If you’re looking for a job in Kenya, it might feel like the Human Resources (HR) department in many Kenyan companies is your sworn enemy. They can be non-responsive to your job application. They don’t offer feedback on why you weren’t selected for a job. And worst of all, sometimes you don’t get any acknowledgement that they even received your CV.
Keep this simple fact in mind: HR is expected to cut 95% or more of all candidates that apply for any given job. It is not uncommon for HR to receive 500-5,000 applicants per job opening. This means that they must rely on procedures and screening tools just to get through the massive number of Kenyan applicants for any particular job vacancy.
It’s not that they hate you. They need to detach personally in order to get their job done.
It’s not that they hate you. They need to detach personally in order to get their job done.
“Radio silence” – such as the lack of any communication – is a product of both detachment and time-saving devices. Oftentimes, if HR doesn’t set up an automatic reply email in their Applicant Tracking System (ATS), they won’t have the time to reply to each and every submission.After the job is filled, rejection or regret emails are delayed for the same reason — plus, it’s cheap to be rude.
Replying to all the candidates means taking time, even if it is an automated system.Plus, many companies in Kenya like to keep the job open at least until the first day of the new person. This way, if something happens to their top candidate, they can revisit all of the applications in the ATS. It is cheaper to go through previous applications a second time, rather than repost the job on the Daily Nation or even here at www.kenyancareer.com
Finally, HR departments won’t give feedback to candidates in order to protect the company from possible exposure to discrimination lawsuits. This doesn’t mean that all employers are hiring from questionable viewpoints. It just means that HR professionals have been trained to not give out the information to protect from any perceived unfairness.
Perceived discrimination is a real threat for employers. Even if they have done no wrong, defending against a lawsuit takes time and lots of money in legal fees.
While HR doesn’t hate you, they are certainly not your friend. It is their job to cut you, not hire you. Keep this in mind whenever you apply to a job. It is your responsibility to make your CV as HR friendly as possible. This includes using modifying your CV per job requirements, being relevant to the job and following the instructions in the job advert.
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