Uproar Over LinkedIn Influencer Preferring To Hire USIU Graduates [VIDEO]

Human Resource (HR) Professional and popular Career Coach Joan Thuo was on Friday, February 3 put on the spot after she revealed that she currently prefers hiring graduates from the United States International University-Africa (USIU) based in Nairobi.

Speaking during an episode of ManTalk show on YouTube on Thursday, February 2, Thuo, who is a former recruiter and professional career coach, revealed that she places USIU students on top of her hiring list, which was a change of perception as to how she viewed the international university's students a decade ago.

Thuo described the experience of a student at the university whereby it makes its students all rounded and instils a number of qualities that she believed were preferable to the current job market, regardless of the academic qualifications one gets after graduation.

The all-roundedness she did describe included good communication, adaptability and outside-the-box thinking, which are traits preferable to companies hiring employees in the modern age.

USIU students during a graduation ceremony on September 24, 2022. /TWITTER.EXPERIENCE USIU

"Right now I hire like USIU only, like in a group of people I just want to check 'did you go to USIU?' you're like on top of my list. But you see like 10 years ago, I didn't think that was...I thought it was the university where the people who don't do well normally go.

"The thing about a university like USIU...it makes you an all-rounded person and there's so much a hiring manager can do with that. It doesn't matter if you didn't get like a first class, there's so much someone can work with, with someone who is like a good communicator, innovative, can think outside of the box, adaptable, coachable and all those things...so that all roundedness, important," she stated.

Thuo's comments were however not received well by a business coach on Twitter, named Filsan, who put her, as well as other entrepreneurs, to task regarding hiring candidates who have graduated from a specific university.

"Hiring manager says she only hires USIU graduates. A couple of yrs ago, it used to be Strathmore and UON graduates who were preferred. 

"Entrepreneurs, why do you prefer hiring USIU graduates, and what do the other universities have to do to catch up with employers' requirements? What exactly does 'well-rounded' mean? How does a USIU graduate handle a situation at work differently than students from other universities?" she posed while embedding a snippet of the interview which went viral

By the time of publication, the clip was viewed over 127,000 times as hundreds of Kenyans On Twitter (KOT) went on to call out Thuo for sidelining graduates from other universities at a time USIU was among the top trends on Twitter.

"Conscious bias & hiring discrimination such as this *might* only get you one thing - a team without diverse thoughts & experiences as to how to approach issues and decision making. But, enjoy yourself," one user opined.

"Good native advertising. Sasa endeni (Now you can all go to) USIU," journalist Kenfrey Kiberenge weighed in.

"You cannot entirely base your hiring based on personality and bring every other aspect after, But anyway,

"As a legit HR practitioner, why would you admit to such a bias and unprofessionalism? Furthermore, hiring should be on merit and skills nothing else," other comments read.

Viral Tea did spot checks on Thuo's LinkedIn profile and found that she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (Industrial and Organizational Psychology) from USIU in 2009.

She began as an intern at Altima Africa Ltd before working as a teller at a local bank. She then moved to Mustard Seed School in Nakuru to work as a school psychologist before getting her big break at the International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation, nicknamed Big Blue, an American multinational technology corporation.

There, Thuo worked in Human Resources as an HR specialist and as part of the HR Leadership Development Programme, both based in Kenya.

Afterwards, Thuo moved to Netanya Limited in 2015 as an HR consultant before starting her own venture dubbed Joan Winning CV as a Career coach where she engages her services as a Career Coach where she provides one on one consulting services on Resume and LinkedIn optimization, interview skills improvement, personal branding and building connections.

"As a Career Coach, I aim to bridge the global unemployment gap by assisting my clients to find the right career paths. My excellent understanding of Psychology combined with progressive experience in HR management enables me to know exactly what recruiters and hiring managers seek.

"To ensure that my clients land their dream jobs, I provide fresh, crisp CVs, cover letters and masterclass LinkedIn profiles that wow recruiters. Additionally, I intensively prep my clients for interviews," describes her bio in part.

Thuo has had successful placements at local telco companies, banks and government parastatals such as the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC), Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and KenGen as well as USIU and Kenyatta University and served clients in countries such as Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Nigeria and the United Kingdom (UK)

She offers services including Career Coaching, Career Development, Interview Preparation and Recareering and also has over 169,000 followers on LinkedIn and over 111,000 followers on Instagram. She also has a YouTube channel.

Here is the video: