Many job seekers fail at interview – Labour Ministry

Many job seekers even though qualified fail at the job interviews. This is according to an official of the Labour Ministry, which has noted that efforts are being made to make prepare the unemployed to be job ready.
Currently, the Ministry is holding these sessions via seminars for potential job seekers with the most recent held Wednesday in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice).
The Central Recruitment and Manpower Agency (CRMA) within the Labour Ministry has been providing training to unemployed persons, who are seeking employment.
According to Chief Recruitment and Manpower Officer Yolanda Grant, the Agency seeks to help job seekers understand what is required when seeking a job.
During one of those sessions held on Wednesday in Region Five, Grant explained that the Agency provides employment services to both agencies offering jobs as well as job seekers, and on many occasions, the feedback is that the job seeker was unsuccessful. Hence, the training to prepare persons for the world of work in order to ensure that they are ‘work-ready.

“Many times, persons would possess the requirements for the job; it could be the academic qualifications and/or skills, but they fail at the starting point and that is the interview process,” Grant pointed out.
She added that CRMA registers persons who are seeking employment and once they match the requirements which the Agency would have received from employers those persons are referred for interviews.
However, before those persons are provided with the relevant training to prepare them for the job interview.
That would entail how to conduct themselves at an interview: how to answer interview questions, etc. Many people do not even know how to answer interview questions. For example, one of the questions that are asked at an interview is ‘Tell me about yourself’. One might say, ‘I am 24 years old and I have two children’. This is not the answer they would be looking for,” the CRMA officer explained.
She noted that an employer was more interested in what the job seeker has to offer in order to be an asset to the company.
“One of the ways a person can answer that question is by saying, ‘I am reliable, I am resourceful, I am a team player’, those are some of the things that you can say in response to a question like that.”
Since coming into being last year, some 6217 persons have applied for jobs through the Labour Ministry.
According to Grant, the CRMA has offices in the coastal regions and Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) and does not only cater for persons who visit the agency’s regional offices.
As of March last year, a job board was established where persons can access employment opportunities online while allowing persons to upload their résumés and engage employers.
The site is Jobs.gov.guy (G4)