At the Jobberman Lagos Remote Work Fest 2025, experts insisted that African professionals must present themselves not merely as job seekers, but as value creators to compete and succeed in the global remote work arena, as recruitment beyond borders keeps increasing.

Speaking during a fireside chat titled ‘Hiring Beyond Borders: What Global Employers Look For When Hiring from Africa’, panellists urged talent to prioritise excellence, communication and ownership, while advising employers to rethink how they structure and support distributed teams.

Moderated by Damilola Olude, senior recruitment consultant at Jobberman Nigeria, the session had Seun Owolabi, co-founder and head of strategy at Propel, and Olamide Adeyeye, country head of programmes at Jobberman.

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Your work is your passport

Adeyeye opened the discussion by challenging young professionals to rethink how they approach opportunity. He argued that global roles rarely emerge from formal pathways alone, saying, “Most of the opportunities I’ve had came from moments when I simply volunteered or supported someone. You cannot wait for permission, because that mindset will hold you back.”

Reflecting on his career across West Africa, he explained that meaningful connections can be as powerful as technical qualifications. “Sometimes it is a casual conversation at an event that leads to a life-changing interview. Community builds careers,” he said.

On the standards expected in global roles, Adeyeye issued a clear warning: “Remote work is the Champions League. Excellence is the minimum. It’s a moving target, and you must reinforce your skills the same way top football clubs reinforce their squads.”

He also urged talents working in multicultural teams to ask for support when needed. “If you’re the only remote person in an on-site team, request immersion programmes. Without it, you risk becoming out of sight, out of mind.”

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Remote work is a virtual relationship

Owolabi centred his remarks on communication, calling it “the most important skill in global work.” He compared remote roles to long-distance relationships: “If communication is slow or inconsistent, trust breaks down, and trust is everything. Even during interviews, late responses signal unreliability.”

He encouraged what he described as ‘over-communication’,  particularly in asynchronous teams. “Your only visibility is your communication. Global teams need updates on progress, blockers, next steps, not silence,” he said.

Owolabi also highlighted ownership as a decisive differentiator. He recounted winning a major contract early in his career by going beyond the brief: “I built the entire solution before the pitch meeting. That’s how you stand out; by showing what you can do, not just saying it.”

Touching on the future of work, he emphasised the need for creativity in a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. “AI has automated the predictable tasks. The future belongs to those who can work with systems, who can apply context, think creatively, and co-create with technology.”

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Early response often determines who gets shortlisted

As a recruiter, Olude offered a front-line perspective on what top employers expect from African candidates. She explained that responsiveness often determines who gets shortlisted.

“I once contacted candidates at 11 p.m. The first three people who responded made the shortlist. Those who replied hours later were already too late. That’s how fast-paced global recruitment is,” she said.

She added that time-zone flexibility is no longer optional. “You may have interviews at odd hours because your team is in Singapore or San Francisco. Global work requires adaptability. Reliability is seen in how you show up.”

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Stronger personal branding, visible portfolios, and proactive networking

The conversation ended with a series of practical recommendations.

For talents, the speakers urged a shift in thinking. As Adeyeye put it: “Stop asking how to get a remote job. Start asking how to become undeniably valuable to a global team.” They called for stronger personal branding, deliberate skill-building, visible portfolios, and proactive networking.

For employers, Olude and Owolabi advised pivoting from activity monitoring to productivity-based evaluation, designing roles for asynchronous collaboration, and creating structured immersion opportunities for distributed workers. They also stressed the need to hire for communication, ownership and problem-solving rather than credentials alone.

The session underscored a central message, which is that Africa has the talent to compete globally, but competitiveness depends on mindset, excellence and communication.