Qualified but no job

THE reason why most people are qualified but don’t get jobs is because they don’t know how to answer interview questions and to write appealing curriculum vitae (CVs). This is the reason why many Ugandan and other doctors from Africa, are unemployed in the United Kingdom, India and other Western countries.
Dr. Ceppie Merry, the head of Clinical Pharmacology Department at Mulago Medical School attributes this partly to the inappropriate CVs most of them often present in search of jobs. She says most of them have one CV for every job they apply for, even when much of what is on the CV does not reflect what the job requires of them. “You would not have one CV you hand out for every job,” she says. “Employers get many CVs and don’t have time to read through them.”
However, the reason why employers look at CVs is not to hire someone. “When we look at a CV, we look for reasons not to hire you.”
She emphasizes that the format of the CV can break or make you. A CV with different font types, font sizes and the like will earn it a place in the dust bin just like an untidy CV. This happens often with doctors in Nigeria.
If someone boasts of their computer skills, it will be reflected in the formatting of the CV. If you put down your hobbies, they should be in relation to your skill and be ready to defend them.
CVs without referees will not help a job seeker either. Referees are very important. “They need to be persons you have worked with, especially recently,” Dr. Ceppie Advises. “Your referee should be someone who likes you.” She says it is risky to hand out a person’s name and contact details as your reference without informing them.
Joshua Masinde.