Job search tips for Ghanaian mining engineering graduates | Mining Mindset

My advice to mining graduates and upcoming professionals is that you need to strategically position yourself as a global graduate. You should be able to fit into your local environment, function well in your own country, perform effectively across Africa, and compete with mining graduates from developed countries like Canada.

When you're all competing for, let's say, a master's degree funding or an education opportunity, you should also be a strong option. If you are only technically biased and not technologically biased, then you're being ruled out of the competition. Get your initial degree, but make sure that when Sierra Leone, Liberia, or Congo need mining professionals and you get the opportunity, you can fill that role.

When you leave school and there's a role in mine optimization, you should be able to do it both technically and technologically. If it's about drill and blast engineering, you should be able to function as a drill and blast engineer - technically, meaning the theory from textbooks, and technologically, meaning using industry software tools.

Mining professionals should also be business-savvy so that you can facilitate some business ventures even when you don't have a full-scale job at a mine. You can support the banking industry that provides funding to small-scale and large-scale mining companies. Banks need to vet business plans and financial proposals, but they don't always understand the mining business - they understand the finances. That's where you want to get in.

The mining professional should be able to open up opportunities and enter into every environment, because the competition is intense. Out of 400 students graduating in a year, the best graduating student might get a scholarship from one of the mines in Ghana - a one-year working contract. That person is set, but then if you graduated with a second class upper or lower and didn't fall into that category, you need other options.

Some mining companies will pick a few graduates for a two-year training program, but they may only take two from your class. The regulator might take five - you may not be among them. So how do you position yourself?

Be globally aware. Know the trends. Software companies like K-MINE are there - get in touch with them. They could train you, and you could become a marketer, an advocate, or a representative for them in Ghana. Go around the mines, build strong networks, and join student organizations. I'm a patron of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) KNUST chapter - I've been a patron since it was founded in 2014 or 2015.

Be part of these organizations. They host webinars and workshops, bring in mining professionals - engage with them, listen to the trends, listen to what they're saying. Your lecturers can give you the fundamentals, but you can also develop your soft skills and learn how to engage people professionally.

When it comes to the international market - looking for a job in Canada, Europe, or elsewhere - how do you distinguish yourself from the competition?

Personal branding matters. Almost all hiring managers will check your social media presence. The first place they'll go is LinkedIn because it's the clean, professional platform. Some even check TikTok and Facebook to see what you're doing with your life.

As a mining professional, you need to package yourself carefully. Your resume, your online presence - everything should be consistent with the professional image you want to project.

These days, hiring managers don't manually review resumes - they allow AI to screen them first. The AI has been programmed to look for specific keywords. So you need to structure your resume based on the job advertisement. That's my first advice.

It's challenging because you can't just keep one standard resume. If you're applying for multiple jobs, you ideally need to tailor your resume for each one. I knew colleagues from Wales - one told me she applied to about 120 jobs before landing one. If you're applying to even 10 jobs and reviewing your resume each time, that's significant work.

Most fresh graduates will just throw in a standard resume - they see the job, submit the same document, and never get called for even the first interview. Why? Because the AI screening didn't flag them as a preferred candidate. They might be better qualified than those who passed the screening, but their resume presentation knocked them out of the game.

Here's an example: if the company is looking for a project engineer skilled in scheduling and AutoCAD design, and you can do all of this perfectly with prior project engineering experience, you should pick the exact keywords from the job advert and incorporate them into your resume. As soon as you upload it, AI will scan it, extract keywords, and rate you accordingly.

I also know cases where AI rated a candidate number one, but the hiring manager personally knew the candidate and decided not to hire them. That's also advice for hiring managers - don't rely on technology fully. Use it as a tool, but also apply your own judgment.

The mining industry is competitive, but there are opportunities for graduates who think strategically. Build your technical skills, master the technology, develop business awareness, and position yourself for both local and international opportunities.