Staff-Kenya Blog

Once in a while you come across a Kenyan job you think it’s a perfect match for you. Maybe it’s a Kenyan company you have always wished to work for. Maybe you are already tired of working for an ungrateful company that still pays you peanuts despite your qualifications or the number of faithful years to the company. Or you simply want a change.

The problem is you are not fully qualified for this position. Your papers either fall short or the level of experience desired.

If you are like many Kenyan jobseekers you will certainly apply for this job without careful consideration of whether the skills and experience you posses match those in the advert. Many apply hoping things will work out well. Wacha nijaribu  is a favorite motto with many candidates.

My advice, and you don’t have to follow it is to ignore job adverts that you don’t meet their requirements. If you don’t meet atleast 85% of whatever the advertiser is asking for then don’t even bother to apply. Obviously aspects like years of experience may not count much i.e. I may require 5 years of experience but you have 3 and a half years. So long as you can demonstrate that you can deliver with your 3 years of experience then go ahead and send me the application.

But assume I want someone with a certain level of expertise which you clearly don’t have i.e. an accountant knowledgeable in donor reporting then you can see why despite your ten years of experience this one little requirement will exclude you. It’s not that you’re not qualified; you simply don’t possess a skill that is so central to accomplish the required task. And that’s why NGOs in Kenya will always prefer someone with an NGO background.

Let me drive the point home with a holiday example. Last week I wanted to buy a shoe for myself (the Kid in me) and Before going to the ATM (which stands for Another Terrible Mistake) psychologically I knew the kind of shoe I wanted i.e. size nine, black, rubber sole, and costing not more than K’sh 3,500. Since I always look for a bargain I began my search with the many exhibitions in town. And whenever I went some shoe sellers were dumb enough to just remove any shoe for me not caring to ask what type of shoe I wanted. The clever ones did ask and some actually tried to convince me why brown would be better for me. Ultimately and after visiting 7 shops I got my perfect pair as earlier outlined.
Please note that all the shops I visited had very good shoes. Some even cheaper and some had the best sales people money can buy. But in my mind I knew what I wanted and it was either that or nothing.

Recruiting is not any different. For any job advert there is something the recruiter or the HR manager is looking for and if you don’t have it  or your CV doesn’t bring this aspect out very well then chances of landing that interview and ultimately the job are very very slim. In this instance hoping and wishing for the best doesn’t work. Back to our shoe example; assume a shop having only brown shoes and hoping that all clients even the ones who want black shoes will change their minds once they see their handsome brown shoes.

Unless it’s not serious company, by the time the HR manager issues a job advert the company is pretty sure of what qualifications, age, salary, marital status and specifically what the candidate should be able to deliver (achieve). And just like the shoe shopper it might be hard trying to tell them that you’re also capable.

And please don’t send your CV thinking that even if you don’t qualify for that post the HR will save it for future use. The person on the other end may save it or just delete. If you want to be considered for upcoming job openings simply send a hard copy of your CV through the postal address and after the current job has expired. Recruiters and HR managers are like you and I, no one wants to be distracted!

So for you who has been applying for any job that you think you stand a chance it’s a high time you started to look seriously into the jobs you are applying. Give it a second glance and be sincere to yourself. If you don’t stand a chance admit it and be patient enough. The job that you want will surely come around just be patient. Otherwise you will continue missing out on opportunities as you not targeting the right jobs.

Tomorrow I discuss how Kenyan jobs reach the newspapers or job websites and why it’s important you know this.

Hope you’re enjoying the holidays.

Corporate Staffing Services. www.staff-kenya.com