Some trivia before we begin. Answers are at the bottom of this newsletter. 

A CV—short for Curriculum Vitae—is a document that briefly summarises your work experience for prospective employers.

They’re basically sales pitches that tell employers why they should buy hire you. 

In many cases, CVs are the first impressions of the corporate world; they’re the first thing your bosses and managers will learn about you. 

So to make a great first impression, you have to ensure your CV stands out. 

How do you curate resumes/CVs that shine? We spoke to two HR executives and here’s what Chiazagom Anisiebo and Felix Bissong have to say.

1. Show results

A great CV is the enemy of a math teacher—you have to show your results without focusing on the workings. In the tech world, what matters is what you’re able to build and how fast you’re able to build it. If you’re applying for a role as a product manager, your CV must show how many [successful] products you have built.

“We want to see your achievement, not your job description. It’s also important that your achievements are quantifiable,” says Bissong.

Instead of just stating what you did in old jobs, show what your efforts produced. Here’s an example:

Responsible for building a newsletter product. 

Contributed to the 4x growth of a digital product within my first 18 months in the role.

Measurable metrics—results—are what matter, and they’ll make your CV stand out.

2. Add only essential information

You may have heard this before but your CV is not your autobiography. It’s your corporate FAQ. 

Only essential information regarding your corporate or work history should be added. Take out information like your date of birth, your primary and secondary schools, marital status, and your physical addresses.

“A lot of people have unnecessary information in their CVs. The thing is, only relevant job experiences should be in your CV. A lot of times, you don’t even need to add all your past roles, especially when they don’t align with the role you’re applying to,” Anisiebo says.

Your CV is selling you and your skills to potential employers. It’s the real-life elevator pitch!

3. One size doesn’t fit all

CVs are not like wristwatches, one size type does not fit all. You have to create CVs for every job you’re applying to.

The CV you send to TechCabal is not the one you’ll send to Zikoko. Each job has key requirements, and if your CV doesn’t measure up to them, it’ll be tossed aside.

For every job you apply to, modify your CV to showcase the skills and requirements they’re looking for, if you have them. 

Both Anisiebo and Bisssong agree with the sentiment. For Anisiebo, she says “The goal is to create a CV that will get you in the door. Your CV should be crafted with keywords that match those in the job descriptions. If they don’t match, the HR Information System (HRIS) will not pick it up”

If you’ve applied for jobs recently, you’ll notice that companies use sites like Bamboo HR, SeamlessHR or Lever to collect applications. These sites use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to qualify or disqualify candidates based on how their CVs match the job description. So if you have just one CV, you’re probably going to get a lot of nos. 

There are tools like JobScan and SkillSyncer that help make sure your CV has the right keywords for a job application.

From Bissong’s view, the way to go about this is to first understand the sector, then the company, and finally the job description. “Edit your CV to fit the role, align your professional experience to the job description” he says.

For example, a data analyst job might call for expertise in the Python language. A CV that states “proficient in all data languages” will not scale through, but one that specifically mentions proficiency in Python will.

To be clear, we’re not asking you to lie about your skills. We’re asking you to make sure you specify the skills you have that match the job’s requirements.

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4. Size matters

In today’s trivia, you’ll learn how long the average recruiters spend on one CV. A hint: it’s not that long.

Like tech recruiter Joseph Gichuhi said in this edition of #EnteringTech, recruiters get hundreds and sometimes thousands of applications, depending on the role. The longer your CV is, the less time recruiters will have to focus on key aspects of your application.

The optimal length of a CV should be two to three pages.

5. Choose the right format

Finally, the format of your CV will also play a role in which jobs you get interviewed for. You need to make sure your CV is styled to the global standard.

This means no spelling errors, no wrong punctuation marks, and no—we can’t stress this enough—Comic Sans font! Choose a legible or standard font like Arial, Times New Roman, Garamond, or Open Sans. No cursive or showy fonts are needed—unless of course, you’re applying to be a clown. 

In our conversation, Bissong gave a step-by-step analysis of how your CV should be formatted. “The first thing we’ll see is your professional summary or header, that’s what piques my interest,” he said. And this part should be short, the recruiter said. “I often advise people to match the professional header or summary in their CVs to their LinkedIn headers.”

Next, you should list your professional experience in descending order. “What should be first is your current or immediate past role. And in it, you should add the dates of employment as well as your achievements in the role.” Bissong says every job experience you list should not exceed five lines and a minimum of three. 

The recruiter also talks about the importance of adding relevant certifications as a boost but urges applicants from adding references unless it’s specifically required.

Job hunting is undeniably hard, but we hope these tips will help you craft a compelling sales pitch for yourself. In closing our discussion, Anisiebo shared a final word we think everyone will benefit from, “If you apply and don’t the job, don’t take it personally. Oftentimes, it’s not a comment on your person or skill, it just means the company is looking for something different at the moment.”

Some trivia before we begin. Answers are at the bottom of this newsletter. 

I have documented my job search journey on LinkedIn and Twitter, and my goal is to share a well-rounded story. I hope that you gain one or two things that can apply to your job search, business, or brand.

I started off studying computer science at the University of Lagos (UniLag), but in 2018, I dropped out in my third year to pursue my dream of becoming an artist. I won’t go into details on how that went, but by 2021, after years of being an artist without any sponsor or record label, I decided to look for ways to make money. This time, I tried network marketing. I believe that our dreams change, and we should allow ourselves to pursue new dreams. 

By 2022, I switched roles again, and this time to tech—design. In a conversation about entering tech, my cousin, a full-stack developer, suggested I try product design. At the time, I didn’t even know what Figma was. But then I spent the whole of 2022 learning from free YouTube tutorials, Udemy and Coursera. I learned mostly UI design and had just a brief idea of UX design.

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A year later, I was ready for a job. In January 2023, I enrolled in a boot camp at Side Hustle to build an MVP for a startup idea, where I got my first taste of working on products.

I created a portfolio, and got a mentorship on ADPList where I spoke to mentors from Tesla, HomeDepot, and American Express. There’s a lot I learnt from these mentors from creating my core values to identifying industries I wanted to work in, but one of the most critical things that would help me down the line was creating a unique portfolio. “The job market is saturated,” they told me. “And if you want to stand out, you have to create something that’s different, something you’re passionate about. This way, even when you’re speaking about it, your passion will show.”

And that’s what I did. I created a portfolio that said something about my interests. In it, there’s a prototype for Moosic App, a music streaming platform that stems from my background as an artist (with songs being used in Nollywood films), a UX design for Google Chrome bookmarks, and even a brand design project for my sister’s scented candle shop. 

I designed things I was passionate about.

The work paid off. In November 2023, I clinched an interview with a construction startup that needed a designer for an app and a website.

Did I get that job? Yup. But I declined because it didn’t align with my career objectives. My mentors advised that even greenhorns with no experience can still stand firm on their core values, preferred industries, and dream workplaces.

I didn’t relent though. I consistently reached out HR departments and even had another interview in December 2023, and in January 2024—this month— I received two job offers! These jobs might have come a year after I started job hunting, but the seeds were sown in September 2023 when I changed strategies. Here’s what I did:

Starting in September, I started considering offline strategies for job hunting since the online approach wasn’t as fruitful. I shared my CV with everyone—friends, family even a bartender I once met. I would tell them to be on the lookout for UI/UX opportunities, and follow up with calls and texts.

In October, I volunteered at a conference, SwitchCon Africa, and strategically snagged the “green room” access to chat with speakers. I shook hands, and collected LinkedIn details, Twitter handles, and even phone numbers from every single one! (You never know.) One of the speakers—Chide Idoga—I met would be instrumental in helping me get my first job. She was the only one who would contact me weeks later, forward my CV to the HR team at the company she worked for, and hint at a possible internship.

I read an edition of #EnteringTech on the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) Programme and I applied. At that stage, I had two job interviews but no job offer. I was torn; it was painful, but then I received news, in November, that I had been selected for the 3MTT programme. 

By December, I posted the new certifications I got as part of 3MTT on Twitter and LinkedIn and the posts got zero engagement, but I didn’t think about it too much. But then, on New Year’s Eve, Minister Bosun Tijani—who created the 3MTT Programme—himself validated my LinkedIn post. I mentioned that I was looking for job opportunities, and the minister asked his network to view my profile and reach out if interested.

“Within a few hours, four different brands had asked for my CV, and by January 5, I had two job offers!”

Both were fully remote paid internships in my dream industries: edtech and data organisation/management. The company I eventually chose was Analytics Intelligence Africa. I’d met Chide, an Investor relations manager, who works there earlier in October, and she’d forwarded my CV to the HR department! I had been on their necks for 3 months, following up with the HR department. They finally sent me an employment letter when they noticed the minister’s spotlight on my profile. My discipline in 3MTT is UI/UX design, but I took additional artificial intelligence certifications just to impress the company.

This might sound weird and obsessive, but it makes perfect sense to a guy coming from a background in music and network marketing. The amount of “No”, “Stop trying”, and “Leave me alone” I had gotten from my time as an artist and a distributor cemented my hustle philosophy.

For anyone in a similar position, please keep at it. Try and FAIL repeatedly until the only option you can see is your win; when people say “No”, hear N.O.T.O. instead, or “Not on this occasion.”

People love tips, hacks, and tricks, and I am sure a few of the readers are wondering what I said in the 3 interviews that got me hired or what level of design expertise I have that made me stand out. For me, I know my secret is aggressive learning. Learning is a hobby for me. I know that sounds silly, but instead of doing the normal things others do when trying to relax, I open a book, watch an informative video, listen to a podcast, or start an online course. And like I mentioned, building an intention portfolio with passion projects also defined my path. 

In conclusion, let me share my top resources from 2023, for life and UI/UX design. First, of course, is Entering Tech. It’s a newspaper for the tech era. Our parents often whine about us missing the news, but influencers know every detail about YouTube millionaires. Entering Tech was my digital paper: industry updates, relatable newbie journeys, and even job leads like the 3MTT in the October issue. That one story? It brought me here. Here are other resources I enjoyed:

Life: The Diary Of A CEO, Founders Podcast, Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, Happy Sexy Millionaire by Steven Bartlett, the Duolingo App—where I am currently learning German, French, Maths and Music and the You Version Bible App.

Music:Dejavu by Seyi Vibes, Wire by T.I Blaze, and Awodi by Asake.

Design: ADPList — mentorship platform on different fields, this Free Figma Web Design Course on YouTube, Refactoring UI by Adam Wathan & Steve Schoger, Laws of UX by Jon Yablonski and The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman.

Donald has documented his job search journey on LinkedIn and Twitter, and his goal is to share a well-rounded story. We hope that you’ve learnt one or two things that can apply to your job search, business, or brand. If you’d like to connect with Donald, please check him out on LinkedIn (Donald Yotay) and Twitter (@Donald Yotay).

Some trivia before we begin. Answers are at the bottom of this newsletter. 

Being a communication professional in tech is not the most popular skill out there, but it is a surefire way of entering into tech. Joyce Imiegha, a PR and communications professional, says that if you’re looking for significant room for creativity, autonomy impact and recognition for your work, then being a communications professional is the right way to go.

You must have heard the terms “content creator,” “content writer,” and “social media manager“, and while these roles appear eerily similar to what a communications professional does, they are different.

Joyce defines it as having the expertise, training, knowledge, and skills to effectively convey messages, build relationships, manage perceptions, and drive results to enhance organisational and individual goals through communication strategies and interactions.

Phew, you must be wondering all of these things for one person. 

Put simply, a communications professional is someone who helps people understand and connect with a company. They act as the company’s voice, ensuring clear and consistent messaging across all channels. Communication professionals do this by using language, design, and other tools to create clear, concise, and engaging messages.

Now that we know who a communications professional is let’s delve into the skills you need to become a badass communications professional communicator. 

Communications is an umbrella that covers all forms of an organisation’s internal and external communications. PR is just one slice of the cake that focuses specifically on enhancing the organisation’s image or reputation. 

So, a PR personnel ensures that the company looks good on the outside at all times, while a communications professional ensures the communication of a company’s message regardless of the circumstances. “In terms of functions, communications roles centre around creating content for specific channels and audiences, while PR roles involve media relations, storytelling, reputation management and crisis management,” Joyce said. 

Comms professionals take on different titles like Communications Manager, Public Relations Officer, Engagement Manager, or even Director of Strategic Communications.

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• Skills needed: Writing, listening, public speaking, creativity, strategic, critical thinking, and interpersonal skills.
• Gadgets needed: Laptop, internet access, pen and paper, and lots of coffee.

So now that we know who comms professionals are, what kind of tasks do they do? Here’s teh five most important things communicators do.

• Developing communications targeted at employees or external stakeholders: This includes writing newsletters, announcements, and other materials for employees to keep them informed, motivated, and aligned with company goals. It may also involve developing press releases, social media content, and other materials to reach target audiences like customers, investors, or the general public.

• Managing messaging across channels and audiences: Comms professionals maintain a consistent voice and message across all internal and external communication channels to build brand recognition and trust. They also adapt communication to different audiences and platforms to ensure it resonates effectively with each group.

• Building engagement, trust, and loyalty for brands: This may involve using various communication channels and formats like podcasts or videos to make information accessible and engaging for different audiences.

• Overseeing all internal and/or external communications strategy and messaging: A communications professional acts as a bridge communicating effectively between leadership and staff, ensuring both sides are heard and understood within a company. A comms professional also represents the company, serving as a spokesperson for the company to external audiences, such as the media or the public, upholding its values and reputation.

• Finally, comms professionals liaise between leadership and staff or serve as public-facing representatives for all inquiries to the company. 

So how much do comms professionals earn?Raise your hands if you’re not learning a tech skill for the money. No hands, of course . “Generally, communication professionals can have competitive compensation packages, but they may not always match the salaries in certain technical or high-demand fields like software engineering, marketing, and so on,” Joyce tells me. 

While the salaries may not always match the salaries of high-demand fields, “the level of experience and expertise you bring to the role can impact your earning potential.” Senior or specialised roles often attract higher salaries and the level of education and relevant training can also influence earning potential.

So, Joyce’s advice to you is to embrace continuous learning.

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Here is this week’s trivia. Answer is at the bottom of this newsletter. 

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In today’s tech world, working long hours is often equated to productivity. 

Tweets like this from tech influencers, for example, say that working overnight or long hours gets things done. While this might be a great approach to getting a lot of work done quickly, research has shown that employees who work more than 60 hours per week are more likely to experience burnout, which leads to decreased productivity, increased absenteeism, and health problems. 

You might say no pain, no gain, but there might be better ways to get more work done without losing sleep. 

Hey, it’s not rocket science. It is simply focused hours 

Focused hours are two or more hours dedicated to deep, uninterrupted work. It’s also called “Focused time”. It’s the time people tackle their most demanding work with undivided attention.

People who practice focused hours don’t bother about the constant beep of Slack notifications…or hot Twitter goss. Focused hours aim to eliminate all distractions so you can do your best work and get it done faster. 

Focused hours afford you a smarter approach to attaining your goals. Who doesn’t like smart work? 

A study by the University of Texas at Austin found that employees who could focus on their work were more creative and came up with new ideas more often. Every startup needs fresh ideas to thrive, and focus time could bring fresh ideas that could give your startup a leap, which means more pay and bonuses. 

Some other studies have shown that employees who engage in focused work can boost their productivity by up to 20%, meaning that tasks that would take the whole workday to complete can now be completed with 2 hours to spare. One study, conducted by the University of California, Los Angeles, found that employees who had dedicated blocks of focused time were able to complete tasks 50% faster than those who were constantly interrupted.

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Now that you know the benefits of focused hours, you might be considering trying out focused time. Here’s how young professionals are doing it: 

Ifihan Oluseye, a software developer, says that prioritising tasks, setting boundaries, and single-tasking have helped her maintain a focused work culture. She says that having dedicated workspaces and noise-cancelling headphones has helped her remain focused during work hours. Ifihan also uses time-tracking apps to gauge her level of focused work hours occasionally. For Israel Adetunji, another developer, putting his phone on focused mode—or DND for Android users—helps avoid distractions. “When I am in my focused mode, I do not get any notifications which allow me to focus.”

“I plan my most intense task towards the morning,” Kelechi Njoku, deputy newsroom editor at TechCabal—and my boss—tells me. For people like Kelechi and myself who work in short bursts of energy, identifying the work that requires the most intense amount of energy and prioritising it makes all the difference. 

“While I am not against working late into the night and having midnight sprints, the goal is to have a flexible schedule so that after you have worked through the night, your day is freed for other things like resting. “If I want a slower Monday, perhaps I do some of my work on the weekend”, says Kelechi. “The point is not to work, work, but to have time to rest and do other stuff.

Kelechi strongly believes that a focused work culture should be promoted at workplaces. “Employers should insist that once work has closed, employees should stop working,” he said. Israel agrees with Kelechi. “Founders need to understand that if they want their employees to be effective, they don’t want them to burn out, so you don’t want them working excessively,”  he said.

Basecamp, a project management software company, has a policy of allowing employees to work from home on Fridays, but they must use that time to work on deep work projects that require uninterrupted focus. Buffer, a social media management platform, has a policy of giving employees two hours of uninterrupted time per day to work on their most important projects. While this policy is not a new concept for startups in other countries, perhaps it’s time for HR to yield to Kelechi’s advice and implement focused work hours in your startup…or in your day-to-day work life.

Ultimately, the sole purpose of adopting focused work time is to ensure a fair work-life balance. Working all of the time is not a fair way to live life. I know it might be impossible to rule out the culture of overwork in the tech ecosystem due to its high competitiveness and because many tech workers are passionate about their work and are willing to put in long hours to achieve their goals. However, my [unsolicited] advice is for you to try out focused time. Do let me know your thoughts about focused work time—faith.omoniyi@bigcabal.com.

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Some trivia before we begin. Answers are at the bottom of this newsletter. 

In June 2021, Jackleen Nnely took a quick decision to pack up her bags and move from Lagos, Nigeria, to the UK. By September, she was already tucked away in the small rural town of Northampton.

Jackleen’s move wasn’t ignited by a grand wish to find a better job or escape Nigeria’s economic crisis…at least not at first. Before she left for the UK, Jackleen was managing African-led projects for Apple, and she had worked with some of the biggest media and entertainment companies since her undergraduate days. She was, by all means, doing very well for herself. So what made her leave? 

One word. Traffic. Long, humid hours spent in Lagos traffic.

I’ve been sitting on my interview with Jackleen for months now—mostly because I wanted to use it for another story—but given last week’s discussion on Mastery v Efficiency, I wanted to highlight the life and career of a true master at project management—managing projects for Apple, MTV Base and Bentley—who has spent the past 15 years mastering her job, and is planning her future efficiently. 

Here’s how Jackleen did it.

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You moved countries for traffic, Jackleen?

If you’ve ever lived in Lagos, you’ll understand. I was on my way to work one day, and I was stuck in traffic for hours. It was very early in the morning, I think… and I just decided that I didn’t want to do that anymore. I also had been looking at skilling up as a project manager and a master’s degree looked like the next best thing to do so I started working on moving, and by September, I was gone.

Whoa! Three months? It takes people much longer. How did you do it?

Money! But a lot of planning too, you know we project managers, planning na our work! I’ve always wanted to do my master’s as most of my friends had theirs. And when you’re young and your friends are going to school, you just feel left out. I had spent years hustling, and I wanted more in terms of my education. So while in traffic, I decided to start applying for a master’s degree in project management as soon as I could, and by July, I had gotten multiple admission offers, and by September, I was in the UK. 

That sounds expensive! 

Yeah, it cost about £20,000 in total and that’s where the money comes in. So I’ve been working since I was a teenager! 

Ah, OG gang!

Lmao. So I studied computer science, and I was actually still in university when my tech journey began. In my career, I started as a production coordinator, but I quickly transitioned into a producer role. I then moved on to become a project manager within my team. I’ve always been a structured person who likes to plan and work with spreadsheets, and that made me a natural fit for project management. 

By 2016, I got a job at MTV Base Africa, and did a stint with a clean-energy tech company called OneWattSolar. People I met at my MTV Base job brought me to work at Apple for about 18 months. 

In all this time, I was rather prudent with money. I saved a lot. I didn’t know what I was saving for, but I knew that money would come in handy. With my savings, I could afford to pay my fees, travel expenses, and rent. And when I got to the UK as well, I worked part-time for a bit during my master’s before I graduated and settled for a full-time gig. 

Working and schooling? That must have been hard.

It was, but it wasn’t new. When I first started my career in 2008, my plan was to study economics at the Lagos State University but I was given computer science instead which I ended up loving. And around the time I was an undergraduate at LASU, I was balancing work and school nicely, it got harder with my job at MTV Base but as a strong Naija babe, I ran it! Another thing that helped was being open with my bosses at work who helped me balance it all. 

Also, almost everyone in my Uni had a side gig in tech, we were all full-time professionals, juggling school and work! Phew!

So was it easy finding a job in the UK?

Finding a job as a foreigner in any country is never easy! It’s a new space, and you are still figuring things out, and then there’s the problem of a lot of companies wanting to see that UK experience on your CV. One recruiter actually asked to have a call with me to confirm if I was a “Native speaker”. I mean, my first language is English! Lol, so what was that about? This made me very intentional about my job search! I also wanted to understand the UK job market, so I played around with industries for a bit by getting a voluntary project management role with a non-profit company. This was also my way of giving back, and I loved every bit of it! Also, just to add, I had worked with some of the most important global companies in Nigeria, but I still needed some of that local UK experience.

I did that for a while, and then, in September 2022, I got ready to start my search for a full-time job back in tech. I had a couple of rules: I wanted to work with a quality company, and I wouldn’t apply for a job if over 20 people had applied for it. The market here is very competitive, especially in project management, and you have to be intentional about it. I also decided that I wanted to work remotely, and I set a base salary for myself. I used LinkedIn a lot—it was my best friend—and I applied to multiple jobs a day but they had to be the right fit. A couple of months later, I had 3 job offers from some major companies and I accepted to work at Bentley Systems.

Wow. That’s a huge win! Let’s talk about your UK experience now. What are the biggest changes?

There’s no traffic, for one. 

But I’d also say Internet connectivity is a big one for me. I don’t have to worry about connecting to the internet or if I’ll have to buy three modems. Everything just works here. 

Another shock was how welcoming the lecturers were. In Nigeria, you could get punished for challenging lecturers but here, they welcome it and that made getting my master’s seamless.

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So Jackleen and I had an interesting 90-minute conversation—it’s 9,000 words long btw—but I’m going to stop here because I’d like to highlight the most critical points she made during our conversation.

1. You’re not alone: When I asked Jackleen how stressful it was working through school as a young Nigerian, she said, “Everyone I know had a side gig even in the early 2010s.” We often think that we’re the first ones to struggle through school + work but success stories like Jackleen’s tell us we’re not. It’s easy to feel like we’re alone in our job hunt or work struggles, but stories like Jackleen’s tell us that we’re not. More importantly, they show us that we can succeed.

2. Tech doesn’t have to be design or coding: The fact that Jackleen’s made a career working in tech without coding tells us that there are several career paths in tech. It also tells us one thing: you can work in companies that are not startups or conventional tech companies. While she works in a tech company now, Jackleen started off in media and entertainment. There’s a way for everyone!


3. Be audacious: NGL, even I thought Jackleen’s rules of job finding would make job hunting hard at first. “People thought I was arrogant,” she said. But she also says she knew what she wanted in life and would not compromise for it. She knew it would take time, and a lot of effort—she spent 5 months hunting, and she already had 13 years of experience at the time! She mentioned that she knew her value and what she could bring to the table, and that she wasn’t going to let anyone make her feel small. You shouldn’t either.

The great thing here is that Jackleen is open to helping people and mentoring them through her mentorship platform, Immigrants in Tech. She can’t take all of us—because I also want to be mentored—but she’s happy to answer career questions via LinkedIn or through her mentorship platform. She’s also published a book, A Newcomer’s Guide to the United Kingdom, with Blessing Ashimi to help anyone who’s thinking of moving to the UK. 

That’s all for this week. Once again, if you have thoughts on this edition, please send them to me at timi@bigcabal.com. 

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In an October 30 thread, I wrote about how much I love League of Legends—an online multiplayer battle arena game—and how it’s taken me two years to become an efficient player.

Let me explain: League of Legends has over 180 million players and 166 champions, most with five abilities. For each of these champions, there are about 63 runes that enhance their abilities, and about 200 items they can buy in-game (all of which will have different effects on the champions). 

The main gameplay in League is called Summoner’s Rift where two teams battle to destroy each other’s base across three different lanes—it’s capture the flag. It’s a 5 v 5 game and everyone starts at Level 1 for every game. That means that you, a player who’s attained mastery of one champion, could be paired up with four other players you don’t know who want to try out new champions. 

The result of the above: there no assured wins because winning isn’t just about how good you are.‍ 

Not because you’re bad players, but because even though it’s the same map and the same champions, it’s not the same item combinations, nor the same players, the same runes or even the same skins. In fact, the League wiki says that are over 2 million different item combos, and over 51 million different team compositions to play in the game. 

There are too many moving parts to learn all at once. When my UX designer friend Boluwatife Oyinloye introduced me to League in November 2021, I felt like absolute crap for the first two weeks because my avatars, the champions I tried to play, died every minute. But the moment I found one champ I could play, a long-range sniper named Caitlyn, I latched on and played her—and only her—for twelve months straight. I played many good games, yes, but this meant that when Cait was banned in certain games or if someone else on my team chose Cait before I could select her, I would suck. A year later, I discovered Senna, a long-range undead champion, who I think is the best thing since small chops, and again, I latched on. I had two champs, but I still wasn’t efficient enough. I was too nervous, too unsure—I sometimes still am. 

If you’re thinking, How dis one take consine me? Hold on, you’ll get it soon. 

Nine months ago, I started frequently playing another mode called ARAM—All Random, All Middle. In this mode, the game picks one of League’s 166 champs at random for you to play. Everyone is also put on a single lane, instead of the three lanes in the standard Summoner’s Rift mode—which is different because you can pick which champion or lane you want. In ARAM, however, the computer selects a champion for you at random, and the game is played on one lane. I was forced to play champions I would never try over and over again. 

I should mention that I didn’t play ARAM because I wanted to learn new champions, I did it because I sucked at Summoner’s Rift and wanted to win well at something. 

Now/Today, I have some form of mastery in 15 champions and I can play up to 50. The more important point is that I now know all 166 champions and their abilities. And this means that when I play against Tryndamere, a man who—like many African leaders—refuses to die, I know to keep my distance when his eyes glow red. When I play Chogath—a horned beast of insatiable hunger, like me at 2 AM—in ARAM, I know to buy Warmog’s Armour so I can regenerate my full health in 10 seconds. I also know—by hard lessons—never, ever, ever, to run after Singed even if he has just 1 hit point left; he leaves a noxious gas in his trail that slowly kills you. 

More recently, League introduced a new map and I find myself playing any champion on that map and doing fairly well. As I said in this tweet, I’m not a top player yet, but I’m comfortable enough in my champion’s skin because I know what I’m up against—I know who I am fighting.

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Now, how does this winding story concern you and why should you give a flying rat’s rump?

Well, because by far the most frequent question I’ve been asked on #EnteringTech’s Ask a Techie segment is: “Can I master xxx within a couple of weeks/months?” or some variation of it. Some even add “…and get a dollar-paying job too?”

And each time, it takes every morsel of good judgment I have, and the threat of my manager Muyiwa beating me not to say, “No, the hell you can not! Na play?”

Mastery, or even efficiency, takes a surmountable amount of time and hard work. It’s not enough that you read about something or are good at doing your everyday role, you have to know what’s out there too; what your competition looks like, how you fare against it, and how you can play on the same field.

When I’m not doing the only thing I love 100%—sorry Muyiwa, work is not my passion, I lied on the application form—I work as a Senior Editor at TechCabal where I manage newsletters. I’ve been at TC for almost three years now, and I can confidently say I’m only just understanding digital media products now.

I’ve been good at my job since day 1. For example, when I started, it would take me six or seven hours to code our flagship TC Daily which I wrote for two years straight, and I’d work late nights but my team and I always got TC Daily out on time. Now, it takes me considerably less time to code TC Daily—about two hours on most days, and I hardly have to work late nights. Now, my direct reports always ask how I do it relatively quickly, and I always say the same thing: “I did this every single workday for two years straight, and I’m still learning.” 

While I’ve been good at writing or coding TC Daily, I’m only just starting out being good with newsletters because now, I’m not only aware of my job, I’m aware of the jobs of the product, design and engineering teams at Morning Brew, the Skimm, Bloomberg, The Hustle, and all the other international publications that have newsletters I want to compete with. I follow them closely, I have SWOT analysis on every single one—I even stalk their reporters on LinkedIn and X (Twitter). 

I’ve worked three years on media products but I’d never describe myself as a master—I’m nowhere close. But I am super efficient with building and managing them. 

It’s the same for any role, whether design, software engineering, or marketing, everything takes time to master or be efficient at.

“In fact, I’d say if you’re just starting out, put dreams of mastery in the backseat and focus, first, on being efficient in your role.”

Rome, like the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, wasn’t built in a day—or a year, or a decade in fact. Mastery will come eventually, but efficiency is what you must achieve first when you’re starting out in tech. 

*This newsletter is not for geniuses and the “what if” hawkers who think they can use probability to enter the promised land. But if you found something in this edition enlightening, or don’t agree with my thoughts, or just want to gab about League of Legends, shoot me an email at timi@bigcabal.com

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