Employers are looking for skills such as initiative and enterprise

What does your role as head of talent engagement involve?
I engage young talent to ensure a consistent supply of skills in our business in such areas as marketing, sales, and finance. We do this through interactions with graduates and students during market launches, internship and leadership development programmes at entry level. This ensures sustainability of the business by having ready talent to tap into whenever required. I am also a head-hunter for the best talent in the market.

Why do interviewers emphasise on the academic qualifications of job applicants as opposed to their other abilities?
Academic qualification is the fundamental pointer of your capabilities, but while this is the case, it is only one step in getting the best human resource for the job at hand. It has nothing to do with the ability to perform. The real differentiators at work are softer skills such as teamwork, good interpersonal skills, adaptability, aggressiveness and initiative. Keen employers go further to screen candidates for other desirable traits by conducting a competency-based scrutiny.

From your experience as a human resource expert, what three critical features do job interviewers look for in candidates?

I like to present these in 3Cs. First is content. This is about your set of skills. What elements in your résumé mirror your person? You must be as authentic as possible here. Second is clarity on your goals and values, and how those goals align with your potential employer’s goals and ambitions. Third is character. This is what sets you apart from the other candidates and says why you are the best bet. Extra-curricular activities count a lot here.

How can graduates prepare for the above?

Invest in self-awareness; know your strengths and talents. Build and maintain strong professional networks to benchmark with the best talent in your profession. Identify at least 10 potential employers, interrogate their core values and seek to attain them. Build a strong case for yourself by making contributions in your career. And most crucially, identify a career coach to guide you in your career journey. I have one.

You have worked in the finance, energy, IT and healthcare sectors. How does talent count here?

The constant in the four areas is talent assurance, the ability to guarantee the right talent at the right time and with the right capabilities. Employers look for functional talents, which is the ability to perform various tasks such as skills in IT or accounting. Talent may also exist in the shape of leadership skills; ability to create solutions for problems, engaging with different teams and leading projects to attain the desired deliverables.

What significant comparisons can you draw between Kenyan graduates and graduates in other African countries?

Through Daigeo’s partnership with various universities, I have supported placement of talent in Angola, Mauritius, Mozambique and Nigeria. Key differences exist in terms of preparedness for the corporate world, especially between graduates in Kenya and Nigeria. How we look at education is different.

Here, we emphasise more on employment, such that our graduates expect to be employed after university. This overlooks the fact that only few graduates will end up in the employment matrix. Nigerian graduates, however, are so aggressive, such that by the time they are leaving university, they already have two or three businesses running.

This cutthroat competition pushes everyone to fight to survive. Contrary to Kenya where national service is voluntary, in Nigeria, it is mandatory for graduates to serve their country before being employed. This service imparts a high level of discipline, resilience and aggressiveness in them.

What do you wish you had done as a student?

I wish I had started a business. This would have broadened and sharpened my business acumen early on, and helped me to learn the basics of negotiation, building an enterprise, managing finances and understanding the nuances of running a business.

Universities have been investing on mentorship programmes and career fairs. Why do employers still complain of unemployable graduates?

Universities organise career fairs and symposia at the tail end of students’ time in college. This results in graduates who lack basic etiquette, graduates without an entrepreneurial mind-set and people who whine about too much workload. Consequently, employers are forced to go an extra mile to teach softer skills to their recruits, translating to more cost.

Learning institutions should not treat career fairs and mentorship as a separate package from their academic programme. Instead, these activities should be infused into the learning programme to achieve maximum effect. While proper attitude may not be taught, it can be inculcated as part of the larger university culture.

Does your organisation have job opportunities specifically for graduates?

We have various entry-level channels for graduates. We target students in their third and fourth year in university through direct partnership with universities, internal employee referrals and our EABL scholarship programme. We engage these students and graduates in meaningful tasks and projects as a feeder pipeline for future leadership roles in our business.

Our corporate social responsibility emphasises on youth employment in Kenya. Besides that, we have a global graduate three-year rotational programme where candidates are sent to represent Diageo in various countries in the world. Upon return, they are absorbed into the company in various managerial capacities depending on their technical capabilities.

How do you unwind?

I love Rhumba music; I find it relaxing. I also hang out with friends regularly to talk about our careers. I read a lot too. I like philosophical literature. I am currently reading A Little History of the World by E.H. Gombrich. It is a collection of thoughts by various world leaders and philosophers.