Everjobs in MOU with Business Week

Ivudria said the MOU ties in with the newspaper catch line, ‘unveiling opportunities’ while Schühly said they have direct contact with all companies they work with.

Everjobs, the online employment placement service last week signed a Memorandum of Understanding with East African Business Week to work together by offering job listings. Speaking to SAM OKWAKOL of EABW, everjobs’ Andreas Schühly and Godfrey Ivudria, the EABW Managing Director, share their vision on what the MOU will mean. Below are excerpts.

Question: Briefly tell us about Everjobs, when did you start and what do you do?

Answer: Everjobs is the fastest growing career portal in Africa, our mission is to be a pan African career portal and we right now operate in six countries in Africa (Uganda, South Africa, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Cameroon and Ivory Coast) since the beginning of this year. Our plan is to cover 15 countries in Africa by 2016. Currently in Uganda, we focus on connecting Uganda’s’ top talent top companies, we also focus internship and fresh graduate programs and many other career opportunities. We also cater for any recruitment needs.

Qn: There are very many job sites in East Africa offering almost the same service like yours, what do you do differently?

Ans: We offer both online and offline services. Other than just posting job listings, we help fresh gradates and other jobseekers write good curriculum vitae, we offer career training to jobseekers, we advise on where a jobseeker needs to improve if they want to compete favourably for a job. When you sign up with us we always give you feedback on how to go about with the challenges you face.

Qn: With the widespread online scam associated with the internet, how have you managed to build trust among the populace.

Ans: We have direct contact with all companies we work with, meaning we connect Ugandans top talent to companies and any other recruitment organization in the job market.

Qn: Job sites in some cases give inadequate information and wrong links, making it difficult for jobseekers to apply for jobs, how do you address this challenge?

Ans: When you create an account in everjobs, you will be asked to fill in your personal information. Everjobs will regularly use this information to get in touch with you to guide and advice you accordingly. Generally, we recommend a two way communication between us, the jobseeker, employer, the company or organization.

Qn: You recently signed a MOU with the East African Business Week Newspaper, what does this mean to you?

Ans: Our aim is to become the leading Pan African career portal and East African Business Week newspaper is a good tool for reaching very many people. East African Business week provides a lot of business information and opportunities, which is in line with our nature of work.

Qn: There are every many newspapers in Uganda, why did you choose to partner with the East African Business Week?

Ans: Our focus is to get a wider outreach and East African Business Week is the base for us to reach the entire continent. The paper is also one of the most serious newspapers in the region with serious content and it is read by CEOs. With it we will have an international presence but at the same time reach other East African countries where we do not have offices.

Qn: How everjobs going to benefit from this Mou?

Ans: Basically ours is to reach the wide majority, very many people read and search for jobs in newspapers. East African Business Week being one search read newspaper.

Qn: What is your long term goal in Uganda and East Africa?

Ans: Transparency and feedback, we want to become a long term career partner for jobseekers, employers and companies. We do not just aim at connecting top talent to employers but we want them to be able to come back here even after three years to look for the same service.

Qn: What plans do you have in terms of expansion?

Ans: Initially, our focus within Uganda was in Kampala because a number of jobs, employers and companies are in Kampala. We plan to expand to the entire country and as I told you earlier, we are in six countries in Africa; our plan is to cover 15 countries in Africa by 2016.

Qn: What message do you have for a Ugandan or East African who has searched for a job and almost given up?

Ans: Never lose hope, do not sit back and stop working. Try to find a source to advance your career by doing something that gives you hands-on skills relevant for the job. Make yourself better every other time. It is imperative to work on the assets of your career; this may call for further career training not necessarily to get papers but to acquire skills that can be applied on the job. Continue to network, talk to your friends, employers and companies.

Godfrey Ivudria

Qn: What is the MOU that EABW (East African Business Week) signed with everjobs all about?

Ans: The vision of EABW is to become the most influential business publication in Africa. Partnership with the leading and fastest growing career portal like everjobs is a great opportunity.

It is also a vote of confidence by leading players in the market like everjobs towards the mission of EABW of providing readers with all the comprehensive range of business information from East Africa in a timely manner.

Everjobs and EABW will be able to share job and career information in their print and online platforms on a weekly basis. Providing our readers job information from leading institutions in Africa is in tandem with our motto, unveiling opportunities. Our readers should expect a listing of jobs in the print version of the paper.

Qn: How long is the MOU going to last?

Ans: Initially it will last one year subject to further renewal for as long as our relationship or partnership is commercially viable.

Qn: What promoted the signing of this MOU?

Ans: EABW has always been passionate about unveiling opportunities, being a source of information on business from the East African perspective and following the signing of a single customs territory by East African member states which among others advocates for a wide EAC market and free movement of labor, it has always been our objective to bring to our readers information on jobs that are available across the borders of EAC member states.

Qn: What makes everjobs believe in you?

Ans: Like I said, everjobs is a fast growing jobs and career portal in Africa, they hope to be in about 20 countries in the next one year and their focus is developing jobseekers and introducing transparency in the employment processes. For us as EABW, that is afresh breath in the job market in Africa. everjobs also share in our mission of becoming the most influential publication in Africa.

Qn: How will the EABW benefit from this MOU?

Ans: Our partnership among other things provides for both parties to promote each other’s brands across the platforms provided in print, websites, social media and various PR events. This eventually will translate into traffic and engagements and hopefully revenues through advertising.

Qn: Don’t you think MOUs with companies like everjobs hinders the opportunity for EABW to make money from such companies through direct advertising?

Ans: NO. To us that is actually a vote of confidence that the “big boys” can trust and believe in what we do, they can now trust us with their work and money.

Qn: What message do you give to your readers now that you have signed MOU with everjobs?

Ans: EABW for the last 10 years has been committed to unveiling opportunities from the East African perspective. Jobs and business opportunities will foster economic empowerment among our readers.

This partnership is one of those value additions and we hope to see more of such developments to enhance the potential that exists in Africa and we encourage you to look out for these opportunities in our publication.

By Sam Okwakol, Monday, November 16th, 2015


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