Kenyans on X have been discussing their worst experiences with potential employers, many detailing the unbelievably low salary offers they’d received at previous job interviews.
The discussion began after someone shared a story about how, while at a job interview, her employer suggested a starting salary of Ksh.20,000, leaving the prospective employee speechless as she walked away from the entire engagement.
She wrote, “Earlier this week, I had an interview in which they offered me 20k (KES) and spent so much time justifying it. It’s frustrating when companies undervalue experience!”
Her revelation quickly saw Kenyans crawling from the woodwork, many sharing similar experiences. One such person, however, caught the attention of everyone after revealing that a potential employer had suggested a starting salary of $70 per month (Ksh. 9,000) and that for a workload which sounded like an entire department’s job.
Expressing her initial shock at being offered Ksh. 9, 000 per month, the X user went ahead to detail the mind-boggling duties and responsibilities her intended employer was bestowing on her.
Some of the ludicrously demanding responsibilities included: virtual assistant, personal assistant, research assistant and social media manager.
She wrote: “I interviewed with an African American. How much was he paying? you ask. 70 dollars. Not an hour, a month. In very impolite terms, I told him he was looking for a slave.”
The job seeker went on to reveal that, besides the ridiculous roles and responsibilities, the job description was actually unbelievably more diabolical.
For only Ksh. 9,000 a month, she was required to make travel arrangements, respond to emails and phone calls, book travel and accommodation, schedule meetings, manage all excel trackers and handle all personal and business operations.
For the same salary, she was also required to prepare proposals, perform market research, address administrative queries, organise calendars and create presentations.
Many Kenyans agreed that most Kenyan employers were completely out of touch with the pressures and demands of employees, with many treating their potential employees as cheap slaves and not a collaborative workforce with skills and valuable experiences.
“How is it possible that someone wanted to pay you Ksh. 9,000 for all these duties?” someone asked. “These are literally the duties of an entire department or two. These sort of responsibilities actually need not less than ten employees! This is wild!”
Someone else said: “This is actually infuriating. There’s no way anyone should do all these for less than $1000. But Kenya being Kenya, I’m sure he found someone the next day! Sad!”
The job seeker further explained the situation, saying, “Even if it was a typo and he meant $700, that too would still be too low… I told him the same. For the responsibilities, even $700 (Ksh. 90,300) is little. But I hear the next girl who had been referred accepted the job. She negotiated her salary but not beyond $100 (Ksh. 12,900).”
The conversation has greatly shined a light on the pay discrepancies Kenyans experience while hunting for a job. It also further revealed the extreme desperation some job seekers have sank into, with many agreeing to embarrassingly measly pay just to be able to afford basic bills like rent and food.
“Been there, done that,” James Nzioka said. “Back in 2019, just after campus, this company gave me the worst salary for a job I was terribly desperate for. You won’t believe I would pocket Ksh. 11,000 per month in a multinational company… But I had no choice and, sadly, I needed to eat.”
By Citizen Digital