Interview Questions & Answer: “What Have You Achieved Since Graduating?”

Interview Questions & Answer: “What Have You Achieved Since Graduating?”

By Susan Gitonga

2017 is here with us and it might be the year where you have purposed to land a job. Finally.

The truth of the matter is that job searching in Kenya is becoming more cut throat because of the many numbers of qualified applicants for the various available jobs.

For recent graduates you can be sure that once you walk into an interview you will be required to have some experience.

HR experts such as Melody Mwendwa of Corporate Staffing Services advice confess that rarely will an employer give you a job with no work experience.

So if you do not have experience, you ought to be out in the field practising your skills which then makes it easy for you to answer the question.

And how then do you get experience if you have no formal employment?

3 Ways To Get Experience:

1.Volunteer Work

Join an organization that does voluntary work. Red Cross is one such organization that you can volunteer with.

You can also join a group that does charity work like visiting children’s homes, because the experience and people skills you will learn from volunteering will be a plus to your CV.

2. Get an unpaid internship

Sometimes you have to sacrifice your time and gain experience even without pay. Internships are very valuable in today’s job world because they allow you to work in your respective field and learn as much as you can.

Money is good, but it doesn’t have to be the reason why you don’t get work experience.

Work for someone for free. The lessons you will learn from them will give you an edge above all other applicants.

Read Also >>> 3 Tips To Get Internship in Your Relevant Field

3. Join a professional body

There are many professional bodies in Kenya such as the Public Relations Society of Kenya for Public Relations Practitioners, Media Council of Kenya for Media people, Law Society of Kenya for Law professionals etc.

Affiliate yourself with a professional body that is in line with your area of interest and study.

Actively participate in their activities as this will be a great source of experience for you.

All the above are ways you can gain experience once you graduate. So, how do you answer the question about how you have been spending your time since graduating?

2 Ways to Answer “What have you achieved since graduating?”

1. Talk about your participation in voluntary work

When it comes to talking about voluntary work, mention the skills that you learnt from it.

Maybe you were given a role as a team leader, make sure you talk about it.

Give a breakdown of activities you took part in and how they are related to your areas of interest.

Sample answer, “I volunteered with Akili Dada and taught young girls in Kibera English since  I studied journalism and communication. I empowered the young girls in Kibera by imparting the basic skills I knew.”

2. Mention any Internship you did

If you have just recently graduated, talking about an internship you did in the course of your school life will be gold to you.

Tell the employer which department you served in and how you contributed effectively to the company.

Were there any ideas you introduced to the company during your internship? Talk about them…

Sample answer: “I got an Internship with company ABC and was serving in the Sales department. I was able to bring a great number of clients to the company and it was during my time there that the company registered the biggest profit. I also learnt how to manage difficult clients and maintain a good business relationship with them. “

The employer does not expect that you have been working in a full time job after graduating. In fact what they are looking to find out is how you have been spending your time while job hunting.

Would you like to speak to a HR expert concerning your Career and job search? Book a session to melody@corporatestaffing.co.ke

Got any questions or comments? Leave them below. Susan is a Communcations Officer at Career Point Kenya. Email: susan@www.careerpointkenya.co.ke

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