How To Effectively Stand Out In The Crowded Job Market In Kenya

By Lilian Wamaitha
The job market is crowded, that no secret. Some people will go for months and even years after graduation before landing a real job – a job that is related to their professional.
So what can you do to ensure that you stand out? I am going to discuss several ways you can stand out in the crowded job market and emerge as the best candidate for any employer out there. Here is how;
Related: The 8 Commandments Of Job Hunting 

How To Stand Out In Today’s Job Market

Understanding today’s job market is vital if you are to stand any chance of ever getting the job.
You need to know how to maneuver your way to a job, what recruiters looks for as well as the healthy habits of successful jobs seekers. Here are ways you can ensure that you turn out to be the best candidates the recruiter will get.
1. Begin your job search early
This goes to anyone still in university or college. You don’t have to wait until you graduate or clear out for that hostel room to start looking for a job. The earlier you start the higher the chances you have. Start applying for internships early seeing that you have little experience to your name.
So many of us complain about how there are no jobs, but the truth is that, if you has started you job search early. You would be having several years of experience where every employer wants to have you.
I for instance wish that someone had told me this when I was still in school because them I would not have wasted a whole year trying to get a job. If you are already out of school and feel that this advice came too late, don’t despair.
Just keep sending those applications, applying for internships even. Be humble enough to want to start somewhere that’s all I’m saying.
2. Create networks that matter
If you don’t have a job yet, you need to get on your feet and start networking with key industry player. Go to LinkedIn and create a professional profile and start connecting with people in your industry. Go to your contacts and fish out people who can help you land a job.
This may be your lecturers back in school, friends and family who have already made it or that guest speaker who happened to grace an occasion you once attended. They say that the power of good networks cannot be underestimated.
The truth is that you cannot go at it alone. Job search is a full time job and just like a job, you need people to help you get to where you want. Don’t be shy to tell people that you are looking for a job. You never know where this may lead you.
3. Acquire the skills required in the job market
Most job seekers are busy going back to school to get certificates since the think that they will become more employable. On the other hand, employer is looking for candidates who have the skills required to perform a certain job.
So it doesn’t matter how many degrees and masters certificates you have, if you don’t have the skills nobody is going to employ you. Get the skills first and then get the credential first.
Don’t run back to school, after your degree to get a masters degree because you think that you will have a higher advantage over other candidates. Gone are the days when papers matter. Skills now rule the job market and if you don’t have the, you don’t get the job.
4. Brand yourself in as professional way
You may have the best CV, have all the right networks and skills yet you still don’t have the job. This then begs the question, how do you brand yourself. How do employers and other people around you perceive you? Do you dress the part?
Does your CV communicate that you are the right candidate. See more here on the power of branding as a job seeker.
5. Write a compelling CV
The one way to ensure that you stand out in the job market and I think I should have started with this is the need to have a compelling CV. Do you tailor your CV to fit the job you are applying for or do you just send the same one for every job application you make?
The job market is unforgiving and as such only the strong ones survive- only those who know what they want and are serious on how to get it make it. Only those job seekers who wow the recruiter with their CV make it to the interview stage.
If you are having trouble writing a compelling CV that gets you interviews, this is the point where you require the services of a professional CV writer. They will write you a CV that is in line with today’s job market and that you can be assured of getting you interviews. Click here to have your CV revamped.
Related: Top Tips On Professional CV Writing in Kenya 
Lilian is a Communications Officer at Career Point Kenya. Contact her through lilian@www.careerpointkenya.co.ke if you need any advice on job search, interviews or CVs.