Filtered Out: How Algorithms Are Blocking Nigerian Job Seekers

For the average job seeker in Nigeria, spending nights at a cybercafé tweaking your CV, sending hundreds of applications, and still hearing nothing back has become a norm. Not even a polite rejection. Just silence. And for many Nigerian graduates, it feels less like job hunting and more like shouting into a digital void. Could it be that the people meant to see their applications aren’t people at all, but algorithms?

How Hiring Became Automated

Globally, the hiring process has shifted from human judgement to algorithmic gatekeeping. Applicant tracking systems (ATS), automation tools, and AI-powered filters now decide who even makes it to a recruiter’s desk. In the U.S. and U.K., surveys already show job seekers feel ghosted by bots. And in Nigeria, the trend is catching on quickly. A 2024 report revealed that 68% of Nigerian businesses now use some form of HR automation, while another survey showed that 70% of Nigerians online have tried generative AI tools, often for work tasks like writing and CV prep.

It makes sense really. With thousands of applicants chasing a single vacancy, for instance, up to 15,000 graduates applying for one trainee role in major Nigerian corporates, employers are overwhelmed. Automation helps them cope. But the result is a hiring market that feels less human, more mechanical, and arguably less fair.

Applying into a Black Hole

Ask any young Nigerian job seeker, and they’ll tell you the same story. You spend days crafting an application, press send, and within seconds you get an auto-response. Weeks later, nothing. “It’s like applying into a black hole,” one graduate from UNILAG told me. “If you don’t know the right keywords to trick the system, your CV is dead on arrival.”

On the flip side, many job seekers are now using AI themselves to fight fire with fire. Tools like ChatGPT help candidates tailor CVs to job postings, draft cover letters, or even prep for interview questions. It gives them a fighting chance in an overcrowded market. But it also raises new fears: if everyone is submitting AI-polished CVs, how do recruiters know who can really do the job?

Employers and Applicants Both Lose

Here’s the paradox:

• Employers complain about AI-fabricated CVs and fear hiring someone who looks good on paper but lacks skills in reality.
  
• Applicants complain about being unfairly filtered out by AI systems, often without their CV ever being read by a human.
  

This double-edged sword creates frustration on both sides. Employers spend money on tools that don’t always deliver better hires, while applicants feel invisible, demoralised, and locked out of opportunities. Worse still, bias in AI systems means qualified candidates could be screened out simply because their CVs don’t fit the “algorithmic mould”.

Turning AI into a Fairness Tool

But there’s another way to see it. AI doesn’t have to destroy fairness; it could improve it. Instead of scanning for keywords, smarter systems could highlight overlooked talent. Skills-based assessments, for example, are already being tested by Nigerian startups to measure real competence rather than paper qualifications.

For job seekers, AI can be more than a cheat sheet. It can be a coach, helping them structure CVs, improve grammar, or even simulate interview practice. And for employers, AI could be a tool to widen the net, spotting raw potential instead of reinforcing elitist patterns like only hiring from certain universities.

Building a Smarter Hiring Market

So, how do we fix the Nigerian hiring machine? A few ideas stand out:

1. Skills over keywords – Recruiters should invest in tools that test actual ability, not just buzzword-loaded CVs. Coding tests, writing tasks, and situational judgment exercises work better than an ATS filter.
   
2. Transparency in the process – Employers must communicate with candidates. Even an automated rejection email that feels human is better than silence.
   
3. Responsible AI use – Job seekers should use AI to polish, not fabricate. An AI-generated CV can help present your skills better, but lying about what you can do will backfire at interviews.
   
4. Career resilience – Nigerian youth must treat AI as a partner, not a replacement. Learning prompt engineering, digital literacy, and basic data skills can give them an edge in navigating an AI-driven job market.
   

Your CV vs. The Algorithm

At the end of the day, the Nigerian job hunt is no longer just applicant versus employer; it’s applicant versus algorithm. Yet AI doesn’t have to mean doom. It could even be a bridge if we use it with balance, fairness, and honesty.

So, the next time you send in that CV, ask yourself: is the algorithm your enemy or your ally? In 2025, the answer could determine whether your application makes it to a human at all.

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