Here Is How I Was Finally Able To Land My Dream Job After 1 Year Of Unsuccessfully Sending Applications

By Lilian Wamaitha
Are you wondering why you keep being passed over and the next candidate is given the job?
In the current job market, it’s normal to receive hundreds of applications for a single position considering the unemployment rates in this country.
And as such you probably have been in this situation too many a time; you see a job that you really like and are sure is the perfect fit for you. You send you application and eagerly wait for that interview invite. Weeks go by and you realize that you never made the cut.
Why not? You had all the qualifications they were looking for?
What really do employers look for when hiring and what determines if you get your foot through the door.
Here is Richard’s story, a project manager now for almost a year at an FMCG company along Mombasa Road.
Richard says that for the past one year, he had tried desperately looking for jobs with no success after resigning from his previous job to take care of his ailing wife.
“I always considered myself to have all the qualifications I needed for a position in project management. However if the events of the past one year are anything to go by, is that the job market is not what it used to be a decade ago.
After my wife fell sick, I had to resign from my job to move with her upcountry to take care of her.
Little did I know that another misfortune was waiting to happen. When she recovered, I considered going back to work since we had spent a lot of our savings on here treatment.
At 34 and having worked for two companies for almost 1o years, it had never occurred to me that I would ever apply for a job and miss an interview. After all, I had all those years of experience under my belt and it had not been hard finding my two jobs.
I knew that all I needed to do was send a few applications and any HR manager would want to meet me for an interview.
However, four months down the line, I realized that something was amiss. None of the applications I had sent had attracted any prospects. Time was running out on me and I knew that if I didn’t land a job anytime soon, our finances would suffer.
I tried networking with those I knew from my previous job but none of them was willing to help me. All they saw was a thirty something year old without a grasp of their life. To them, I was wasting their time and mine as well.
I even remember someone who used to be a close friend of mine telling me that it would be difficult to get a job since most companies wanted to employ “young blood” whatever that means. I didn’t believe in this.
The only other option I was left with was to keep applying for more jobs. Fast forward a year later and I was still jobless, desperate and wondering what I was doing wrong.
That is when I came across a training course on “What Employers Look For In A CV” organized by Corporate Staffing Services and I knew immediately that I needed it. I was taught how to write a CV, how to position myself for a job and how to pass job interviews.
Afterwards, I met with one of the CV writers, Rebecca Nyawira and we sat with her for over 30 minutes reviewing my CV and telling me what changes needed to be made on it.
And must I say that after getting my professionally written CV, I applied for four project management jobs that I knew I really qualified for. Three of them turned into actual interviews, meaning that I had three offers to consider.
I had always wanted to work in the FMCG industry and so I went with that offer. I have not regretted anything since then, I am happy with my job and I feel like I am making a difference.
Today, when I look at the CV that Corporate Staffing Services did for me and what I was using back then, I’ve realized that I never knew anything about writing a CV especially for today’s job market.
It had never occurred to me that the job market is not as it used to be 10 years ago. Now there is more competition for the same limited slots and if you don’t position yourself for the job you want, you will not get it.
You may have several years of experience like me and still not get the job while someone else who you consider less qualified gets it. You may still be a fresh graduate or just in your first job and wondering why you are not getting interviews, look at the CV you are using.
That piece of document has the ability to change your entire life if you want it to. I would know it.”
Are you currently in the same situation as Richard? Do you want to bring an end to your long job search? Do you want to stop applying for just any job you come across because no one seems to take you serious?
Get a CV make-over today and change your narrative by sending your CV now to cvwriting@corporatestaffing.co.ke and someone will get back to you on the next step.