One of the most tired interview questions asked in Kenya is “where do you see yourself in five (or ten) years?” I think she’s tired because honestly, isn’t there another way to ask that same question?

The essence of that question is to establish the interviewee’s sense of direction and focus. While I appreciate its value, now that I’m an employer, I think there’s something more important I’d be looking for wrapped up in that oft-used question.

What I would really like to hear an interviewee say to me is, ‘what value will you add to my organization if I give you this job?’

How years of grand corruption directly affect your job search.

Because of our history of a steep rise in corruption for more than a decade, we have a generation that is not convinced that work is worth committing to. They have seen a significant number of people make a comfortable living by being fraudulent and dishonest.

This is by no means meant to paint Kenya as a nation of frauds, but the culture of fraud rampant for roughly two decades has become significantly entrenched. One effect of those years was a slow-growing or no-growth economy. Subsequently, there is a generation that lives daily in a reality where finding work in Kenya is a terribly difficult challenge, with more than 70% of people in the age range of 21 to 35 without a paid job. This is a state of affairs that was not created by them, but they have to live in it.

While I appreciate that fact, it is critical that those directly affected by the culture of grand corruption work and organize their affairs in a way that supports the honest achievement of their goals, rather than perpetrating the culture that is working against them.

A faulty work ethic is off-putting to most employers.

A common complaint among employers is that the young, as the unemployed are commonly called, do not like to work.

If that accusation is true, how did it happen?

These are the children of the years of great corruption ‘success’ stories. They saw a principal (just as an example) show up at school on foot because they couldn’t afford a bike let alone a car and take over running the public school as principal.

At the close of the first year on the job, the director, who had by then added inches around his belly, bought a gas-guzzling 4×4 SUV and went ahead to buy land; all in one fell swoop. On the land they built a large school to compete directly with the state school they ran. Did the director previously have an identifiable business? Oh no!

This generation saw that the same principal rarely sat in his office, he came to work drunk, but the only consequences of that behavior were a lot of money to spend, even when the standards of the public school they were to administer were gone. to the garete

Now this is the same graduate that the employer has on their hands. They want to be paid more for doing less and they are making it very difficult for entrepreneurs to run efficient businesses.

They learned by observation that jobs don’t need one to add value to the organization, but money needs to spill over. It’s nearly impossible to convince employees with this mindset that they can take home a “normal” salary.

Now, that is very unpleasant for ALL decent and honest employers, which, by the way, are the majority. Human resources are expensive and employers prefer to stay away from employees with this flawed work ethic.

A rare breed is highly valued in the competition for jobs.

The potential employee who can tell an employer as soon as possible that they have the right work ethic is one that the employer will quickly bring into their organization. They are rare and therefore a valuable breed.

The easiest way to show an employer that you have the right work ethic is to show that you have put a lot of thought into your job search efforts.

Hastily crafted resumes and poorly crafted job objective statements won’t give you a second glance. The most important telltale sign is the conspicuous lack of background screening displayed by many job seekers in Kenya.

Job candidates who will take time to do a thorough background search at the organization they are applying to, who show an excellent ability to communicate their skills and competencies to the company, who indicate that they know exactly what skill and value Job seekers who have chosen to take the road less traveled in their job search in Kenya will join the organization.

Such seekers are of far greater value in the eyes of an employer than any title, first, second or third, they may hold. Showing that you are aware that employment means giving value to an organization will do wonders for you in the Kenyan employment landscape.