Job interview tips for Kenya, from the first call to the follow-up

Job interview tips for Kenya, in one paragraph

Check that the job and the invitation are real, and never pay anyone for an interview. Read the job advert line by line and match each duty to something on your CV. Prepare answers to the common questions out loud, with one real example each. Decide your salary range in shillings before anyone asks. Plan your route or your internet and power the day before. Arrive or log in early, answer clearly, ask one good question at the end, and follow up politely.

Below is the same advice laid out as a calendar, from the moment HR calls to the week after the interview.

When the call or email comes

Take a breath and note the basics: the job title, the date and time, the place or the link, the names of the people on the panel if they give them, and what you must bring. If they call while you are in a matatu or a noisy market, it is fine to ask them to send the details by email or SMS.

Check that it is real

Fake job offers are common. Be careful with any "interview" that asks you to pay for training, a medical, a uniform or "processing". Real employers do not charge you to be interviewed. The Public Service Commission says it plainly on its home page: "The Commission does not charge for any Services", including job placements, and it warns candidates to "Beware of fraudsters posing as PSC staff and soliciting" money. If an invitation looks strange, call the organisation on a number from its own website, not from the message.

How to prepare for an interview: the week before

Good interview preparation is mostly done here, not the night before.

1. Read the advert line by line. Print it or copy it into a document. Next to each duty, write one thing you have done that matches it. Where you have nothing, think of the closest thing from your attachment, a project or volunteer work.
2. Research the organisation. Read its website, its last annual report if it publishes one, and any recent news. Know what it does, where it works and one thing it is proud of.
3. Prepare the common questions. Tell us about yourself, why this organisation, your strengths and weaknesses, a challenge you handled, and why should we hire you. Our list of interview questions for Kenya has sample answers for each.
4. Write six short stories. Times you solved a problem, served a difficult customer, worked in a team, handled pressure, led something and did the right thing. These answer most "tell us about a time" questions.
5. Say it out loud. Reading answers in your head is not practice. Ask a friend to play the panel, or record yourself on your phone.

The opening question sets the tone for the whole interview. Spend extra time on it with our guide to tell me about yourself.

Salary expectations in shillings

Kenyan employers usually talk about pay as a gross monthly figure. Decide your range before the first call, so you are not calculating in the middle of a sentence.

• Look at what similar jobs advertise on the job boards, and ask people you know in the same field.
• Know your current gross pay and your allowances. HR may ask.
• Give a range, with the bottom of it a number you would truly accept.
• If they ask very early, you can say: "I would like to understand the role better first, but my range is around..." and give it.

Example (illustration): "Based on the responsibilities and what similar roles pay, I am looking at between KES 90,000 and KES 110,000 gross a month."

The day before

• For an in-person interview: plan the route and the time. Nairobi traffic can turn a twenty-minute trip into an hour, so plan to arrive thirty minutes early and wait nearby. Know which floor and which gate.
• Documents: if the invitation asks for originals and copies of your ID, certificates or other papers, put them in one folder tonight, in the order the letter lists them.
• Clothes: clean, ironed and a little more formal than the people who work there. Polish your shoes.
• For an online interview: buy your data bundle, charge the laptop and your phone fully, and test the link if they sent it.
• Sleep. Stop preparing by the evening. Tired answers are worse than unprepared ones.

Video interview tips

The Public Service Commission's instructions for online video interviews are written for its Cisco Webex interviews, but they work for any video call. Its main points:

• Use a smartphone, tablet or laptop "with a tested functional front camera and good audio".
• Use headphones where possible.
• Have reliable internet for the whole interview, "strong Wi-Fi or sufficient internet bundles".
• Sit in a well-lit, quiet place, and face the light if you are next to a window.
• Join five minutes before the time, and make sure "there is nobody else in the room".
• Start your video once you are admitted, and keep the camera where the panel can see you clearly.

Two Kenyan additions: have a plan for a power cut (a charged laptop and a phone hotspot), and tell the people at home the time of the interview so nobody walks in or switches off the Wi-Fi.

Phone interview tips

The first round is often a short call from HR to your mobile. Treat it as a real interview.

• If you cannot talk freely, say so and agree a time to call back within the hour.
• Find a quiet place. Step off the street and away from the radio.
• Keep your CV, the advert and your salary range in front of you.
• Smile when you speak. It changes your voice, even on the phone.
• At the end, ask what the next step is.

On the day: interview tips in the room

• Greet everyone. The receptionist and the security guard sometimes share their impressions with the panel.
• Wait to be offered a seat. Then sit up, feet on the floor, phone switched off and out of sight.
• Answer the question you were asked. Answer first, give one example, then stop.
• Look at the whole panel, not only the person who asked. Each member is scoring you.
• It is fine to pause or to ask them to repeat a question.
• Ask one or two questions at the end, such as what the first three months would look like, or what the next steps are.
• Thank the panel by name if you can.

Interview tips: the mistakes that cost people the job

• Arriving late with a traffic story. Everyone in the room also sat in traffic. Leave earlier.
• Not knowing your own CV. If you wrote it, be ready to explain every date, title and gap on it.
• Speaking badly of a former employer. The panel imagines you saying the same about them.
• Memorised answers that sound recited. Learn the points, not the sentences, so you can still answer when the question is worded differently.
• Name-dropping. Mentioning that you know someone senior in the organisation rarely helps and can count against you. Let your answers carry you.
• Saying "No questions". It sounds like you are not interested. Prepare two.

After the interview

The same day, write down every question you remember and how you answered. It helps for the next round and for the next job. If you have an email address for HR, send a short thank-you note: two or three sentences, the job title, one thing you enjoyed discussing.

If you have not heard back by the date they gave you, one polite follow-up email or call is fine. After that, keep applying. Waiting for one answer while doing nothing is the most common mistake of all.

Practise before, and have help ready on the day

The best preparation is saying your answers out loud until they sound natural. For online interviews on your laptop, the ClapAssist AI interview assistant listens to Teams, Zoom or Google Meet and shows a short prompt from your own CV when a question lands. It cannot hear a call taken only on your mobile phone. Some employers do not allow AI help in interviews or tests, so read the rules first: is ClapAssist safe?