Jamila Meischke

1) Can you tell me more about the day-to-day responsibilities of this job?

This is your chance to learn as much as possible about the role. By learning more about the day-to-day tasks, you'll also gain more insight into what specific skills and strengths are needed.

2) What do you like best about working at this company?

This is a great question because it puts your interviewer on a personal note. Asking this question puts them in a mode of convincing you to work there. You can’t go wrong asking anybody that question.

3) What do you think are the most important qualities for someone to excel in this role?

This question can often lead to valuable information, that’s not in the job description. It can help you learn about the company culture and expectations so that you can show you’re a good fit.

4) What are the biggest challenges facing your department right now?

This question can help you uncover trends and issues in the industry and perhaps identify areas where your skills could save the day. Here’s the great part about this question: if they’re telling you about problems that they are having, it’s your opportunity to step up. You show them that you are a problem solver.

5) How do I compare with the other applicants you’ve interviewed for this role?

This can be risky because you don’t want to bring the interviewer in an awkward position. However, if everything is going well, this question can help you see if there are any concerns or issues that you can address and show why you are the best person for the job.

6) What are the next steps in the interview process?

You gain some insights in their internal timeline and this keeps you from waiting. This is valuable information for you because you’ll know if you have time to interview at other jobs.

7) What are your expectations for this role during the first six months?

This shows them that you are putting yourself in the role. This makes the interviewer also imagine you have the job.

8) Have you determined a salary range for this position?

There are a lot of people who will tell you to never-ever talk about salary in a job interview. But there is a right time and a wrong time. Try to ask this question the first chance you get. It helps you move forward with the employer.

9) Can you describe the company culture?

You can always ask this question. Again: the answer to this question helps you decide whether you want to work there or not.

10) What are the biggest opportunities for the company right now?

This helps you to find out what the focus is of the company and where they are going.

Some of these questions are universal and you can ask them any time. Some of them depend on how comfortable you are. Only ask questions that are important to you and that you help make a decision.

10 Best interview questions to ask in a job interview

Importantly though, only ask questions that you feel comfortable asking. So, how do you know what is a good question to ask? Well, you want to ask questions that help you make a decision on whether you want this job or not. If it doesn’t, then it’s not a good question for you.

Can you tell us your story about becoming an HR-professional?

“I went to school for marketing,” says Kusi. “I remember when I moved from Atlanta back to New York where I grew up, I applied for a Human Resource assistant role that I saw in the newspaper. I desperately needed a job and I applied for it. After applying I ended up calling the director and he just happened to have my CV in front of him. It was a little bit of luck and also me being proactive and going for it. I moved back [to Ghana] about six years ago, just to be able to bring back that experience and knowledge that I acquired in the US. And I decided to start the consultancy. That’s been a six-year journey. It was just really about coming back and instilling that knowledge on people. Whether it’s through training, whether it’s through coaching. That’s how I ventured into entrepreneurship.”

What can job seekers do who have been unemployed for a long time?

“Everybody has a role to play when it comes to youth unemployment. Whether it’s the government or our educational institutions. Even youth themselves have a role to play. Don’t stay idle. Don’t think I’ve graduated let me just go and find a job. You have to go out and be proactive. Go out, knock on doors, start something. Whether it’s even helping your Mum at the market. Do something, because all those skills that you may think are unimported, you can translate that into skills on your CV. When you eventually get an interview, you’d be asked what experience and what skills you have. You don’t want to hear that you are underqualified. Whether it’s through internships or volunteering, it doesn’t even matter where. Just go out and do something and translate it as a skill on your CV.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with the youth and some of them have an attitude of self-entitlement. Or “the government owes us” and therefore we’re just waiting. The government doesn’t owe you anything. You owe it to yourself to really go out there and be proactive and make it happen. If somebody sees that you’re trying, they see that you’re able and capable of doing something. Use your social media page to demonstrate your skills. Employers now go there to look for talent. What are you doing? Go out and do something. The job is not going to fall on your lap.”

Do you have any tips for people who want to do the same as you do?

“Become knowledgeable, speak to others in the space and research it. But most importantly, you have to be empathetic. Do it because you are willing to help people grow.”

Rita Kusi is the CEO of KUSI (Keeping U Simply Intact) Consulting and gives tips about finding a job quickly in this exclusive interview with Pulse Ghana.

EXCLUSIVE PULSE INTERVIEW with Rita Kusi: “The job is not going to fall on your lap.”

If you answered yes to the above, then join us for this edition of Readyforwork Career Coaching Program™. Readyforwork is an initiative of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sfanonline/" link="null">@sfanonline</a> dedicated to helping young people acquire the skills and connections necessary to gain employment and launch their careers.

With personalized educational contents crafted by experts, one-on-one coaching, and team conversations, learners are equipped with practical skills and exposed to real-world projects that empower them to take ownership of their career aspirations and grow in confidence that yields success!

Some participants in previous editions gained jobs immediately after their training. For this edition, we shall focus on job readiness skills, and how to launch a profitable career in content writing. You will receive advice from both local and international content writers. At the end of the 6 weeks program, participants will have the opportunity to apply their learnings in a blog contest to win up to *$250 cash prize* and other cool prizes (Ts &amp; Cs apply).

To register, send a story or video about yourself to jamila.meischke@ringier.com.gh and convince us why you should win this program! Contest closes August 26th. More information: www.readyforwork.africa

Are you a student, entry-level job seeker or recent graduate? Do you want to upgrade your job readiness skills and launch your career? Do you want to create another source of income?

PULSE GIVEAWAY: Win a 6-Week Career Coaching Program

Can you tell us something about youth unemployment in Ghana?

"The basis of our unemployment problem is the curriculum that we are using. Our curriculum is only focussed on writing exams and passing. People come out of school without skills."

Only 10% of graduates find a job within the first year of leaving school. How's that possible?

"Our curriculum is educating people for white-collar jobs. But they [the white-collar sector] are already choked. The only people who are being replaced are the ones that go on retirement. And when you look at the analysis, 10% of the people go on retirement every year. We are not creating new employment. And that is what is creating the problem. We are all depending on the existing jobs that have been there for centuries."

What are the causes of youth unemployment?

"The current youth wants to get a job from their interest. But that never exists. You have to start somewhere. When you ask the youth what it is that they want to be engaged in, they talk about the banks, customs or police. Because they think that these are the only good jobs. None of the youth wants to start from scratch. The preferences of the youth do not match with the available jobs."

In what way does the new curriculum help improve the unemployment issue?

"The new curriculum is operating on three domains. The first domain is about knowledge, understanding an application. This is the responsibility of the teacher. The second domain is process skills. And the third domain is about values and attitudes. These skills are what is going to help them to come with their own innovations. It means that we move holistically to the standards of the world. They learn to be critical thinkers and to not depend on white-collar jobs. The new curriculum is about standards."

How can the education system help solve the youth unemployment problem?

"It will help, because from now on the youth will learn leadership skills, innovating skills, digital literacy, and communication skills. This will start in kindergarten, all the way senior high school. These skills will make them who they are and not what they have to be."

What's the best subject to study in if you want to be certain of a job?

"The best course is what's in your interest. Do not study something because of what society says is best for you. Moreover, parents have to be educated about this. Allow your child to do what his interest is. That is the best."

Mr. Emmanuel Techie of the Ghana Education Service dissects the menace of youth unemployment in Ghana and how it can be solved in this exclusive interview with Pulse Ghana.

EXCLUSIVE PULSE INTERVIEW with Emmanuel Techie from GES: "People come out of school without skills."

Share your story with us and perhaps you'll win one of the slots in the ReadyforWork Career Coaching Program.

After the successful <a data-link-role-code="none" href="https://www.studententrepreneurshipweek.com">Student Entrepreneurship Week</a> Pan-Africa last month, <a data-link-role-code="none" href="https://www.sfanonline.org">Stars From All Nations</a> now organises a 6-week talent accelerator program designed to deliver personalized education through industry-specific skills assessment and course recommendation to help young participants to launch their careers and businesses.

This edition will be in the form of onsite and online modules. The onsite will place from 10 am to 1 pm for 6 consecutive Saturdays starting from September 7th, 2019.

The skills that participants will learn are focused on soft skills, and other relevant jobs/entrepreneurial readiness competencies.

Are you the next Bill Gates with a great idea for an enterprise, but you don't know how to start? Or are you graduated but get rejected at every interview? Send us a video or write a story about your experience looking for a job and convince us of the fact that you should win this spot!

Send your story before August 26th, 2019 to: jamila.meischke@ringier.com.gh

Share your unemployment experiences with us

Do you have problems finding a job? Or do you think that the skills that you've learnt in school didn't prepare you well enough for the labour market? We can help!

Not able to find a job? Pulse can help!

“Young people are not taken seriously, opportunities are not there and financing is a challenge'', says Sylvia Sefakor Senu, Economic Analyst at UNDP, regarding the high youth unemployment rate in Ghana. “Even the networking, or knowing the procedures to follow can be a barrier.” The unemployment situation in Ghana is precarious. But how did we get here?

The high unemployment rate is mostly a result of how the economy is structured. “It’s structured in such a way that most of the growth sectors are not labor-intensive”, says Kordzo Sedegah, Economics Specialist and Head of Inclusive Growth at UNDP. Manufacturing jobs and agriculture tend to be employing a higher number compared to mining and finance.

The skillset of graduates does not relate to the necessary skills needed. Businesses need skills, such as digital literacy, that young people don’t learn in schools. The education system focuses more on theory lessons rather than delivering relevant practical and professional skills. Similarly, young people who have advanced degrees find themselves overqualified for ready jobs. The cause of the mismatch is a combination of education curriculums neglecting vocational and entrepreneurial training; poor connections between industries and schools; and work experience for the job market.

Because of commonly held perceptions in society, graduates are made to believe that working for a well-reputed establishment is the only way to be successful in life. This makes them desperate in competing for the few vacancies the companies have to offer. The number of graduates is bigger than the available supply of jobs Ghana’s economy has to offer.

4) Too many graduates in arts and humanities.

Many have linked the high unemployment rate to a large number of graduates produced in arts, social science, and business, as against STEM subjects. Training students in the arts and humanities is cheaper for universities than in technology and engineering. However, the labor market doesn’t need humanities students in such large quantities. Instead, science students are what the economy really needs.

Now that we know the causes, we can use these to find solutions. But this has to happen fast. If the labor force is not able to provide jobs to the rapidly expanding number of youth populace, the unemployment rate will only experience a further downturn.

34% of the youth in the country doesn’t have a job.

34% of the youth in the country doesn’t have a job. What are the causes of this worrisome trend?

These are the reasons for the sky-high youth unemployment rate

“I am determined to work to guarantee and secure the future of the young men and women of our country,'' said President Nana Akufo-Addo during his State of the Union Address last year. Before his electoral victory in 2016, Akufo Addo had promised to create thousands of new jobs - but so far it appears that little has changed.

Why the youth focus? Youth unemployment remains a major socio-economic and political problem in Ghana. The problems that young people face in finding a proper job, make them sensitive to misbehaviour and potential sources of conflict and civil disorder. The increasing street hawking of young people and the migration of Ghanaians across the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean are symptoms of the labour market challenges and also reflect a sense of hopelessness.

However, there is no consensus around specific numbers. The World Bank states in its last report on jobs in Ghana that 48% of the youth (15 - 24 years old) in the country do not have jobs, whereas the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS) says the number is 15,3% and Statista claims it to be only 4,9%.

Why is it so difficult to find an accurate unemployment rate? Professor Owusu of the University of Ghana explains that there are two reasons for the lack of (reliable) data on youth unemployment. Firstly, Ghana has weak institutional structures for the collection of data on the unemployed. Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) does not have data on the youth unemployment, except surveys which are far in between. And secondly, it is challenging to define the unemployed, especially in the informal sector.

Yet, only when you know the actual size of the problem, you can find structural solutions.

And the sooner Ghana finds solutions, the better. The growing economy is not making any long term differences if they happen alongside worrisome youth unemployment developments and fast-growing population. Unemployment is an indicator of malfunctions of the structure of a society and its economy.

The slow response of jobs to strong economic growth has been linked to the sources of economic growth over the years. The economy’s growth comes mostly out of sectors that do not generate sufficient jobs, such as mining and oil.

Perhaps the most troubling trend is that the youth unemployment rate is higher among the educated than the less educated, according to the GLSS. A huge gap exists between the mindsets of Ghanaians - the white-collar mentality - and the actual, available jobs. Instead of students being rewarded for investing ten thousands of cedis in education, they end up jobless with a huge debt.

Let’s invest more in our future generation and bring Ghana to the next level.

Youth unemployment remains a major problem

Ghana still struggles with a high youth unemployment rate. Despite several attempts to tackle the problem.

Politics

Local

Filla

World

News

Football

Ghana Premier League

Black Stars

Sports

Celebrities

Music

Movies

Entertainment

Fashion

Beauty & Health

Relationships & Weddings

Food & Travel

Lifestyle

Domestic

International 

Business

Explore categories

Checkout our authors for the latest content across entertainment, sports, business and more. Be first to receive exclusive updates with your free subscription straight to your phone | Pulse Ghana

Authors | Pulse Ghana

| Pulse Ghana

Read the latest news across entertainment, sports, business and more. Be first to receive exclusive updates with your free subscription straight to your phone | Pulse Ghana

Breaking News & Top Stories | Pulse Ghana

Pulse Ghana is the most followed news and entertainment platform, informing and engaging young Ghanaians round the clock, providing updates by the hour.

Pulse Ghana

Search for the latest content across entertainment, sports, business and more. Be first to receive exclusive updates with your free subscription straight to your phone | Pulse Ghana

Search Results | Pulse Ghana

Watch the latest videos across entertainment, sports, business and more. Be first to receive exclusive updates with your free subscription straight to your phone | Pulse Ghana