Where IT job offers are posted in Cameroon, what recruiters really ask for, and how to build a portfolio that makes the difference.
“IT jobs Douala”, “IT recruitment Cameroon”: behind these searches there is often someone who has finished a course, is sending out CVs and hears nothing back. The market exists, but it does not work the way people imagine. Many positions are never advertised, and those that are receive dozens of applications that all look the same.
Here is where to look, what recruiters check, and what will get you noticed.
Where the offers are
Cameroonian job sites regularly post IT positions. Check several of them every week, and be wary of any listing that asks for money for a file or a “preliminary training”: a real employer does not charge you to apply.
LinkedIn is more useful in Cameroon than people think, especially for medium and large companies. A complete profile, with a decent photo and links to your work, already does part of the CV’s job.
The Fonds national de l’emploi (FNE), the public employment service, registers job seekers and connects them with employers. Ask at the office in your city.
Then there are recruitment groups on WhatsApp and Facebook. Real offers appear there, among a lot of noise. Always check who is posting.
The hidden market
A large share of hiring happens without any advert. A small business owner looking for someone to handle the network or the website asks around first. That is where many first jobs are decided.
In practice, let people know what you can do. Tell your former trainers, your classmates who already have jobs, the shopkeepers you know. Offer a small service: tidy up the computers in a shop, redo a restaurant’s Facebook page. Good work gets talked about, and that is often how the first real contract comes.
What recruiters really ask for
Job ads list diplomas and years of experience. In practice, for a junior role, a recruiter mainly wants to know three things. Can you do the work? Can the company trust you with its equipment and data? Can you explain what you do to someone who is not technical?
The first is proved by your work. The second by your references and how serious you are in the interview. The third shows in the first few minutes. A candidate who clearly explains how they fixed a fault scores more than one who recites acronyms.
The portfolio: what makes the difference
A portfolio is simply proof of what you can do. It does not need to be a fancy website. It should open easily on a phone and show few projects, well chosen.
For a developer, two or three live websites or apps, with the code available and one sentence on the problem each one solves. For a designer, around ten pieces, including at least a few made for real clients. For a network or maintenance technician, photos of installations, a diagram of a network you set up, and a short account of a fault you tracked down.
A real project, even a modest one, beats a copied exercise. The website for your neighbourhood savings group or a computerised inventory for a relative’s shop counts, as long as you explain what you did yourself.
The CV and the application
One page is enough for a beginner. At the top: the job you are after and the link to your work. Then what you can do, with concrete verbs. A short letter written for that specific company beats a generic one sent to fifty addresses.
Follow up once, politely, a week later. Most candidates do not.
What we will not promise
Nobody can guarantee you a job, and be wary of anyone who does. What a course can do is give you skills and work to show. The All Techs “AI and jobs” bootcamp is built around exactly that: one project a week, a portfolio, and help with your CV and interviews. Our other courses also leave you with concrete work.
If you have not chosen a path yet, start with which IT career to choose, then read what shapes an IT salary in Cameroon.
