Why do job seekers lie about age and location?
In the world today, age and location is increasingly becoming a barrier to getting a job. Age Falsification is rampant in Nigeria, especially amongst the civil servants. Job seekers seem to have joined the bandwagon.
What do you expect from a system that’s already corrupt?
Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 16 (Feb 10 – May 3, 2025) opens registrations; register today for early bird discounts.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations here.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and invest in Africa’s finest startups here.
It will definitely breed corruption as offspring, something the job seekers have taken up with pride.
I decided to delve into this topic in order to identify the cause and offer a lasting solution to this shameful act.
According to my findings, our academic sector and recruiters contributed largely to this lack of integrity being displayed by job seekers.
School curriculum changes almost every year except for a few federal or state institutions, and private institutions.
We could barely have a session without having the ASUU, SSANU and NASU strike, likewise in some parts of the internal structure within the institution, due to a reason or the other, they go on strike too, which waste students’ time.
A student who’s meant to spend 4 years studying a course, finds himself spending 5-6 years or more. A case study of LAUTECH.
With recruiters demanding unrealistic skills and experience coupled with a specific age and mandatory location, it makes it difficult for a fresh graduate to have a breakthrough in the job hunt. Hence, such a person results in age falsification and location alteration on the CV.
The way forward, I believe the skills and abilities an individual possesses, and how it will add value to the organization, should be sort after and not the age. Recruiters need to understand that a country like Nigeria produces over half a million graduates yearly, and some of these graduates try to acquire more skills and certificates to stand out in order to get their dream jobs.
During the course of making themselves better, time waits for nobody. Of course, we age everyday. It makes no sense to spend time and resources to acquire more knowledge and only to be disqualified for not meeting the age requirements or a mandated location.
Yes, many had been denied a worthy opportunity because of location. Some vacancies will clearly state where job applicants must reside, and anyone outside the environment listed should not bother applying because they won’t be considered.
Why is it like that?
Have you forgotten that people do move houses and even relocate to another state in search of jobs?
If this has become a norm or criteria when hiring, then job seekers will lose their integrity just to land a job.
Who will be at the losing end?