‘Interview the Company’: Kalibrr Co-CEO Paul Rivera Shares Insights on Finding the Right Job For You

If you are getting frustrated by not finding a job for you, you are not alone. In fact, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the unemployment rate went up from 4.3% last May to 4.5% today. Aside from this, the “Great Resignation” period continues as 29% of Filipino laborers search for new jobs as shown in PwC Hopes and Fears Global Workforce Survey.

Kalibrr’s Co-CEO Paul Rivera provided insights on this worrying trend on CNN Philippines and shared some of the reasons as to why people choose to resign. “Number one, ‘yung salary, ‘yung sweldo nila, it hasn’t kept up with inflation,” he started. After the pandemic, the economy suffered which led to people no longer keeping up with the prices in the market. Due to this, they seek jobs that can support their economic needs.

Rivera also mentioned that some resign due to a mismatch between the worker and the company or the job itself. There are many cases where workers have no choice but to work on a career that is not inline with their college courses due to extreme needs. Another one is the problem of transportation–from the fare to traffic, workers now prefer to work from home. As they seek work-from-home jobs, they also seek work-life balance by saving money from transportation and outside food. 

“Schools, they cannot keep up with the pace of change in the industry so, in the Philippines, in all of my experiences here, there is a forever mismatch of the graduate and the companies looking to hire graduate,” Rivera said as he talks about the struggles of looking for the job that best suit their actual skills. He also shared a few tips for jobseekers in searching for the best job for them:

1. Interview the company. Try to look for a very supportive boss or manager to work for, not the company. Look for one who can be your mentor because it can help you develop better work experience. 
2. The more experience you have, the more valuable you will be over time. Have patience as it does not happen overtime. Continue to demonstrate your impact to the company and all else will follow.
3. Do not work from home, especially young people. There’s so much to learn in a workplace compared to your own house. You can observe your co-workers and collaborate with them as well.
4. Make your 20s your hardworking era. While you still have time and less responsibilities, use the opportunity to build your career and maximize your potential.
5. Do whatever it takes. It’s not going to be easy either way, so do what needs to be done to get the job that you want.
6. Optimize your application. Pay attention to the details in your resume. Keep it updated and comprehensive.

To help with these, Kalibrr launched two new features to elevate the chances of jobseekers in being hired. The AI-powered Job Description curates a list of job accomplishments associated with the job title you wish to use. Another one is the AI-generated Profile Skill Recommendation which generates skill recommendations you may add to your profile to make it more appealing. Along with these, Rivera also mentioned the current in-demand industries in the Philippines such as IT, engineering, design, hospitality, BPO, healthcare, and more. “Filipino workers are still very desirable abroad. Countries all around the world understand the value of Filipino talent.” 

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Kalibrr is a recruitment technology company that aims to transform how candidates find jobs and how companies hire talent. Placing the candidate experience at the center of everything it does, we continue to attract the best talent from all over, with more than 5.5 million professionals and counting. Kalibrr ultimately connects these talents to companies in search of their next generation of leaders.

The only end-to-end recruitment solutions provider in Southeast Asia, Kalibrr is headquartered in Makati, Philippines, with offices in San Francisco, California, and Jakarta, Indonesia. Established in 2012, it has served over 18,000 clients and is backed by some of the world’s most powerful start-up incubators and venture capitalists. These include Y Combinator, Omidyar Network, Patamar Capital, Wavemaker Partners, and Kickstart Ventures.

For more tips on acing job interviews, follow Kalibrr on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Tiktok.