This archive report was first published on 8 November 2019.
Kenya's job market is facing a daunting challenge: a mismatch between the number of graduates and available job vacancies. According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the country has one of the highest unemployment rates in East Africa, with many graduates struggling to find employment.
Employers in Kenya have complained that many job applicants lack the required skills, with a survey conducted by the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) in December 2017 showing that 70 per cent of employees require refresher courses before they can be productive at their workplaces.
Ken Munyua, a practitioner at People Centric, a human resource firm based in Nairobi, emphasizes the importance of highlighting achievements on one's resume. 'Achievements come as a result of hard work, and they show the interviewers that the potential employee is an individual who always seeks to achieve their employers' goals,' he says.
Scott Bellows, a leadership and entrepreneurship trainer and author, warns that settling for a job that is beneath one's capabilities can have negative consequences, including low self-esteem and low productivity. 'If you stay in such a position for long, your self-esteem will be negatively affected,' he says.
Liz Ryan, a human resource expert and author, notes that employers target people who handle their personal responsibilities just as well as they manage their career roles. 'How you take care of your responsibilities can be an indicator of how suitable you are for employment,' she says.
