Are There Benefits To Applying For Jobs In An Industry You Have Experience In?

By Michelle Wanjiku
The number of qualified job seekers increases on a daily basis which makes it more difficult for you to get a job.
Years back, you would get a good job just because you went to university and got a Degree. However, in this day and age, you will need more than just your academic qualifications to get a good job.
You will find that most employers are not willing to hire fresh graduates or people with no experience because they consider it expensive.
According to a survey conducted by The Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) on members last December, up to 70 percent of entry-level recruits need a refresher course to understand and deliver at the workplace.
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This is why if you want to have an upper hand when applying for jobs, you need to ensure you have the experience to show you can do the job.
However, for some employers it’s not just about having experience, some go as far as specifying that they want someone with experience in the same industry.
For example, a manufacturing company would want to hire someone who has experience working in a manufacturing company because they feel this person will require less training.
According to Cynthia Wangeci, a recruitment manager at Corporate Staffing Services, some employers insist on only hiring people within the same industry. And even when they say the industry doesn’t matter, they will still give preference to someone who has worked in the industry when inviting candidates for interviews.
This is not to say that you will not get a job if you have no experience in that industry, it just means that if you do have the experience then you will have an advantage over the other job applicants.
Can you still get a job even without experience in the industry?
Yes, you can still get a job even though you have never worked in the industry in question before.
“I once invited someone for an interview who looked great on paper, they had the knowledge the employer wanted and they were in the same industry.
However, he could not communicate well during the interview so I decided to recommend a different person who had no prior experience in the same industry but performed better in the interview,” says Ms. Wangeci.
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You just need to show the employer that you have what it takes to do the job through your achievements come in. Show that you are able to do the job because you have done it before and you will have a better chance of getting the job.
So how do you leverage your experience in the industry?
When applying for a position in an industry you have worked in before, it is best to highlight this experience in your CV and cover letter.
The employer will be more willing to trust you with the job if they feel like you already have knowledge of how everything works.
That means that when you apply for a position, you need to use your experience in that industry to boost your chances of getting an interview.
In Conclusion,
Although having experience in a particular industry is a big plus, it does not guarantee that you will get a job.
You cannot just depend on your experience; you also need to have good interview skills that will enable you to impress the interviewer. Your experience will get you an interview but it is the interview that will get you the job.
Michelle is a Communication Officer/Digital Marketer at Career Point Kenya. Email: michelle@www.careerpointkenya.co.ke