Getting a
job/work.
People expect that since education has gotten “better” and
that a person possesses a degree, find employment or even self-employment is
easy. Just show up with your CV and degree and the doors will open like the sea
parted for Moses.
The reality however is even with a degree there is no
gurantee. So many other factors come into play for instance the degree you
have, university you went to, industry you are trying to work in even the
country you are in and one’s nationality (in some places being a foreigner is
helpful in others it’s a deterrent). However with all that said there is one
thing that I think is a pain and that is a person is “under qualified” or
“inexperienced”. I notice that for some jobs advertised (these aren’t high
level positions e.g. assistant jobs, low level and mid low level entry positions
etc.) require you to have at least some years’ experience in the field. My
question is this then, if every job a person applies for requires them to have
experience, it means that a person needs to have experience before they can get
work so as to gain experience???????? It doesn’t make sense to me. How is it
expected for a fresh graduate to have experience or at all gain it when no one
is hiring someone without experience? The fact that a person went to college or
university means there are certain skills they picked up during that time which
will enable them to at the very least be competent in anything they do. So why
not hire someone and train them? Some people will think that’s what internships
are for, or that people leave for greener pastures, let me address those
points.
First a lot of the internships we get are unpaid which in
this day and age is a problem. The economy system and structure is shit to
begin with but what makes it worse is the mentality surrounding us. Since you
work then people (usually your folks) expect you to have money and they don’t
understand the concept of you working for free and even if they understand it I
believe and feel that it’s very heartbreaking for a person to ask for an
allowance to cater for transport to and from work as well as lunch. At the very
least a person should be able to break even. Be able to afford to get to work
and get lunch for the month.
The other problem is the duration of the internship. How
long should an internship last paid or not? From numerous sources it is said to
be no more than 3months but unfortunately some employers drag this out longer
and take advantage of people who don’t know this. Also I should mention that
some countries have made it illegal for a person to work somewhere with no remuneration.
But I am getting of topic a bit by going into law, work ethics and work
politics however it is something to think about. The laws and labor offices are
supposed to be the guardians here but when the infrastructure for them to do so
and even policies within a country are lacking, there isn’t much an individual
can do.
Another interesting thing I notice is that apparently even
though a person is a fresh graduate it’s possible for them to be “over
qualified”. I don’t know whether it’s a trick or a strategy but I have noticed
that some jobs as for people with certificates and diplomas and when a person
with a degree applies they are considered over qualified. This also happens
with people who have a Master’s degree. I thought the whole point of higher and
tertiary education was so you get credentials so as to work and yet you are
told your credentials are too good for the job available (I mean you did apply
for it so I’m guessing you must’ve seen the merits of doing so).
Incredibly though in our developing countries where they
want people to have so much experience, it wasn’t so for our parent’s
generation. Back in the day they didn’t go looking for work after University as
we did because jobs were waiting for them.
The population wasn’t as high as it is now meaning the work
place wasn’t over saturated with as many “qualified” people as it is now. There
were also not many people who went to University and got higher/tertiary
education thus they were very much sought after which is very different from
present day. Think about it how many of our parent’s friends and/or relatives
that are well established had to study up to a Master’s level? (Depending on
the field of expertise of course). These are the things that seem to be
overlooked when people are hounding you about working and so on.
I’m sure there are many other aspects but these ones stuck
out to me.
Jah Bless
