Weekend-Engagement : WEEK 151|| My Concerns About the Job Market

As a final-year university student, the thought of job uncertainty, unemployment, and diminishing job prospects is a constant worry. I am always concerned about this issue. This is why I decided to write about this topic in this weekend engagement challenge led by @galenkp

I remember growing up in the 2000s, when my siblings and other family members who completed their college education didn't have to suffer to gain their jobs; I heard it was even much easier in the 90s. Today, a lot has changed. It's now a competitive world , in most organizations are looking for the best candidates with the most experience. Unfortunately, freshly graduated students don’t have much experience to offer, and this puts them at a disadvantage. Sometimes you have to run from one internship to another just to gain some experience. Securing even an internship spot here has now become a headache for many.

After the global pandemic, the job market has become even more uncertain.Companies are now doing massive layoffs to reduce their workforce. This has increased in unemployment rates worldwide, and the situation is not likely to get better anytime soon.

I decided to go on the tech pathway, which contributed to my decision to offer BSC IT at the university, but the recent layoffs in the big tech companies have been a greater worry for me. I know AI has been a huge factor, but that alone shouldn't affect the field that much. The unemployment rate in Ghana here is already high, and after the pandemic, it has become even worse. Many companies have collapsed, and those that are still operating are not hiring as much as they used to.

Even aside from all these, you have to build a stronger network around you before you can be certain of securing a job. People without the required qualifications are riding on lucrative jobs just because they know personalities in big offices. When searching for a job in Ghana, you are more confident that you have a relative in a higher office. It's something that is rampant here, and it's drawing our country back in speed. In December last year, my cousin got a spot for my brother to work as a firefighter, and during this process, I learned that if your protocol is high in a job search, your certificate is worthless.

However, it’s not all doom. I am someone who believes that everything is under our own control. Despite all these happenings in the job market, working and investing in yourself will set you apart and can be a great help in your job search. As a student, I am taking steps to prepare myself for the job market. I have been participating in internships and also developing new skills so that I can boast of my experience when questioned. I am also networking and building relationships with people with whom I share interests within my field from different parts of the world.

Many were optimistic that the job market would recover after the COVID-19 pandemic, but here is the situation: things are getting even worse. As for the Ghanaian government, I have already lost hope in them; all their attempts to solve these issues turn out to favor only the officials. Politics has become useless. The big men always do things in their own favor.

I don't think these difficulties in securing a job and other related matters will be over any time soon. It's something we all should learn to adapt to. The world keeps changing, and so shall we too, and things cannot always be the same.

Thank you for your time!

All photos used in this post are taken with my phone