Why You’re Still Jobless & Broke at 40

Joseph Kiti* (not his real name) has been unemployed for almost his adult life. Nearly 40, and close to giving up on life, Kiti sends more than ten job applications in a day, moves from job interview to job interview and has never had his phone off, even for a second. Kiti isn’t uneducated, he has an MBA.

According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, unemployment Rate in Kenya increased to 40 percent in 2011 from 12.70 percent in 2006. Unemployment Rate in Kenya averaged 22.43 Percent from 1999 until 2011, reaching an all time high of 40 Percent in 2011 and a record low of 12.70 Percent in 2006.

To get jobs, people do several things, ehtical and unethical but recruitment professionals say there are successful job applicants and the unsuccessful ones. The successful ones get the job while the unsuccessful go back home with broken hearts and hopelessness. This is universal.

Simple and precise CV

Speaking to TechMoran, Emmanuel Mutuma, BrighterMonday‘s Marketing Manager said, “Job seekers need to make the CV as simple and precise as possible. Employers do not have much time going through multiple pages in each specific application, all they look out for is an clear indication if the jobseeker is qualified to invite them for an interview.”

Mutuma adds that the Jobseeker Profile/CV, creates an interest and get’s the employer curious to meet the person to verify the candidates skills and then hopefully offer them a job.

“In short, a CV does not get you a job. A C.V gets you an interview then a successful interview gets you a job. An employer spends very few seconds going through each application, so we advice the jobseekers to update them every time and only apply for jobs which they feel they meet the requirements. That of course, increases their percentage change of getting a job. “

Mutuma says BrighterMonday, based in East Africa, works with major employers advertise to ensure that jobseekers get jobs that are not advertised anywhere else.

 

Outdated jobsites

Doing it alone or going to sites that pull jobs from other sites and are not regularly updated also contributes to many youth being jobless as by the time they apply for that job, it would have been filled already, like weeks or even months earlier.

“We make jobseeking experience easier, all they need to do is subscribe to job alerts in their specific categories to get daily reminders of all opportunities that match their qualifications,” says Mutuma. “Job seekers should know that they have a task to play in their job seeking journey, basic thing like updating their CV’s, going through the adverts/job descriptions, applying for only relevant jobs they qualify for determine their chances of getting the opportunities.”

Outdated CVs

Mutuma adds that BrighterMonday addresses real issues that’s why their brand remains because the jobs are real and authentic. He adds that jobseekers too should know that they have a task to play in their job seeking journey, basic things like updating their CV’s, going through the adverts/job descriptions clearly and applying only relevant jobs they qualify for determine their chances of getting the opportunities.

So how do you go from simple CV to an interview to a job?

According to Naomi Seselja, the  founder of Mode Recruitment & Career Services based in Autralia, “the most irresistible job applicants marry their emotional intelligence with their job interviews to impress on all levels. They understand an interview isn’t an interrogation, but an interactive platform for interviewer and interviewee to arrive at the same station and feel good about it.”

Emotional intelligence

Seselja adds that successful applicants are incredibly passionate about the job at hand – and prove it and come across as someone others would love to work with. She adds that the best candidates aren’t reserved about complimenting the company at hand.

To get that job, Seselja says you ought to make the interviewer feel comfortable by being warm and even humorous if the occasion calls for it. Whenever a job seekers looks at the interviewer as someone they know, talk to them as if they genuinely like and respect them, the interviewers will feel warmth and be confident that the person is right for them team.

Speak about your greatest achievements

She also urged job seekers to speak about their greatest achievements, in a modest tone. Job seekers should let their achievements speak for themselves and they should be interactive and ask questions of their own.

“People often say they don’t get the chance; but when you are answering a question, the floor is all yours to fire away with your own. Don’t be combative, boastful, cold or disengaged – the most superhumanly intellectual of candidates can lose the opportunity just by being unlikeable,” Seselja concludes.

Founded in Kenya in 2006 and operating in all East African markets, BrighterMonday aims to help East Africa’s job seekers and employers to maximize the increasing opportunities. Recently, the firm launched a door-to-door campaign to weed out fraudsters to ensure online job seekers remain safe. The firm also vets each employer, visits or calls most of them to ensure they really exist.