Do Employers Really Care About Your Education When Hiring?

By Kibet Tobias
According to the Ministry of Education, about 50, 000 graduates are churned out of public and private universities every year piling onto the number of unemployed youths in the country which is estimated at 2.3 million.
This means that employers have to select the best candidates from a large pool of qualified applicants who are applying for the same job.
And due to this, one of the questions that most job seekers ask, is what employers look for when shortlisting.
Is it your level of education or the many years that you have worked? Is it your skills?
To put your mind to rest, in this article, I will look at what exactly employers look for in candidates.
So What Really Matters To Most Employers?
1. Experience
Experience is key to every sector. You are more likely to be successful in your job search if you have some experience.
According to Cynthia Wangeci, expert recruitment manager at a leading HR firm in Nairobi, graduates who demonstrate some experience no matter at what level are more likely to be successful in their job search than those without.
“Your education is important, yes, but it will come as a secondary requirement, Employers want to feel like you can contribute something to the organization and this means proving that you have worked elsewhere” she advises.
It is for this reason that most companies state the required years of experience in the job adverts.
If find that you don’t have the experience the employer is looking for, don’t apply for that job.
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How Do I Gain Work Experience?
The one question asked by many graduates: how do you land a job, when every company requires that you have experience in your chosen field in order to be hired?
Here are two ways to gain experience and get your first job.
#Internships
This is an obvious option yet many people still ignore.
Many small and large companies in Kenya offer internships and graduate trainee programmes today. These programmes effectively help you to learn more about your industry and pick up relevant skills.
Remember an internship can sometimes lead to a job with that company you intern for.
So how can you find them? Create a list of the companies you’re interested in working for. You can check out a list of internship opportunities here and apply today.
#Volunteering
This is another great way to gain work experience. Whichever degree or diploma you have, find organization where you can volunteer at.
Chances are they will be eager to offer you a volunteer position. You may not be paid for it but it will be a great way of gaining the experience you need.
Some companies may even offer you a full time job if they realize that you are doing a good job.
#Networking
Who do you know?  It is important to create a network of people who can help you land a job. They can be family, friends, neighbors college mates and more.   Maybe some among them know someone working in the industry you want to work in.
You can also attend career events as they can give you chances of finding out out more about certain companies, meet their employees and get an idea of how to get a job with them.
Take advantage of those professionals, talk to them, get their contact details and keep in touch.
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2. Your duties and responsibilities
Employers actually want to know what candidates did in their previous jobs.
During your work experience, it is advisable to know your responsibilities and the skills that you are learning and developing in your role. You will eventually use them in future applications and interviews.
Remember you may have held a similar position advertised in a different company, but maybe your duties do not correspond to those needed.
In this case, show relevance to the current job by listing the most important responsibilities first on your CV.
You can structure your roles in a way that will make it easy for employers to scan and extract the key information they need. The best way to do this is to break the roles into bullet-point form.
3. Skills
When companies hire they look for people with qualities that will allow them to successfully interact with colleagues, clients, and others in the workplace.
Have you worked on your communication skills? Regardless of the job you’re applying for, employers will expect you to have excellent written and verbal communication skills. Depending on the position, you will need to be able to communicate effectively with employees, managers, and customers in-person, online, in writing, and on the phone.
Can you be able to work with a team? Team work skills are required for almost every industry.
In short, you should be able to demonstrate the skills required by the potential employer both in the CV and during the interview.
In the end, you will realize that employers not only want to see what skills and education qualification you have, but how dependable you can be as an employee. The next time you don’t hear from the employer or you are told that you don’t have enough experience for the job you want, try using one or more of the techniques above to gain more experience to help get you the job. You will finally make it!
The writer is content writer at Career Point Kenya. For any related queries contact tobias@www.careerpointkenya.co.ke or comment on the section below.