The Unspoken Rules Of Kenyan Interviews: What Recruiters Won’t Tell You
“The moment I saw his CV, I thought we’d found our person. MBA from UON, five years in marketing, impressive portfolio. Then he walked into the interview wearing jeans and sneakers.”
These were the words of Natalia, a senior recruiter at Corporate Staffing.
It’s 3 PM on a Thursday, and Natalia has already conducted four interviews today for the role that was impossible to recruit due to the demands of the client. As our senior recruiter, she’s hired over fifty people in her career, and she’d developed a sixth sense for who will succeed and who won’t.
“The candidate I’m thinking of,” she continues, failed to answer a single behavioural question. Every response was generic, like ChatGPT wrote the answers. Answers like “I work well under pressure,” but when I asked him to tell me about a time he’d actually resolved a conflict with a colleague, he froze and struggled to give any answer.”
This is the reality that most job seekers never see. The gap between what looks good on a CV and what actually happens in that interview room. They already have your CV, so your competence is not what they are questioning.
Your Body Language Speaks Before You Do
“The Interview Begins Before You Enter the Room,” Natalia insists
Natalia has been in recruitment for more than 5 years, and the one thing she wishes every Kenyan job seeker knew is that the interview starts the moment you confirm the appointment after being pre-screened.
And that every candidate understood that non-verbal communication matters more than most people realize.
Kenyans are warm people when they want to,” Natalia says, “but sometimes we forget what warmth in professional settings actually means. Every interaction, whether it is email, phone call, or even how you greet the receptionist, all count.”
As we kept talking, Natalia told me about the tone that often confuses candidates in Kenyan interview settings.
“There’s this thing that happens, especially with older interviewers or panel interviews with senior management. Candidates become too shy. They look down when they are talking, they play with their hair and speak too softly for anyone to hear.
“They’re trying to be respectful, which I understand, but it reads as lacking confidence.” She shares.
As our interview winds down, Natalia shares one final insight that could make or break a candidate’s chances.
An interview is a two-way street,” she emphasizes. “But most Kenyans treat it like an interrogation they need to survive. When I ask if a candidate has any questions for us, and they say no, that is immediately a red flag.”
She shares some questions that really stood out to her
- What does success look like in this role after six months?
- What are the biggest challenges facing the team right now?
- Can you tell me about the team I’d be working with?
- What’s the growth path for someone in this position?
These questions show the hiring managers that you are not just there to say yes to any job.
She contrasts these questions with the type of questions to avoid asking:
Avoid asking about salary in the first interview; only bring it up when they do. She continues to insist on not focusing on the questions that only focus on leave days, vacation days and benefits that come with the role.
Your Next Interview Starts Now
Natalia’s insights reveal something most job seekers miss. Candidates should focus more on showing the recruiters that they are self-aware, prepared, and really interested in the position they are interviewing for, because it is more important during an interview than cramming the correct answers.
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