5 Mistakes Entry Level Job Seekers Must Avoid To Survive The Job Market

By Mark Namaswa,
When looking for that first job, we all start from somewhere and learn through our past errors and experience as we head along. And at the end of it all, our accumulated experience comes into play when looking for another job.

However, first-time job seekers need not commit the same errors their predecessors made. Experience is the best teacher but we could be wiser and learn from them instead.

Here are some common mistakes that job seekers make:

1. Applying for any job in any organization
Casting a wide net in search for a job is not entirely bad, in fact you can achieve a lot by doing it. However, employing a little more focus saves on time, energy and resources.

“It can be in the form of sending a blank application,” Christine Munene, HR Techo Brain Ltd cites an example of such applications. “You need to have a plan. A career does not kick off without a basic plan. You need to know which industry, which department and what position,” she says.

“If you aim at being an accountant you can apply for internship or accounts clerk in a firm in an industry you fancy.”

2. Dismissing Temporary or Contract Jobs
According to Flora Otieno, HR Kenatco Taxis, most jobseekers would love to have a stable first job but as a fresh jobseeker, not taking up temporary jobs in this case is like shooting yourself in the foot.

“These [temporary] jobs form the basis of experience that is asked for by employers across the labour market. Therefore taking up contract or temporary jobs goes a long way in accumulating exposure which will help someone new in the job market to even locate other opportunities,” she says.

“It is a well-known observation that those already doing some kind of job are more likely to get another job than those who haven’t done any at all.”

3. Clinging to Hard Copy Applications
“In this era most firms don’t have storage for those and most recruiters do it online,” points out Ms. Munene.

“Unless specifically asked for, find out if the firm takes hard copies, and also if going for a face-to-face meeting with the hiring manager carry a hard copy though chances are he will prefer to have your resume on his screen,” she says.
Otherwise for most of the time, the hard copies only serve to keep the paper shredder occupied.

4. Pegging All Hopes on Higher Education
Contrary to common belief having impressive higher education is not always a ticket to a job of choice points out Ms. Munene.

She says: “Understand what your chosen career demands. Most careers require hands-on experience coupled with academics so if you concentrate so much on academics you may lose out on opportunities.”

As she opines, it is wiser to do professional certifications compared to a Masters since they are more on practical hands-on skills. “For example,” she says, “a fresh B.com Accounting graduate is better off doing CPAs or ACCA after graduation than a Masters degree. If they have worked on this they ought to gain some experience to top up with training for example on trending accounting software. After some stability then they can rethink a Masters,” she advices.

5. Being Overly Selective
Ms. Otieno sums up by saying: “Entry level jobseekers should not be very demanding, choosy or rigid when looking for jobs or responding to job offers. After all, they all need to start from somewhere for purposes of gaining work experience. Being too choosy or hoping to start from a high-end employer at the first job can result in making the job search unnecessarily lengthy,” she says. “Be open to starting from somewhere.”

Dont Miss any Job Or Article Subscribe to Career Point Kenya by Email FOR FREE CLICK HERE