To my esteemed wazuans,

Seriously, what do you need to get a job in Kenya?

Mukiha, Njunge, Wendz, the Accounting fraternity, my cousin graduated with an MBA from Strathmore University and is a CPA K and is still unemployed.

What exactly do you need to get a job? This is so frustrating...any leads or advice is highly appreciated.

Please help!

Sad but true... some cash for the recruiting agency - 50K to get you through the door, then he/she will pull the strings with the potential employer and broker fees for you, I have heard of 1 metre changing hands (depending of course on the position). And these are not the back street recruitment agencies, but the so called executive search folks.

He needs to be very aggressive in his job search. I have found out that generally those who are successful are not necessarily the one with the best grades in college etc. It is the ones who have the most 'hunger' for success. A bit of luck and networking i.e. who you know also helps tremendously.

So true

@IDP....Misleading! She does not have to.

@My 2 cents
You are right. I would say, you have to be more aggressive. You have to have the passion of what you are looking for and be determined to move your mass around.

Many youngsters these days want to sit and wait to "hear" of a job opening.. by the time it is opening, a million people have heard of it and you have to be way above the crowd to get it. some are too 'embarrassed to take their cvs around because they do not want people to know they are looking for a job! Tell people, tell everyone who cares to listen(but dont put all your hope there)...... even if you are going to shout at the rooftops... you shouldnt be embarrassed... anyone in a job, most likely, started where you are. but remember to maintain your dignity.... and choose the kind of firms yo would like to work for. Personally, i would never put one single application to a one-man show sort of a company..... thats where the trouble lies mostly but i am not saying all are like that.

Personally, there is no one single building i dint enter in town. I tarmacked - literally, for one and a half months more than majority do in 5 years. by the end of the 1.5 months, I had 3 jobs to choose from.... (low paying poor jobs but jobs all the same - but i blame my naivety anyway) the one i took i didnt finish probation coz i was called for a slightly better one.

You dont have to hide nothing... just be yourself and pray for it. You never know where your breakthrough will come from. but send out your cvs. i had a target of 20 cvs every day. What was i using, the Directory... page by page... You wont get to M before getting a job or get some interests from where you've sent.

Ati hide your papers? put them out there. be proud of what you have achieved. someone seeking for someone with your qualification will pick you up...... you only need to widen your net regarding where you are sending your cvs.

also how you present yourself at the interview matters a lot. some people are fit for a 'research and development' facility, being overly theoretical. They sometimes do not portray themselves to the level of their papers. I guess it is the kenyan educational system that is churning graduates who are out of touch with the market(((

I am a bit concerned: did your cousin get an MBA without work experience?

If yes, then God help Kenyan MBAs...

I think i like Wazua

>> Its not lost the first day after campus....the big question was what next, followed by a long blank stare to the horizon...with 1,000 bob in my pocket, accruing rent debts, and inflicting pangs of hunger, definately something had to be done...the 1,000 bob was finished on postage stamps, foolscaps and envelopes...It couldn't go on anymore...and with some computer acquired during my campus good days started doing what most people considered to be for the uneducated people, gave a better service and got fanatical loyalty from my clients....earning an average of 1K per day while those i was in the same class still lamented on scarcity of jobs...



>> Moral of the story, get her out of the comfort cocoon, give her some challenge to jog her mind...then you will see what she is capable of...time and chance happens to them all...ultimately she will nail a good job, but meanwhile its not a reason to watch afro sinema all day for being jobless..tell her to start crawling, until she learns to fly

Knowing what you want where to find it at what time and being aggressive is the way this days.
There is new generation of chap chap guys getting lucrative jobs even before they get their final university undergraduate results.
Not because they know someone but because of their hunger for success. They can do anything even running their academic semesters parallel with par-time jobs hence graduating with much more experience than many who have masters only and want to have their first job as managers. Its called "generation XYZ money here now". To compete with them you got to be smart. Success does not belong to the faint-hearted. This is not the time for the oiyeee oiyeee and luck, go for it, if you are smart you will get, if you are outsmarted its not the end of the road try another one. All the best.