Kipruto had tarmacked for 2 years without getting a job. He knew it was time to give up and resort to farming. Well, farming wasn’t a bad thing either, but Kip was a corporate person. His suits and the drive to work in a corporate firm were all shattered down with two years of straight hustling without any hopes. When he visited a big firm in Eldoret sometime back in 2016, he was told he is too good to fit in that position. He had no options left than to give up.
The bedsitter that he used to stay along Maili Nne was too expensive for him to afford. So the landlord had to lock him out. When he requested the landlord to at least give him his stuff so he can go back to Moiben, the landlord laughed sheepishly and told him, “hata kitanda hauna unataka kuchukua nini? Ceiling yangu?” This almost sent Kip to suicidal, but he had 5 siblings who depended on him. He couldn’t just end his life. He knew he had to think about his siblings.
When I met with Kip after his first harvest, (I had travelled from Kakamega to buy groceries in Moiben), he introduced himself as a very enthusiastic young person who would love to transform leadership in the country through his career. I challenged him about his studies, and that’s how he opened up about the hustles he had gone through before settling for farming.
We exchanged contacts, and I promised to get back to him once I reached Nairobi. Two months down the line, I asked him to share with me his resume and cover letter. He was reluctant at first, saying how many people who had asked him to share his CV couldn’t help him. But I insisted. So he informed me that he had to write them afresh. I wasn’t in a rush because I had not even acquired a place for him to get a job.
When he shared his Resume and Cover letter, I was dead surprised! That wasn’t even close to securing a job in any company. As a matter of fact, I figured out that was the reason why all his applications were being rejected. His resume was 4 pages as opposed to the standard one page, while the cover letter didn’t even follow the recommended practices. He had messed himself thinking he wasn’t fit for any position, yet the resume disqualified him even before he went for an interview.
So what exactly did he need to do to secure the job? Join me on the second part of Kip’s career journey as we analyse some of the best practices in resume writing. Til; next time! Yours truly, Eldoret Unverified.
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