Introduction

Given my upbringing, I may have been inclined towards a wayward, impoverished, and potentially delinquent path. Growing up in Jakande Estate during a pivotal period in my life, I found myself in a challenging environment located in the Eti-osa local government of Lagos state, Nigeria. Despite the name "estate," Jakande Estate lacked proper housing infrastructure and basic amenities, and as such, was predominantly occupied by individuals of modest means ranging from lower-middle to poor class. It was a typical rural area, fraught with social vices such as cultism, drug abuse, prostitution, and incessant noise from religious organizations day and night.

Being raised in such an environment had a profound effect on my life, and I attribute 70% of my experiences to my surroundings. Genetics accounts for the remaining percentage. It goes without saying that coming from such a background presents unique challenges and hardships, but it also provided me with valuable life lessons and taught me to be resilient and tenacious in pursuit of my goals.

During my time living in Jakande Estate, I never felt proud to reveal my place of residence. Instead, I would simply state that I lived in Lekki. It was during this realization that I understood something was amiss. While physically present in Jakande, I was not truly immersed in its culture. I spent most of my time indoors, only occasionally venturing outside to play football. I had no close friends and only a handful of acquaintances. I share this article today to inspire others and demonstrate that one can achieve greatness by setting personal standards.

To better understand the dynamics at play, let us take a step back and examine the closely related concepts of Culture, Society, and Environment. Culture refers to the ideas, customs, and social behavior of a particular people or society. Society, on the other hand, is the collective of individuals living together in a more or less structured community. Environment refers to the surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates. A child born into a society not only learns the positive aspects of the culture but may also pick up negative traits from their parents, friends, teachers, and strangers. It takes significant self-mastery to remain unaffected by one's environment.

The motivation.

It's remarkable how a single day, a single moment, or a single event can alter one's life in significant ways. In my case, three events occurred that inspired me to strive for a better life. The first event took place during my high school days when my seat-mate refused to lend me his notebook, fearing that I might misplace it. If you have attended a public secondary school in Nigeria, you would likely relate to this experience.

Despite being smart, I was too playful, which affected my grades. However, even with my lack of focus, I managed to rank third out of 169 students from JSS1 to the second term of JSS3. On the other hand, my seat-mate was equally smart, more focused, and always came first. His handwriting was neat and tidy, and teachers often left their notebooks with him for copying. He would transfer the notes to his own book before writing them on the board. Not only was he book-smart, but he also knew how to avoid lending his notes to people without saying no.

Due to my pride, I never asked him to lend me his notes, believing that I was just as smart as he was. However, one day, I decided to ask him, and he used his emotional intelligence to refuse my request, knowing that I could misplace or damage his notebook. When I got home that day, I felt sad and had a long period of self-evaluation. It was then that I motivated myself to do better, became more organised, drew closer to him, reduced my playfulness, became his friend, and even started leaving school at the same time as him.

During the period of our close friendship, I observed the unique way in which my friend wrote his notes. I admired the neatness and precision, and how he would occasionally add a footnote marked "N.B" to his writing. I was inspired to follow suit. We had two terms left to complete our junior school, and I aimed to perform as well as my friend. I knew that it would be a challenging task, but I remained undaunted. I spent long hours studying, locking myself up in my room and burning the midnight oil. In the end, I came second in the penultimate term, not too far from him. However, I doubled my effort for the final term, and I believe that my friend saw me as a challenge. We scored the same marks or were one mark apart from each other since the mid-term test. When the final term ended, I emerged the top scorer, while he came second. Although the difference in our scores was negligible, it was enough to give me a slight edge and claim the top position.

The second event that triggered a re-evaluation of my future path occurred during my penultimate year at the University of Benin, Nigeria, when I encountered challenges in securing a place for my SIWES (Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme). As a Chemical Engineering student, I had aspired to work for oil firms like Shell, NNPC Mobil, or Total. To achieve this goal, I learned how to code, specializing in web development with JavaScript and learning Java and other programming languages and concepts. Although I had applied to the SIWES program of these top companies and others, I was not optimistic about my chances of success. Without any insider connections, it was challenging to secure a placement in these firms through regular applications, regardless of one's intelligence. Passing the tests administered through the Dragnet portal that most of these companies used was also difficult. As the semester drew closer, I began to worry as my classmates had already resumed their placements for SIWES, mostly through their connections. Despite continuing my applications for months, I had yet to secure a placement. I even received an offer to sell fuel for a church member at a filling station, which I found upsetting. I was running out of options and had spent half my IT semester searching for a placement. Finally, a friend recommended me for a placement at the Nigeria Gas Company, where I secured a position two months before the end of the semester. This experience made me realize that I needed to put in more effort to become a software engineer, and it was a turning point for me.

The third and final experience that motivated me to pursue my dreams of being a world-class developer occurred when I discovered that a friend from university, David, had moved to London and was working with Apple as a swift developer. I had always aspired to work in a global environment, but I doubted my abilities and felt unprepared to compete in top firms like the Big Five (FAANG). My self-doubt made me more comfortable working with Nigerian companies, but the news of David's success was the push I needed to strive for excellence. Although I realized that it would not be easy, I subscribed to an Algoexpert package that provided data structures and algorithm questions, big-o notation, and interview preparation tips. I bought a whiteboard to place on the wall of my room and downloaded "Cracking the coding interview" by Gayle Laakmann McDowell. I spent hours solving problems, focusing on the time and space complexity of my solutions, rather than brute force. I was determined to achieve a similar level of success to David's.

I began exploring international opportunities for amusement and while I received invitations to attend their interviews and participate in their algorithms, I also faced many rejections (haha). I gained insights from each interview on how to respond to their questions, what to say, and what to avoid saying. It was a process that I truly relished. I was no longer intimidated by interviews - I would sometimes ask myself, what's the worst that could happen? That they would reject me? I had already conditioned my mind to handle this outcome. I was not only technically prepared, but also mentally prepared. Did I experience sadness from the rejections? Yes, I was disheartened by some of them. I recall my interview with Strapi, where I felt confident that I would succeed. I had made it to the final two stages of the recruitment process when I was declined. It was painful, but I didn't dwell on it for long because I needed to be ready for the next interview. If there was one constant in my journey, it was that I was continuously improving my skills in data structure, algorithms, and soft skills.

Moving to Amsterdam

Because of the ‘never give up’ spirit in me, I was always ready and looking for the next opportunity which I was confident would eventually come. My Journey to Amsterdam started when my girlfriend, Joanna, who also is a software engineer shared a linkedin link with me. As usual I felt I wasn’t good enough but she insisted I apply. I remember forgetting to apply for the job but she reminded me to give it a try and I am glad I did.

Recruiting steps

I applied to Lunatech Labs, a company that specializes in building and managing software for its clients across three countries; Netherlands(Amsterdam and Rotterdam), Germany(Berlin) and France(Chessy). They simplify IT solutions for their clients like ING, DHL,TOYOTA ,Audi, etc. As it is on their website, the recruiting process takes 6 steps namely: CV Review,Getting to know each other, Technical Interview,

Technical assessment review, Final Interview, Offer is made or not. I would try to share my experience as best as I can with every step of the interview.

CV Review

As stated on their website, “Our technical team reviews your technical skills and see if you can move to the next step. If not, now is not the right time, we do not have a project that suits you or you do not have the technical level yet, and in this case we will keep in touch later”. 

I submitted my application sometime around Feb 2022. Before submitting my application I wanted to be sure that I wasn’t making any mistakes, so I spent a few days reviewing my CV. A common practice I do in reviewing my CV is to send a copy to  Joanna who is very good at reviewing and making corrections. Beyond being grammatically correct and matching the standard of cvs, I also wanted to make sure I can defend whatever on my CV. I applied for the Java developer role in the Amsterdam location and they got back to me after 3 weeks for the next step.

Getting to know each other

When they got back to me, I wanted to be sure I didn’t mess this up and put up a great first impression so I was trying to know what to expect. Luckily for me, Joanna introduced me to a previous colleague of hers, Chris Eteka, who currently works with Lunatech. He briefed me on what to expect like salary expectations and general tips on how to approach the interview questions. I was confident and went ahead to schedule an interview date using the calendly invite link. I generally like scheduling interviews 1 week ahead and in the morning 10am - 12am as that is the time I feel more refreshed and alert. 

On the day of the interview I made sure I wasn’t getting the time-zone mixed up because I have made such mistakes in the past. My time zone was WAT (GMT + 1) behind that of the Netherlands which is CET (GMT + 2). Even though it was an online interview, I woke up early, bathed, wore one of my expensive clothes, made sure I was using a stable Internet service provider (MTN), made sure my devices were charged and my environment had enough light.  When it was time, I made sure I joined 5 mins earlier than the time and was very confident. The company was introduced to me, what they do, their clients and I also introduced myself and talked about my experience and my skills. I was also asked how I heard of lunatech and my salary expectation.  The interview ended with me trying to show the interviewer that I was the right candidate and ready to go through to the next stage. It’s worth mentioning that I tried to show that I was passionate about joining the company without being over-zealous.

Technical Interview

They got back with an invitation to take a technical assessment on github. It was quite challenging and it had to do with lots of data. The challenge was to be completed in one week. I read about the challenge, did some research, read some articles and started the assessment on time. I made sure every line of code I was writing was needed, I tried to show my knowledge of software development with my design of the program. I wrote documentation, unit and integration tests where needed and I took note of those things I would do if the application were to scale up in both performance and useability. I completed the project and raised a PR and it was reviewed and they got back to me for the next stage of the recruiting process.

Technical assessment review

In this step of  the recruiting process, I was asked to make a presentation of the solution to the assessment that was sent to me, I walked them through the entire codebase, and demo-ed the application. They also checked for the correctness by using their own inputs and it gave them the result they were expecting. They identified a few problems and asked that I fix it on the call. This is the part you don’t want to get wrong because it can mean that you didn’t understand the problem you are fixing or that you just copied from somewhere. I tried to fix the problem and went beyond to explain some things. I remember having a little disagreement with the interviewer; it was about https status code that was returned by my API. I gave an explanation why I was using that status and they agreed that it made sense in that context. They also asked some system design interview questions which were simple to answer. The interview ended with me having mixed feelings if they would get back to me. I believed I did well but you never can tell what the interviewer was looking for. I waited for some days to get a response from the recruiting team and they got back to me with positive feedback, I jumped up and was filled with excitement.

Final Interview

This interview for me is the most deciding interview amongst every other interview. You can be good technically and still not get employed. When companies hire, they not only check if your skills and experience are the right fit, they also check if you fit in the values and culture of the company. I joined this interview bearing in mind that this can as well be the end of the journey for me. I was in the meeting with the top staff of Lunatech. It was an online meeting but it felt like it was in-person. My face was displayed on a big screen  with questions coming from the interviewing team. I tried to answer the questions sincerely. Due to the company policy, I am not allowed to share more details of this interview. On a general note I would say be honest with your answers, show interest in the company, ask questions and be confident.

Offer is made or not

After I had the final interview, I was told they would get back to me with an offer or not. I was worried, anxious and waiting to get an email from them. It felt like forever waiting for this mail to come. The email finally came and I got the job. The Job came with relocation sponsorship. I was so happy that day. I have never been that happy in my whole life. I jumped around the house singing, dancing and even had a little get-together with my flatmates. It was a day I would never forget!

Preparing traveling documents

I would also like to give you some heads up on preparing your traveling documents. As it is with any type of employment with relocation sponsorship, you would need to provide some documents required by the company for pre-employment checks, visa application processing and right to work in that country. Before you get to this point you would have been briefed about these requirements and you must have given consents during one of the previous interviews for them to go ahead with you. 

The HR of Lunatech would ask that you submit some documents such as birth-certificate, diploma certificate, school references, CV, employment reference, police record and ask you to fill out a questionnaire online through another company that handles the pre-employment checks, this company would use the information you’ve given them to see if your documents are valid. They would report their findings of what they found to Lunatech. They only report what they found about you based on the information you have submitted. They do this by consulting your references,  international record, your government and publicly available data. 

Once the result of the pre-screening is out, Lunatech would apply for your work permit  and your visa on your behalf. You would be asked to submit a soft-copy of your international passport and also asked to fill an expat work permit form in accordance with Dutch law before being able to work in the Netherlands. 

If your work permit is approved, you would be asked to submit your international passport and a MVV form which should be properly filled and submitted to the Netherland embassy so as to process your MVV Visa ( long stay visa ) which is also known as an authorisation for temporary stay. There are only two possible locations where this visa can be processed. You either go to Ghana or Cotonou. Visiting the embassy is strictly by appointment. Make sure you schedule an appointment ahead once your pre-screening is complete because the embassy is always fully booked.  The whole of this process from the time you accept the offer to the time your passport is stamped takes roughly 2 months.  In all of this process, you won’t be paying for anything. Lunatech would cover all costs except for your flight ticket which you would be responsible for. I would advise you to book your flight some weeks before traveling so as to reduce the cost.

Experience so far in Lunatech

Lunatech boasts in their flat organization structure, where there is no team-lead or direct manager. At Lunatech, we believe that you should be your own manager and not be chased or asked for an update on a task, this doesn’t mean that there aren’t things in place to check for employee growth or performance. My experience in Lunatech has been great thus far. I have learnt a new language (Scala) with a certification, completed a data-ingestion project using Scala, cassandra and Akka. I have many courses such as CKAD, Effective Functional programming in Scala, Play Framework with scala. If you are looking to work, grow in your field and learn from amazing people who are always ready to help then I am inviting you to apply to Lunatech today! 

Conclusion

Before I complete this piece of mine I would like to share a challenge I faced that would have made this journey impossible if not for the intervention of God (Yes God !).  I believe in God hence I am attributing this break-through to him because there is no other explanation to what happened to me other than his intervention. Some time around October 2021, I applied for  my international passport with the hope of it being ready in 2-3 months. The intention was to start giving international vacancies a shot. I was called two weeks later for capturing and thumb-printing. After this phase, I was supposed to get my passport by January 2022 exactly 2 months later. I had a “supposed insider” from Nigeria Immigration Service who was updating me with the status of my Int’Passport whose service was paid for. January 2022 came and went and he kept telling me that my Int’Passport was in encoding. After encoding it was supposed to be produced and ready for collection. 

I kept asking bi-weekly from that time till march and I was still told the same thing. By April I became worried and started visiting the NIS office every week. Everytime I go to their office they keep telling me that my passport is ready for collection but they can’t find it. Like how ? How can a passport be ready and you can’t find it? According to different officers on duty I met each day after searching they would tell me they can’t find it and advise me to make an official complaint of a missing passport. During this time I was already in the recruiting process of Lunatech and I was worried. In May, 2022  I got the offer and I didn’t have my Intl Passport. It felt like this was the end of the road for me. I was scared that Nigeria would happen to me as people do say. How can I tell someone that I got a job outside of the country and NIS said my Intl Passport was missing? It wasn’t long before Lunatech contacted me and asked me to upload my Intl Passport which I didn’t have. I had only two weeks to produce this passport. 

I went to the NIS office in Ikoyi with my elder sister. We almost created a scene there when one officer told us that my passport had already been collected on my behalf. We were told that if we wanted our case to be handled seriously then we should meet a high ranking officer, we met different officers and they kept referring us to the next high ranking officer till we were referred to the Boss of NIS at Ikoyi. We were told that we must have an appointment before we could see him. My sister and I insisted on seeing him while explaining our situation to them. They then directed us to another man and said if the man doesn’t help out then they would book an appointment with the boss. 

I went in with the man to the collection room. This man didn’t spend much time and my passport was produced; it seemed like it was hidden by someone. I was surprised, wondering  how come ? Till today  I still can’t explain how my passport was brought out without stress; the same passport that different officers had gone in to look for for months and came back with the same response that they couldn't find it. I can only attribute this to God’s intervention! I attribute my journey, my success and break-through to God!