Revealed! Kenyans Spend More Than Sh25K in 3 Months in The Name of Job Hunting

By Jane Gakaria,

“Kazi ni kazi” as the saying goes. But what they don’t tell you is that job hunting is in itself is a ‘kazi’. A lot of employers make it a requirement nowadays to get so many documents and even after all the trouble; one isn’t even guaranteed that they’ll land the job.

Many job seekers are now finding themselves penniless after draining large amounts of money in that all too important job search quest without substantial results. So what exactly makes this quest so damn expensive?

Speaking to Mr. Martin Githaiga, a HR Officer with Corporate Staffing Services he attributes a big part of it to the documentation.

There are several certificates required which can be quite costly such as the Certificate of Good Conduct (Ksh.1000) compulsory for everyone, meant to show any criminal history. HELB Clearance Certificate (Ksh. 1000) to prove one doesn’t have any outstanding debts with HELB. Credit Reference Bureau Clearance (Ksh. 2500) meant to show one is credit worthy, mostly for people in the Finance and Banking Sector. Health Insurance Cover (Ksh. 1250) some companies require that you have insurance before you join them. Passport Photos (Ksh. 150 – 500) to attach to applications. Driving Licenses (Renewal Ksh. 600) mostly for driver jobs. Passports (Ksh. 6500) for people who want to work in the airline industry or for global multinationals.

Others required but are free are the KRA Tax Clearance form and Clearance from the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission.

The list doesn’t end there as more money is spent on making several photocopies and scans of different documents, SMS charges from receiving job alerts via phone, post office charges from buying stamps and sending applications, cyber charges from visiting cyber cafes, bus fare to travel to and fro company premises for interviews as well as for dropping off CVs.

What’s even worse for job seekers is that most of the required documents expire after one year and hence the whole process has to start all over again.

In a similar discussion on our face book page we asked job seekers how much money they had spent on their job searching quest and here are a couple of their responses.

A lady who did not wish to be mentioned stated that “I graduated last year in December and have used approximately sh. 25,000 to job search. I mostly used it on transport (Moving from one company/recruitment agencies to another), going to cyber cafes for online job searches, printing out CVs and cover letters etc.”

Mr. Robert Rono stated “For the last 2 weeks I have used Ksh. 4,150.” Mr. Mike Musa commented “I have also spent close to Ksh. 20,000 for less than 6months” while Ms. Velinda Okello explained that “I’m waiting for graduation possibly in December and I’ve already used 10,000 for the last three months.”

So why are employers being so cold and not taking employees’ efforts into consideration? It really has nothing to do with the employer. “This is not a personal vendetta where they are out to get you; it’s simply the order of the system. Unfortunately for most of us these are not the days of our parents and grandparents where all you needed was a secondary school certificate. The rules have changed so make due with it.”

That said there are two main reasons why those certificates are important. One, it is a standard requirement in most if not all industries. “No matter the career you have be it a doctor, accountant, security guard etc you will always be asked for them, so don’t complain and just do the necessary. After all no one career has it easier than the other.”

Two, some of these documents already have prior legal backing. “This means that either way someone is required to have them legally and it has nothing to do with the employer.” This could be the likes of Identity Cards to prove your nationality, driving licenses for legally drive on the roads, Passports to get in and out of the country legally etc. Furthermore these documents act as legal protection for the employer. Should an employee decide to engage in criminal activities and take off, the employer can track them down through their documentation.

His parting shot? “Job searching is in itself a job, so start early while still in school. Instead of students going for shisha parties all night long or spending their money on irrelevant things, they can save some of it for future tarmacking purposes. This would greatly help to cut down on their job hunting expenses,”

In conclusion, spending all that time and money is a necessary evil, there’s just no escaping it. Even if you’re self-employed some of those documents are still applicable to you. So don’t give up, do the necessary and hopefully your efforts will bear fruit and you will land that dream job sooner rather than later.

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