A LETTER TO KENYAN GRADUATES
Whether you got first class, second class, pass, whether you studied law, software engineering, production, chemical, actuarial, education… THERE ARE NO JOBS.
The first thing you need to do as a graduate is to separate yourself from that sense of entitlement, that thinking that you deserve the best because you worked hard in school. Life out here is different.
Secondly as a graduate, for a moment don’t be fixated on what you studied, most people are employed in fields that they did not study, they end up doing well and pursuing it as a career.
Third, when you graduate don’t limit yourself to the big companies you read in the newspaper because everyone is applying there and they can’t absorb every graduate.
Trying your luck in the so called funny organizations that are down town could see you a manager in 2yrs unlike being an intern at PWC, KEMRI, KPLC, KRA etc.
Fourth, getting regret or no response does not mean you stop applying; I made more than 1000 applications over a period of one year before I got my first job “Intern” then retained in the same organization.
Fifth, the attitude you display when doing your first job will determine your growth. At a car wash, you may strike a conversation with a CEO of a company, as a waiter, as a cleaner.
I speak of a friend who picked a messengers job in Unga limited, today he is a senior manager in production right from the other managers sending him to buy mandazi, and one day they asked what he studied.
When you are in sales, you could be selling loans, insurance, utensils to your next employer. The concept of getting such a job is to get you out of the house, interact with people and connect you to the next level.
Sitting in the house as a graduate will not change your life, complaining on Twitter will not bring a job. Sending 1, 2, 20 applications is not enough until you get an opportunity
If you find a company or someone willing to absorb you as an intern even if you have a masters take it, that 3 months on job training can change your life.
Going for a masters in the same field you studied that has made you jobless is a mistake, employers start seeing you overqualified for junior position and unqualified for senior position because you don’t have work experience.
Getting a job before masters opens your mind beyond textbook knowledge and you start seeing which careers you can pursue that suit your experience.
Finally, all you need is a job to enable get money to print your CV, buy nice clothes for the next interviews to your dream job.
Wishing you all the best.
