How Digital Media is Transforming Job Applications and Interviews in Kenya
Kenyan youth browses through his laptop
The youth are still the victims of the unemployment crisis that is facing Kenya. Each year, there is a large number of graduates that leave college year after year with hopes of getting a job but only a small percentage of them end up getting a job. Only 67 percent are left in limbo with degrees in their hands but no avenue to better their qualifications.
Seeking employment is a job to many people. In an application to another, young Kenyans are holding onto the belief that some day they will get that elusive email telling them they are hired.
Also Read
World Bank Urges Kenya to Raise Excise Taxes to Clear Mounting Pending Bills
Behind the Smiles: The Unseen Mental Struggles of University Students in Kenya
Gideon Moi Exits Baringo Senate Race After Talks With President Ruto
This is usually initiated through social media and job sites where there are always vacancies on LinkedIn, X (previously Twitter) and BrighterMonday among others. Applicants are racing to meet deadlines, polish resumes, and write persuasive cover letters in the hope of outshining a crowd of hopefuls.
However, once you have applied a million times, the waiting game commences. No reply (even a message of regrets) comes after weeks or even months. This silence is disturbing to many and makes them wonder whether their resumes or application strategies were up to the game.
Liz Wangui, a university graduate tells her story: I went out for over 100 jobs before I got one. I personalized each resume to each position, I researched the concept of Search Engine Optimization and even hired professional resume creators. Of that, only seven invites to interview came my way with no offers. The career she did finally find was ironically the result of a friend recommendation after she had essentially been jobless in six years. Her experience follows in the line of other youths who now feel that personal relationships, not credentials, are the key to the job order in the modern workplace.
But the question is–are resumes an outdated thing?
Career Development Coach and Senior Manager, Silvia Njambi, says yes. She explains that employers now are abandoning the traditional CVs that only provide so much information about the true capacity of a candidate. Rather, numerous recruiters are now favoring more dynamic approaches like video resumes and online portfolios.
Video introductions are becoming the in thing compared to resumes that take a long time to complete, Njambi says. They enable employers to gauge communication abilities, confidence, and personality-criteria that a paper resume cannot communicate effectively. She further notes that recruiters are increasingly using portfolios and actual work samples which demonstrate what an applicant can really do instead of achievement lists. Employers want to know what you will do and not what you claim to have done, she insists.
Professional presentation has also taken a different dimension with the emergence of LinkedIn. It was one of the sites regarded as a networking site but it has now emerged as a great recruiting tool. An effective LinkedIn profile can oftentimes become more powerful than a traditional resume. According to Njambi, LinkedIn is the way to go. A profile with your professional story is as a resume and a background check.
Kate Nderu, People, Culture, Change Director at Knitwise Human Capital agrees. She writes that LinkedIn profiles play a significant role in hiring. I will always visit the LinkedIn profiles of applicants when going through their applications. Most of the profiles that are really notable tend to be those that become shortlisted, she says. She goes on to suggest that the networking capabilities of the platform enable job seekers to reach out to prospective employers- a crucial move in the modern job market.
Nevertheless, Nderu admits that referrals are still one of the primary hiring criteria. She divulges that 40 percent of my recruits are word of mouth or referrals. “Networking is key. It is one of the most powerful methods to be noticed and referred.
Njambi shares this sentiment, as she points out that in the digital age, a connection matters, as well as your ability to present yourself well online, which makes or breaks you. Employers continue to request resumes, she concludes, but what is more important is your online presence, your work visibility, and your professional network. No longer is it about what you did, but how you did it and what you are doing it.
Essentially, new media are reshaping Kenya job market. Online platforms, video resumes, and professional networks are changing the way applicants apply and how companies recruit-making the conventional job-searching process a more cooperative, interactive and transparent one.
