I saw outrageous job descriptions throughout 2023.
While I have not actively sought employment, every time I logged into LinkedIn to check out opportunities, I was scared out of my wits that maybe my Communications and Multimedia degree meant nothing to my ‘future’ employers.
My course was designed with the job market in mind. Yet, the employer is seeking more than I can offer out here. Just how much more do I need to be on the edge?
The current job market requires employees to be Jacks of all trades and masters of none.
As a result, institutions of higher learning are following suit, which is becoming dangerous for the job seeker or employer.
Yes, it’s beautiful to be multifaceted, multi-skilled, multi-talented, and all the ‘multis’ out there.
But to think that an employee can function perfectly well in a role that belongs to another professional is a lie.
I have had to leave a job offer that required me to be a content writer, web designer, and graphic designer.
Naturally, I would compromise if it were content writing and graphic design.
But I do not desire to be a web designer; the best I can do is create a website using a content management system, which means using templates.
Yet, I was getting an offer that would require me to have web design skills. It’s an absolute lie that I would perform to my best if I took the job.
In the web design bit, although not a thing I would be doing on a day-to-day basis, I would suffer. Again, I am not a professional graphic designer, so there’s that too.
The employer is left with an employee they think is incompetent because they couldn’t write some code or design an excellent infographic.
This is the horror many graduates in Kenya face when they are fresh from knowledge and skills-seeking institutions.
From the moment they set their feet in the workplace, they must start from zero.
No one will offer you training in the said areas, yet you must be armed with numerous skills to survive.
No wonder many Gen Zs are leaving the workplace. Beyond the toxicity at the workplace (this is debatable, depending on who you ask), Gen Zs are uncomfortable doing jobs that could be done with two or three people for the same pay.
Ironically, the same employers would not employ you if you were in the same profession, and they think you cannot do a particular task.
How my friend fell short of a lucrative job
A friend of mine is an excellent graphic designer who doubles up as a photographer and videographer.
He was approached by a potential client who needed him to design a report full of infographics.
When he sent his portfolio, the potential client told him he was not looking for someone who designs posters but someone who designs infographics.
There are two things at play here.
One, the employer knows that while my friend is a graphic designer, they might not know how to interpret, analyze, and illustrate data the way they want.
Also Read: List of 18 Degree Courses That Attracted Only One Student Countrywide
Two, the graphic designer, knowing that he knows all the principles of graphic design, is sure that there is no job in that field that could be a nightmare for him.
Yet, he does not get the job. What you quickly learn here is that you will always need more.
In this case, the graphic designer needed to know how to design flyers and banners and break down data to create eye-catching and informative graphics.
Here, the employer insisted that the graphic designer was not competent because he lacked specific skills that were important for the job.
I have a problem when an employer asks you to do a job that another professional would have done. First, it insults the other profession, and two, it is totally unacceptable.
Also Read: Why Gen Zs are Quitting Jobs Right, Left and Centre
While I’d like to make money in doing what I love, sometimes we do not get what we want.
The least an employer can do is let me do what I love and challenge me to do more significant tasks rather than give me a job I do not care about.
This way, we can maximize my talent and drive success. If an employer fails to do this, they’ll have employees who wait for the next salary, doing the bare minimum to get through the month.
Brian Khavalaji is a brand and social impact storyteller. He also writes on topical issues affecting Gen Zs.
