CSS Centonomy Career Talk: What Employers Are Looking For In Candidates

Today’s career world has become a jungle, it survival for the fittest, eat or be eaten, this has therefore seen the need for individual to prove their skills in order to beat competition or get noticed in their careers. In most case individuals are continuously joining training classes or programs that are meant to enrich their expertise in their different areas of specialization for that career fulfillment that everyone is chasing.

This week, Perminus Wainaina, our Managing Partner & Head of Recruitment at Corporate Staffing Services (CSS) was invited to speak at a graduation ceremony at Centonomy Career Hub. The Centonomy Career Hub is a program for young professionals which run for 6 weeks. The program ensures individuals are trained in such areas as Personal strength for work place success, Winning attitudes in the work place, Personal branding, Building social capital and Leadership as tools of making them stand out in their careers.

Perminus Wainaina Centonomy Talk
Perminus Wainaina Sharing His Tips On How To Stand Out In The Job Market

Through his speech, Mr. Wainaina inspired the young professionals to be better versions of themselves through a personal career journey and some of the lessons he has been able to acquire over the years.

Mr. Wainaina a CPA graduate who formally worked with Credit Reference Bureau (current day Transunion) as a Group Accountant and whose first job after graduating with a B.A in Arts paid 4000/= is the current Head of Recruitment at Corporate Staffing Service. While working at CRB Mr. Wainaina says he faced various frustration on administration and people management and he needed to come up with a professional way to handle, manage and motivate junior staff and that’s where his love for HR started a few years later CSS was born .

Though the company has been running for about seven years, Mr. Wainaina says that it has not been smooth sailing all through but passion has seen him through, he emphasized that even having come from a different career background, the need to succeed and the fact that he was able to learn through his mistakes saw him succeed. To the jobseekers, he had very important information as to what employers are looking for when hiring; an observation he has made for the last seven years he has been in the recruitment industry.

What employers are looking for in candidates

Skills VS qualifications/Papers

Employers are looking for what you can do, not the papers you have acquired over time. Job seekers are required to understand what is expected of them and learn as much as there is to learn in their industry to stay on top.

Going that extra mile

Employers are looking for those employees are motivated enough and show /portray the willingness to more than what is stipulated on their Job Description. As a job seeker in the current job market you cannot afford to become comfortable with what you do on a day-to-day activity. Ask yourself if you are an accountant, beyond balancing the books, what else do you do without expecting payment or recognitions?

Visibility

Improving visibility would include attend forums such as seminars that are related to your career and industry, this not only gives you insight on the latest competitive trends happening in your particular industry, it also helps in connecting with the right people which can lead to getting to know and being recommended to open job vacancies.

Take action

Take action and the right one at that, this would included having a plan for your job search, reflecting on who you are and what you want, exploring your options by researching potential careers, jobs, employers and lastly developing a self-enhancement action plan.

You are your own boss

Lastly, remember that the company owes you nothing, success and failure depends on you. By this, it means that, just as your employer or supervisor would or plans for the organisation, you also need to have clear plans and goals and also make sure to evaluate your career progress from time to time.

Mr. Wainaina concluded by advising the Centonomy Career Hub graduants and job seekers in general that; in today’s job market, job seekers have to understand that money is never part of the equation, one has to give in order to receive; and to make it in the ever competitive job market one has to give more than 100% by going that extra mile.

The writer is a Communications Officer at Corporate Staffing Services, a leading Recruitment firm that offers CV Writing, Job Placement & Career Advice. Email cvwriting@corporatestaffing.co.ke

6 Comments

  1. Thank sir for your advice, its gives people like me motivation to continue job search and never give up.

  2. Very true! employers nowerdays are looking for ability and capability of putting what your papers say about you in practice.

  3. For real supply and demand of labour in the job market will never be at equilibrium. As the job seekers we need to go an extra mile by doing something unique to enhance our skills rather than just relying on academic qualifications.

  4. I really like the point of ‘going that extra mile without expecting rewards or recognition’, and doing it with a smile and a great attitude! That makes anyone stand out from the crowd and with time, I promise you, your efforts will pay off.

  5. thank you Sir for this inspiring message and truth. it’s really a vital advice especially to me as a young graduate.

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