Selling Yourself: Job Interviews, Follow-Ups, and Building Lasting Connections

Hello and welcome to the show. This is one of those late light recordings and it's going to be a very noisy one because it's a full house, you know, kids at home, wife is home. And then I think currently they say like the National Grid has collapsed or something like that. So NEPA has just been taken like anyhow, now my own part of the building, there are six of our six families in this part. So each I think five of us have inverter solar, you know, so this is relatively quiet.

But in the building at the back, all of them do just their own Gen. So if Napa takes light in the middle of this recording, you guys are going to hear a massive wall of generators coming through the speakers. So hopefully Napa won't take light and we should be able to have a relatively peaceful recording somewhat. So today's episode is also going to be one of those random rambling episodes, you know, on a number of things, you know,

like how sales skills can help you with your career progression. Because I'm mindful of the fact that not everybody listening to this podcast has a business, has an SME, has a side hustle, you know, some people actually just trying trying to boost their careers. So how sales skills can help your career and then also tips on follow up. As for those of you who are actively trying to do some kind, you know, side drones or you have a business that you're trying to build.

So the reason why I'm going to be rambling on these sorts of things is because I got updates on Wonder Woman recently. Now, this is your first time listening to the show. When I say Wonder Woman on the podcast, I don't mean the real Wonder Woman. I don't mean the comic Wonder Woman, and I don't mean Gal Gadot. As you know, even though Gal Gadot is a, she's a very babe. She's not the one that I'm referring to. Gaga dot, that's the actress who plays Wonder Woman in the DC

movies, the DC franchise movies. So when I say Wonder Woman here on the podcast, I mean the lady from Benway State who is a caterer, you know, into the cuisine business. And we did a case study on her because she was looking for avenues to expand her business do that's to boost sales. And then we also look at some conditions under which it would be OK to accept outside money, to accept funding, to accept equity, to grow her business,

equity investment. So if you've been listening for a while, yeah, I just got updates on her. So it's the same. It's the same lady. So just updates as far, you know, where is she now? What has she been up to? And OK, so if you remember from the previous Wonder Woman episode, now she was also considering paid employment, you know, as per, you know, she's a student, she's trying to do this catering thing. And if the conditions are all right for her to accept equity investment, then she might as well just have paid employment to, you know, just maintain herself and also to finance the catering business that she wants to do.

So those are some of the options. So since then she has gone for a job interview, but it turned out to be a practical 1. You know, I've always wondered, you know, how do you, how do you choose which caterers to hire? And apparently this is how you do it. People go for practical, you go and cook and then you taste their food. But anyway, it turned out that the interview she was going on for not was not for the main chef, it was for the sous chef.

I think that's the assistant chef or something like that. So she was going to be a, a sous chef, a kitchen assistant, that sort of thing. So she went for the whole thing, you know, she was pinging me as she went for the thing. It turned out to be late the other almost the whole day by the end of the day shot they sorted her something they sorted her something nice. The TP that they gave her was was 5 figures. Let me just put it that way, in my mind I'm thinking OK, you can pay this much for TP and it means that the gig must be very sweet now that if you learn this kind of job that the money will be correct something.

So anyway, so she finished and as a sharp girl that she is now, that's why I call her Wonder Woman. She decided to follow up the next day. In fact it is lesson #1 those of you who are self-employed, you have a business, you know, some of you, your follow up game is weak. You allow time to pass too much. You know, you talk to somebody, you know, I give it like 2 weeks and then you boss the person back. You say you're following up as you're following on board like 2

weeks. You think they're waiting for you. Of course you would have found somebody else to, you know, another vendor, another consultant, another specialist, another whatever, you know, to do the job. So for those of you who are still in like in the event space, you know, like wedding photographers, you know, you talk to somebody January 1st, you don't call them again until January 14th, you know, like you're doing yourself, like what do you expect?

So she's a sharp girl now. So that's why I call a Wonder Woman. And she followed up the next day, you know, this is without without me even telling her anything. And she didn't get the job because the people didn't want to wait two weeks because she was writing exams and, you know, she wants to finish her exam properly before she resumes work. So yeah, they gave the job to somebody else basically. But anyway, like the sharp girl that she is, like I said, once that two weeks expired and once she did pens down, you know,

pens up, write your exam pens down. So when she did pens down now and the exam was over, she called him again. I said how far I finished example, have you guys had somebody? I beat that rule still available, but of course the rule was not available. But either way, we guys congratulate her. You can see that full up game, you know, it's tight. Full up game is on point because it's possible that you have somebody and then after like that two weeks, the thing doesn't work out.

They're ready to hire again. You know, since she already did interview the first time and I thought she was a good candidate. Skills on points, work ethic on points. You know, this is what the head chef told her. You know, it should have been an easy showing, but then no, they were still not looking for somebody for the job. I know. See, this is what I mean when I say how when it comes to doing sales, we're just trying to increase the odds in our favour.

So it's not a guarantee that because you follow up or take actions or follow your process, it's not a guarantee that the team will click. But The thing is we just keep doing what we do, increase the odds in our favour. And once in a while, you know, a couple of things add up. And then if you get good at getting repeat business, getting referrals, then you can see how you know you can get something, get something good going.

And we just put it that way anyway. So even though that two weeks no expire now, like a sharp girl that she is, she didn't stop there. She reached out again. She was the the woman, the head chef. Now the scope was relationship building when the chef didn't respond to that call. And you know, that was just the update pretty much. But now you can see what I mean when I say that there's some people who are doing good sales practice, but they just don't know that they're doing good sales practice.

It's one of my thesis of starting this podcast that there are lots of people who are doing well at business or who are going to be very good at business because they have good sales practice. They just don't know. Now this follow up that she's doing like this, I don't know whether you know how Mumsy taught her because I think how Mumsy was also involved in catering business. So I don't know whether it's something that Mumsy taught her or she just figured it out herself.

But actually this is pretty good sales practice. So for those of you who have businesses, you see how the thing, you see how it works, like you tried, you didn't get it. You now put the person in a relationship building queue or a relationship nurturing queue so that once in a while you guys are hearing from each other, you people are seeing, you guys are knowing each other, you're building relationship, you're staying familiar because you don't know tomorrow something can click.

So good, good ploy there on Wonder Woman's, Wonder Woman's part. Now the only response I gave to Wonder Woman was like, you know, pretty good, well done. You've done pretty good up till now. By the way, when it comes to sales and business in general, when we say you've done pretty good, it doesn't necessarily mean you got the money or you got the job or you got the whatever. If you followed your process, regardless of whether the outcome was good or not, it's pretty good because at least you are demonstrating to yourself that you have discipline and you're able to keep to the process.

So if you're able to exercise discipline, all well and good. So even that one, you have to give yourself a smack because The thing is, it's from being consistent and disciplined over time that the results are going to come. So this is not one of those things. It's not like football that, you know, you scored the goal good, you didn't score the goal, but you know, like you just continue with the process. So long as you continue with the process, no idea, results will come.

So my right style was, you know, Oh well, I'm good. But the only thing I added was, OK, next time you try buzzing somebody, they don't answer. Don't don't just leave it like that because if you buzz, you call the person, they don't answer and then you just leave it. It's as if you never called. Don't forget. So every time you buzz, they don't answer. Send a text message sharply or WhatsApp message. And I even told her, look, you know what, since this thing didn't work out, you know how to be in touch with this head chef.

So the very scope that we use now for this first message will be, you know, that whole good evening, ma'am, blah blah blah was a pleasure experience. The interview, nice getting to know you, nice getting to learn blah, blah blah. I'd appreciate recommendations, you know, other head chefs that, you know, for people who are looking for a sous chef, looking for an assistant chef, you know, that kind of thing. Then that's the kind of message that you just send like that.

You send it one time, then, you know, overtime we'll be able to come up with some more, some more ideas. But yeah, anyway, so that that was it then. And that was just a general gist of the of the advice that I gave her. And before we finish the church and now send me a message done. Like she already crafted something and she already sent it. Now you see, this is one of the reasons why I say Wonder Woman as per she's, she's bright,

she's taking action on shop shop. And you know, there's some people that I will say, you know, do this and they'll say, OK, you know, I'll do it tomorrow or something. But you can see that she took action on shop shop. So these are the things that help move things in one's favour. So summary, how can sales skills help with career advancement? From all the things we've been talking about now, Wonder Woman, you can see that career advancement, you know, last,

last. At the end of the day, it's also a sale because you're selling yourself on somebody to show that you are suitable for the position. So what she's doing now with head chef, you know, that woman is to show that this is a bright, sharp young lady who is persistent and who also has the skills in the kitchen. And so she's going to be suitable the next time another job comes up or the next time something comes up. So these are the kind of skills that you have to demonstrate in your place of work that will show that you are suitable for the job.

I mean, of course, you know, you need technical expertise because if one Oma was a rubbish cook, then none of this would be happening, you know. So definitely, you know, she has the skills, but then, you know, these are the extra stuff that you have to do to advance yourself in your career. So, yeah, so these are the sorts of skills that you need. Follow up game was on point. You know, that's good. OK. Some other recommendations I

would have given her, but I forgot to after the interview process. We should always reach out to say thank you very much for the opportunity. Now there are some kind of organizations that you won't have the opportunity to do that. Like if it's NNPC, for instance, NNPC, I'm sure they hire like when they're hiring, I'm sure they have maybe like 50,000 people are the short, you know, that kind of thing. OK, maybe like 5000, but you're not going to have the opportunity to be one-on-one with people in the interview pattern and you know those sorts of things.

Although if you're sharp, you try, you try a lot, you try your hand. Because like when my wife was being interviewed for the government role that she is in now was one of the things where she struck a chord with one of the interview panels. And she was like, oh, I really told the lady, how did she go again? Like, I really admire you, the steps you've taken to build your career, something, something, blah, blah, blah. Regardless of whether this thing works out or not.

Can I have your phone number? I would love to keep you in touch. So that's how my wife got number of somebody who was on the interview panel. So you know, you guys be thinking sharp, sharp. So these are ways that you get somebody in the inside. And then this is how you can now reach out later on to now say, oh, thank you very much. Well, thank you very much for the opportunity. It was a wonderful time being there, the panel, I enjoyed the interaction, the things that I

learned from you guys, you know, blah, blah, blah. So after that initial interview session, you have to reach out. Thank you very much for the opportunity. That scope, that's the scope of the first message. Eventually you reach out some other time and you say, oh, by the way, I forgot to ask during the interview panel, was there anything I could have done? I could have done better, You know, all these sorts of things.

If you're reaching out to people on the interview committee, you know, these are some of the things that will make you stand out because let's let's be real, this is Niger. If 100 people go for the job interview and this send all of your letters saying, oh, sorry, we have applied, we have selected somebody else. There is nobody in that set that is going to reach out to people in the interview panel to say thank you very much for the opportunity, it was a pleasure working with you people, blah,

blah, blah. Oh, by the way, is there anything I could have done better? I mean, these are some small, small things that just make you stand out. So the job is given to one person by you. You're fine up with people on the interview panel after this sort of thing. You'll say that's a very sharp girl over there. Then I keep your CV someplace or did I have your phone number handy The next time that is opening in the department is all remember that shop gallery.

OK, no problem. Let's let's let's give her a buzz. If she doesn't have a job, let her come and try again for this set. You can see that you know already you're now standing one step above your peers. So follow up game evolved after interview processes. Thank you very much for the opportunity. Another scope will be, is there stuff I could have done better? If you're one of those people who has been selected to go to the next step, you, you should reach out to the interview panel if you're able to get somebody's phone number.

Thank you very much. I'm honoured, I'm really happy. What's the next step for successful candidates? What will be required of what, you know, that sort of thing. If you don't get it, you know, thank you very much. Blah, blah, blah. And then like in one of all man's case, you know, would you have any recommendation, you know, any recommendation, you know, that's because you know, you are not successful. But anyway, like I said, this is a rambling episode.

So I'm not giving a very concise script about how you suppose run these things. But at least I hope you guys are getting an idea about how you can tackle these sorts of things. I mean, from a sales perspective, because these are the sorts of things that a salesperson will do, you know, whether we land the gig or we don't land the gig. In summary, it's hard trying to balance school, trying to balance side hustle. So bottom line for Wonder Woman and for those of you in Wonder Woman's situation, do not be discouraged.

This is a learning experience and you are getting lots of transferable skills that is going to help you dear Wonder Woman and other people. You're learning time and self management. You're learning relationship building, you're learning networking, you're learning persistent follow through. I don't like the word follow up, you know, for different reasons. And in fact, in the traditional sales community, we don't say follow up, we say follow through My last podcast on episode, you know, on it's own.

So you're learning persistent follow through. And at the end of the day, you become a better woman at the end of the process. So I didn't realize this thing until there was this babe in my uni back when I went over you. She she was in medical department. So let me know, use her real name. Let me just call Francis. So at the time Francis was dating this guy and they used to do barbecue and suya and you know, stuff like that.

And I don't go and sell outside female hostels. And you know, at that time, so I was we thought were too cool. We thought were to fly like, you know, when uni now you're a big boy, you're a big girl. How you going to be selling Suya shawarma in front of girls hostel like you somehow now? And The thing is Francis and that guy didn't marry Sha. So the guy married somebody else. Francis married somebody else. But later on, years later, I

will join Francis in Abuja and found out that she's supplying chicken to one of the megastores here in Abuja. She supplies, you know, like they have the poultry. You take the chicken, you know, the every, every, you know, kill it. Butcher ate baguettes, you know, everything, you know. And he's then the thing just click like, Oh, no wonder if I'm doing business small, small. Back in OAU, you do Shama, you do Suya, you know, small, small,

small. That is what now eventually led to her being a major supplier of chicken to megastores in Abuja. So back in the uni days when you're trying to run this thing now, of course, medicine is not is not beans now like medicine is hard. So when you're trying to run your medical degree, you're trying to balance relationship, you're trying to balance this your side horse, side horse line and everything. It might seem discouraging, but you don't know how this is that you're sewing is going to lead to you becoming a better woman,

a correct babe, a boss chick like 1520 years down the line. You don't know, just start it. Of course, you know, say your prayers, you know, we all need help and we all trust that God is going to bless the work of our hands. So my recommendations to any of my sisters listening to this podcast, Well, of course not my blood sisters, but I mean, you know what I mean sisters as far as like Esperio Decor, those of us who are we are like 1 minded.

Some of my sisters who are listening to this podcast episode, please keep listening. Even if you haven't figured out your business idea or even if you haven't figured out your side hustle idea, or maybe you have figured out one or two things. You're still trying to run it, but you haven't validated it. You don't know if this thing will work. Like it doesn't matter, you know, even if shy, you're doing nine to five, you're thinking I

might want to do business, I might not want to do business. Just hang in there, you know, keep listening, keep jogging, keep juggling, keep ideating, keep thinking, keep trying, keep executing. Even if you don't try any business thing, it will still be good for your career too. Bottom line is just hang in there. Everything that needs balancing, just balance in the morning, say your prayers because it's not easy. And then you continue with the grind and all these things.

Now for those of you, you need people. I mean, trust me, you can't say it now, but this is the beginning of you being boss chick 1520 years down the line. So just hang in there. So if you'd love to connect with me for a strategy session for a business audit or you have questions you'd love for me to answer. The number to call is 08064662140. The country code is +234. For those of you who are not Nigerian, that's my WhatsApp number.

You can reach me there as well. Then connect with me on LinkedIn. That is the only social that I am on. I'm not on any other social. The name to look for establishing my IED. Then also have a YouTube channel. With the same name, Tavi Shima IED, you find a bunch of my videos there, especially when back when I was trying to try out Tiktok and Instagram videos and all that. So even though I've deleted all my accounts, I still have some of those videos there.

So you can get to go and see some of the old stuff from like 5, maybe six years back. So that's it. Thank you very much for your time and attention. I'll catch you guys at the next recording. Oh, and by the way, as of today's today's date, this is 10th of March. International Women's Day was 2 days ago. That was March 8th, 2025. So if you're listening to this in 2026, you know I'm not talking about the current International Women's Day.

I'm talking about, you know, the one prior. So March 8th, 2025, that was a Saturday, I think that was International Women's Day. So happy International Women's Day to all my sisters, all my mummies, all my aunties, all my smallies, all my buddies, all my cousins, all my sisters in Christ, all my Muslim sisters, all my everybody who is listening to this episode. Happy International Women's Day to you all. It is my hope and it is my prayer that God will see us through as we advance in our businesses, advance in our careers, advance in our marriages, advance in whatever state, state in life that we choose to explore.

So that's it for today. I'll catch you guys at the next episode.