company.
References for my application
I’ve seen employers ask candidates to provide references. For this job, it wasn’t just about submitting names; the hiring manager wanted to engage with them.
The referee engagement was the last stage of the recruitment process, and I had to get it right.
Deciding the referees
I enquired about what is required of referees to identify who would be the right fit for the engagement.
I did not just ask friends or peers to act as referees. I ensured they were in senior-level positions to build my credibility. I should have had a good working relationship with them, of course. I did not want anyone sabotaging my opportunity. :-)
I shared the contact details of referees with product, engineering, and solutioning backgrounds.
Preparing the referees
Understanding the topics the hiring manager wanted to discuss with the referee, I gave them a heads-up. I reminded them of my skills and accomplishments because people are often too occupied with their lives to remember all your great work.
The job offer
5 weeks after I applied, I received an offer!
Next negotiation.
Although the recruiter offered me a salary that was higher than most offers from Nigerian companies, I compared the salaries of employees at US organisations when making counter-offers.
Their compensation was location-specific, so I also explained that I was applying to migrate to the UK (my preferred destination) or Canada, and negotiated in pounds.
They were happy to pay my salary in pounds for a few months while I was in Nigeria, but mentioned that if I did not migrate within a few months, they would reassess my benefits.
It worked out well because I was successful with my UK visa application.
The takeaway
Luck is when opportunity meets preparation.
I was blessed by God, who in his favour granted me this opportunity.
I acknowledge that the job market is a lot more competitive now. This recruitment experience happened in 2021 before the industry-wide tech layoffs and the Artificial Intelligence boom, both events that have negatively impacted the job market.
Hence, this article isn’t intended as a blueprint to land a remote job. I only share MY STORY, hoping that you’ll learn a few things and it’ll inspire you to achieve your goal.
When you are ready, I can help you achieve your product manager career goals in 3 ways:
Get the book titled “Impressive CV Writing for Entry-level Product Managers from Diverse Academic and Work Backgrounds” here.
Join a free online community of entry-level and transitioning PMs. Learn from experienced PMs and recruiters, ask a question, stay informed about job opportunities and get access to curated resources. Join here.
1-1 mentorship: Get 1-1 mentorship from an experienced professional to land your first PM job, develop your skills and grow professionally as a PM. Email me at ezeanyaguuju@gmail.com to learn more and book a session.