3 Reasons Why You’re Unemployed And May Continue To Remain So

My current job requires me to scout for some people for a role. Contrary to the usual conception of recruitment we have had to move around individuals, departments, agencies, and anyone whose contacts would be useful. In essence, therefore, our approach is very different from usual recruitment which is done within some flexibly wide timeframe using certain media and open to the general public.

This is limited and tough. I’ve been doing recruitment and selection for some few years and each time I’m not scared of surprises. When asked to tell us something about herself, all one interviewee could come up with is “I’m a woman; as you can see I’m a woman looking for a job”. And she kept repeating that nonsense. At a point, I figured the request to tell us about herself sounded absurd.

Generally, it appears most people are not employable. I’ve been asking members of my team whether some of the applicants would be counted as unemployed. Honestly, it is unfair for some people to qualify for the unemployment statistics. They are simply not employable. I admit that interviews are not necessarily good determinants of performance. But as I indicated earlier our recruitment process is not traditional. I’ve sat in several traditional formal interview sessions and I can attest the differences. How we interview is very informal and meant to put applicants in a position to freely express themselves without any intimidation. But that hasn’t worked for most applicants.

I argue that many people are not employable for several reasons. First, many seem to have nothing more than their mere existence as humans. Being just a human being hasn’t gotten anyone a job because that’s not an achievement. I’m sure you’ll agree that you didn’t make any contribution to your existence. What you’ve contributed to is how you’ve existed, the use you’ve put your living, the contribution you’ve made to the world you came to meet, and your potential to impact the world. No one is looking for anyone to offer jobs.

You should have something more than being a human. I wonder who would employ someone who’s intimidated by the request to submit a CV as part of a recruitment process. Will anyone employ someone who doesn’t know what a CV is? (I know such people can get some jobs that suit them so don’t answer affirmatively). Who will employ people who do not want to be interviewed or taken through any selection process but are looking for jobs?

Second, many people do not appear to have learned many things. I used ‘learned’ instead of ‘educated’ because mentions of education usually bring schooling to mind. I’m not talking of schooling because somehow that has been the bane for most people who appear not employable. The school system hasn’t really made the desired impact. You have a lot to learn in addition to what the school taught you before becoming meaningfully functional. That’s why the HR people term the process “recruitment (or scouting) and selection”.

They are looking for specific people and not anyone. You need to bear in mind that schooling contributes just twenty percent to your employability. The remaining whopping eighty percent is everything other than schooling. So to make the cut you should bring something other than school certificates. Make good use of every opportunity to learn and learn everything. I mean everything. In so far as you have the capacity to do just engage and add to your knowledge and experience. It will pay off sooner or later.

Third, you don’t need to apply for every employment opportunity. Most of us suffered this fate after school. Once we see or hear about any recruitment we just jump in. It even gets very interesting such that people lose track of where they’ve sent applications. In most interviews, we realize that applicants are ill prepared and just trying their luck. If you continue that way you’ll miss several opportunities. Before applying for any job endeavor to know enough about the position or role and ensure you’re a good fit for it.

Also, prepare very well before interviewing or going through any recruitment and selection process. The recruiters don’t know you and don’t really want to. They are just looking forward to you to impress them and bam, you have the job. How to impress them is learned. What to do to be able to impress them is what most people lack.

I’ve been through a lot in the few years of my existence on earth and have learned a lot. I continue to learn because I believe the only reason I’m still existing is to continue learning to be a better person to benefit others. I suggest you do same. Never stop learning. Learn from the best and the worst; learn from the lazy and hardworking; learn from the rich and poor; learn from the old and young. In short, learn from everyone because those lessons are useful and you never know when they will become necessary.

By: Mustapha Bin Usman

The author is a writer, entrepreneurship expert, business and life coach, entrepreneur, farmer, trainer, and teacher. You may contact him via email: [email protected] or on Mobile/ WhatsApp: +233 246 134 798 or visit his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/theusmanconsulting/