want ad
Want Ad is an old fashioned name for a job advertisement, the kind you once found in newspaper classifieds under 'Vacancies', now mostly online.
In plain English
Aunty Rose used to keep the Sunday newspaper folded to the back pages, the ones with tiny print under headings like Vacancies and Situations Available.
She would run her finger down the columns looking for 'Accounts Clerk Wanted' or 'Driver Needed, Must Know Lagos Roads', a pen in her other hand ready to circle anything promising.
That column of tiny print was the want ad, a short notice from an employer describing a job and inviting people to apply. It told you the role, sometimes the pay, and how to reach the company, usually a P.O. Box or a phone number you had to write down carefully.
These days the want ad has moved house. It lives on LinkedIn, on Jobberman, in WhatsApp groups where someone posts 'Urgent Vacancy, Front Desk Officer, Ikeja' with a deadline in bold. In the United Kingdom, it might show up on Indeed or a hospital trust's careers page, still doing the same old job of saying 'we need someone, are you the one.'
The format has changed from print to pixels, but the purpose has not moved an inch. A want ad is still just an employer standing in the market square, cupping their hands, calling out what they need.
A Port Harcourt logistics company posts a want ad online for a 'Warehouse Supervisor, ₦180,000 monthly, immediate start.' Funmi sees it shared in a family WhatsApp group, sends her CV that evening, and gets a call for an interview two days later.
Questions people ask
Are want ads still used in Nigeria today?
Not in the old newspaper sense as much, but the idea lives on strongly through online job boards, company career pages, and WhatsApp or Telegram groups where vacancies are shared and reshared until they reach the right person.
What is the difference between a want ad and a job description?
A want ad is the public invitation that announces a role exists and invites applications, while a job description is the detailed document explaining what the role actually involves once you are being considered or already hired.
How do I know if a want ad is genuine and not a scam?
Check that the company has a verifiable name, address, and website, be wary of ads asking you to pay money upfront for training or uniforms, and search the company name alongside words like 'scam' or 'reviews' before sending any personal details.
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