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4 Reasons Why You’re Still Unemployed (And How To Fix That)

By Perminus Wainaina 

What is your dream job, and what is keeping you from getting it?

The Kenyan job market is full of professionals either trying to get a job, or looking to advance in their careers.

While multiple positions are advertised on job search platforms every day, it appears the number of professionals looking for opportunities outweigh the positions available. Whether you’ve just joined the job market as a fresh graduate, or you quit your job to look for a better one, or you were laid off due to redundancy, or maybe you’re trying to get back to the job market after a long break, the situation is still the same.

A couple of weeks back, I spoke with Rose, who has been unsuccessfully looking for a job for three years now.

Rose studied Bachelor of Science in Procurement and Logistics. After graduation, she went on a five-month job search journey without any luck.

She finally got a job with a logistics company. She gave the job her best, and the management noticed her efforts and promoted her to a supervisory role.

After two years, the company closed down due to financial issues and Rose was back on the unemployment track.

With her experience and achievements, she thought it would be easy to land another job.

“At first, I was eyeing supervisory and managerial roles. But after a while, I started applying for entry-level procurement jobs. Still no success.

I resulted to applying for any job I could find, I no longer cared about the field it was in… three years later, I am still unemployed.

What I’m I doing wrong, and how can I get a job?”

You too, may be in a similar situation –applying for jobs without any feedback from employers. While some factors are outside your control, there is still a lot you have to do with the success of your job search process.

Below, I have highlighted the top reasons that are hindering you from getting a job and the solutions to these problems.

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1. You don’t have the required skills

The skills you possess help you execute the role effectively.

When you don’t have the skills needed, an employer will be hesitant to give you the job as it means they have to spend time and resources training you on these skills.

If you’re a fresh graduate, you may be shocked to learn that less than a third of graduates have the skills needed to excel in their careers.

If you have a few years of experience, this doesn’t exempt you. Consider there are advancements in your field, which demand you to keep updated on the skills required in your profession.

Before you make the next job application, first assess the skills needed in your profession. Focus on both technical and soft skills. Once you have identified these skills, look for effective ways to learn and practice them.

There are various avenues you can use to acquire the needed skills. For example, you can take up an online course, read relevant books, volunteer in a relevant space, or enroll for a short training. These avenues are effective as they are customized to grow your skills on a particular subject.

2. Your profession is no longer relevant

The job market is ever evolving. You may be applying for jobs yet your profession is either dying or dead.

To better understand this, think of traditional photography…

A few decades ago, photography was one of the in-demand professions. You often had to schedule an appointment with the photographer or try to fit in their busy schedules. With the advancement in technology, every mobile phone has a camera, and the demand for traditional photographers has considerably reduced.

There are, however, photographers who adapted to the market needs and were able to excel.

Is your profession still relevant in today’s job market? How about in the future, will your job still be important?

If there is reduced demand for your profession, what can you do about it? We can pick a page from the above example. There are photographers who invested in better equipment, improved on their photography skills, and became proactive in sourcing for clients.

If your profession is slowly dying, look at the suitable skills you need to stay relevant in today’s job market.

Digital marketing, for example, is one of the in-demand skills today. The demand is expected to rise in the future. Learning such a skill will keep you relevant in the market.

Look at the in-demand skills that are close to your profession and master them. This will help you stay relevant in the market. Most importantly, it’ll increase your chances of getting a job.

3. You don’t have a professional network

You’ve heard of the saying, ‘your network is your net worth.’

This saying holds true even during the job search process.

The reality on the ground is a significant portion of jobs are never advertised. They are usually filled through referrals and recommendations.

For instance, if there’s an opening in an organization, the employees are the first ones to know about it. In some cases, they are asked to recommend someone for the position. If you have professional networks, when a position opens up, they’ll notify you or recommend you for the position.

If you do not have a professional network, unfortunately, you may never know when an opportunity opens up.

Networking opportunities are great for forming a professional network. Research on the most relevant networking opportunities for you and start making connections. These professional connections will exponentially increase your job search success.

4. You’re applying for jobs the wrong way

While conversing with Rose, one of the striking things she talked about was how she was applying for every job.

While this may sound like a good idea, it could be costing you rather than helping you.

Think about it, if one day you make ten applications, you’ll likely send the same CV and cover letter to every company. As a result, you probably have one general CV.

Unfortunately for you, the employer is looking for a very specific candidate. And since your general application lacks the specific details the employer is looking for, your application won’t be considered. This means even though you are making multiple applications, the chances of being called for an interview are dim.

The solution to this is to improve the quality of your applications –yes, at the expense of the number of applications you make.

Before applying for a job, ensure your CV and cover letter clearly showcase you as the best candidate for the role. Review and adjust your CV to match the job you’re applying to.

When applying for jobs, go for quality over quantity.

At the end of the day, searching for a job can be a tedious and demoralizing task. If you have been applying for jobs without hearing back from employers, you need to take a back seat, review what you’re doing wrong, and make adjustments. Only in doing so will you better your chances of getting a job.

Where have you been going wrong when applying for jobs?

Perminus Wainaina is the C.E.O and Managing Partner at Corporate Staffing Services, a leading HR & Recruitment consultancy firm based in Westlands. Through personalized career coaching he assists mid-level and senior professionals get solutions to complex and challenging career issues that they are facing. Click here for more on career coaching.

52 Comments

  3. Hello Catherine,
    If you’re following the advice and there seem to be no results, maybe there another issue.
    You can reach us for a more detailed and personalized look at your career.

  6. A good Article Sir , but i too have the same issue , i have been applying for Job(s) but No response , not that i am not qualified i have the required qualifications . Please assist

  7. Hey Amina,
    I understand your situation.
    Luckily, you can improve your interviewing skills, we’ve shared a lot of advice on the same.
    We also have an interview coaching service that I feel would be of benefit to you.

  8. this is helpful,, my problem is always on the interviews,,my cv do sell me but i fail interviews and i stopped applying for jobs because if cv sells and i fail interview,Wat’s the use! any help concerning this?

  9. Hello Mercy,
    We have several free career mentorship forums coming up, we’ll keep you notified on the dates through the website.

  10. Quite educative, bravo!! I would love to sit down and listen to you give a talk on this and other related topics. I am now two years out after resigning and I am looking for another job.

  15. It’s good you now have a starting point.
    The ball is in your court now, start growing your professional network by looking up any opportunities near you.

  21. This is a great article. I have no problem getting interviews, the problem is getting the job.

  22. Thanks for this, it’s helpful I have the same problem….but I think myn is networking.

  26. This is lovely. I think I should start applying for my jobs the right way. Adjust my CV to match the employer skill set…

  28. This is good one…I do change my cover letter and CV according to job responsibilities but nô interview …I don’t no where I go wrong

  30. Hey Grace,
    You can start building on your networks today.
    Just research on networking events around you and pick a relevant one.
    Also, some of the people in your social network can serve a purpose in the professional network.

  31. Hello Jared,
    Thanks for the feedback.
    We’ll have someone get back to you on both Digital Marketing and Career Coaching.

  32. Hello Godwin,
    Different companies have different policies.
    While the time is significant, it’s difficult to advise as you don’t know their timelines, resources, speed, etc.
    However, you can always reach out to the organization to seek clarification.

  36. For me ithink is the saying my network is my networth,ihave no connection,nice articles sir

  37. This is really professional, I’m quite moved reading the articles. I would like to enrol for digital marketing course,please advice on the fees amount.
    How do I find a career coach in information technology field?

  38. What if u apply a certain job then they say only shortlisted will b contacted then after three weeks they sent you a form you answer interview questions and submit it to hr with your passport. Does this mean am shortlisted? Kindly help

  40. Good advise. I sent my CV to you buy never gotten even an interview invitation. What could be the problem.

  42. Hey Robert,
    Every day we learn something new.
    We’re glad to see you’ve picked something from the advice shared.

  47. Thank you so much for the article, i can now tell some of the mistakes i have been doing.

  48. Great advice, your message has really touched home especially on the point of general Cv and applying for any position.
    This is something that has been bothering and I think it has been negatively affecting my applications.
    I will take your advice and look for ways of customizing it to specific applications.

  49. I keep learning new things every other day. Your advice is very professional and realistic.

  50. A good article indeed, but I too have the same issue. I have been applying for job but no feedback, not that I don’t have the required skills I do have them. Help me please.

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