What I learnt from job hunting in the past 4 months

Being at home since November 2013 has been a refreshing experience. The island has changed a bit but overall, the same culture and values prevail. It was exactly like when I left about four years ago.

That’s the problem. [1]

In Mauritius, we have a small population of 1.3 million inhabitants and this means that opportunities may or may not abound. Some businesses are booming, some aren’t. Business growth seems to be happening.

That’s another problem. [2]

Being a fresh graduate, that’s a relative statement, I have been job hunting since I came back. For the past four months, I prospected for opportunities and like a gold miner, I would scrutinize every possible corners.

I have reached the four months mark and I took a few hours off my schedule to reflect. This is what I have learnt,

From problem [1], the leaders and management teams are mostly in their late 40s and above. They have a strong sense of the local culture and values which basically means, you can’t challenge them. Yes, you can’t. It is best explain by problem [2],

Overall, the country is seeing positive growth in most sectors. While volume of money coming as revenues for businesses might be increasing, it does not mean that firms are increasing their talent capacity. Jobs are therefore scarce in certain fields [Like mine].

Problems [1] and [2] are just superficially covered and tough lessons for me.

And because of those two simple lessons,

I feel like a prisoner of Azkaban.

What is next for me?
If I can’t find any opportunity, I shall create it.

I will in the next 4 months be building cool products for the Mauritian market.

That’s what some people call, taking initiative to change the country for the better.