African Professionals Abroad: Why Talent Alone Will Not Get You Hired? African Professionals Abroad: Why Talent Alone Will Not Get You Hired? #immigrantcareers #usjobmarket #workculture Many African professionals move abroad with strong degrees, real experience, and big career goals, but still struggle to get hired into roles matching their skills. In this Beyond Africa Podcast episode, Bernard Ngalim speaks with tech executive Valentine Fontama about the hidden reasons immigrant professionals struggle in the U.S. job market and other Western job markets. Get your copy of the exclusive guide on diaspora wealth and immigrant career growth here: https://ift.tt/ensEFfG Valentine shares his journey from Cameroon to the UK and the United States, including a painful lesson from a KPMG lunch interview. He explains why work culture, local expectations, foreign degree recognition, and references matter when African professionals apply for jobs abroad. This conversation breaks down the culture gap, credential gap, and reference gap. It also explains why U.S. employers often value local credentials, U.S. experience, and local references more than foreign degrees, even when those degrees come from strong African universities. If you are a skilled immigrant, African professional, diaspora worker, or someone trying to build a career abroad, this episode will help you understand what holds many professionals back and what steps help close the gap. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 – Cold open: “What makes you think they will not take you?” 00:34 – Valentine’s journey: Cameroon, UK, and US tech career 03:20 – Culture shock and the KPMG lunch interview 07:40 – Culture and expectations: what immigrant professionals must understand 10:20 – Credentials, strong African universities, and the US reference gap 🔔𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬. https://www.youtube.com/@BeyondAfricaPodcast/?sub_confirmation=1 ✅ Important Link to Follow 🔗Book a free meeting: https://ift.tt/3pgLIhi 🔗 Support our research: https://ift.tt/eXy7vxL 🔗 Stay Connected With Us. Facebook: https://ift.tt/5vBGTcR Instagram: https://ift.tt/FWE41Bs TikTok: https://ift.tt/O6ncqYv Twitter (X): https://ift.tt/ibBMwRn LinkedIn: https://ift.tt/NqIrP57 Website: https://ift.tt/9omx5yS 📩 For business inquiries: [email protected] ============================= 🎬Suggested videos for you: ▶️https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv0V-HlB61E ▶️https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OT7wd_fRS4 ▶️https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L-1xmpex1g ▶️https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1PxANO-xwk ▶️https://www.youtube.com/live/4XBIZDDzAvY ================================= #immigrantcareers #usjobmarket #workculture #skilledimmigrants #africandiaspora #beyondafricapodcast African Professionals Abroad: Why Talent Alone Will Not Get You Hired? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dy5s25Nm9M via Beyond Africa Podcast https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHl60QQZ0ZLZgthl1ea8y8w July 1, 2026 at 12:00AM