4 Reasons Why You’re Still Unemployed (And How To Fix That)

By Perminus Wainaina 

What is your dream job, and what is keeping you from getting it?

The Kenyan job market is full of professionals either trying to get a job, or looking to advance in their careers.

While multiple positions are advertised on job search platforms every day, it appears the number of professionals looking for opportunities outweigh the positions available. Whether you’ve just joined the job market as a fresh graduate, or you quit your job to look for a better one, or you were laid off due to redundancy, or maybe you’re trying to get back to the job market after a long break, the situation is still the same.

A couple of weeks back, I spoke with Rose, who has been unsuccessfully looking for a job for three years now.

Rose studied Bachelor of Science in Procurement and Logistics. After graduation, she went on a five-month job search journey without any luck.

She finally got a job with a logistics company. She gave the job her best, and the management noticed her efforts and promoted her to a supervisory role.

After two years, the company closed down due to financial issues and Rose was back on the unemployment track.

With her experience and achievements, she thought it would be easy to land another job.

“At first, I was eyeing supervisory and managerial roles. But after a while, I started applying for entry-level procurement jobs. Still no success.

I resulted to applying for any job I could find, I no longer cared about the field it was in… three years later, I am still unemployed.

What I’m I doing wrong, and how can I get a job?”

You too, may be in a similar situation –applying for jobs without any feedback from employers. While some factors are outside your control, there is still a lot you have to do with the success of your job search process.

Below, I have highlighted the top reasons that are hindering you from getting a job and the solutions to these problems.

1. You don’t have the required skills

The skills you possess help you execute the role effectively.

When you don’t have the skills needed, an employer will be hesitant to give you the job as it means they have to spend time and resources training you on these skills.

If you’re a fresh graduate, you may be shocked to learn that less than a third of graduates have the skills needed to excel in their careers.

If you have a few years of experience, this doesn’t exempt you. Consider there are advancements in your field, which demand you to keep updated on the skills required in your profession.

Click here for more on the 4 Reasons Why You’re Still Unemployed (And How To Fix That)