“Not Enough Experience”: KZN Unemployed Woman Shows Harsh Reality of Door-to-Door Job Hunting

• A KwaZulu-Natal woman shared a video showing her first day of door-to-door job hunting at various stores and malls
• The young woman faced multiple rejections, including being turned down at one store for not having six months of experience
• South Africans related to her struggle in the comments, with many sharing their own job hunting experiences and offering advice

A young woman from KwaZulu-Natal shared a video that had many South Africans relating to the struggles of finding employment. Content creator @isaa.bellaa40, who recently graduated from high school, posted a clip on 4 February 2026 with the caption:

"Day 1. Not so bad, but it was quite tiring."

In the video, the woman showed her first day of job hunting, explaining that she had printed out six CVs and was determined not to go home until she handed out at least five of them. Her first stop was a store called Ignition, where she got nervous because the place was so packed that she had to take a bathroom break to calm down.

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She made it through the interview process, but things fell apart at the final stage when the manager told her she couldn't get the job because she didn't have six months of experience. After leaving Ignition, she decided to try smaller shops, where she even faced a language barrier with one shop owner who eventually told her his brother owned a store and would keep in contact.

During her search, she met a man who offered to help by talking to his manager about getting her a job. She then made her way to Gateway Mall, which she called the job hunting hotspot, where she visited stores like Sketches, Sports Scene, Pick n Pay Clothing, Edgars, Zara, and even Starbucks.

By the end of the day, she had handed out three out of six CVs and decided to call it quits, feeling exhausted but proud that she tried.

Watch the TikTok clip below:

Mzansi relates to unemployment struggle

Social media users flooded the comments section with advice and support for TikTok user @isaa.bellaa40:

@tda_the_sauce related:

"Not me watching, knowing it's been 2 years just dropping CVs. Good luck, my sister."

@akhona suggested:

"Hey girl, I'd suggest you go to a call centre (CCI).

@chwane_le_bhinca admitted:

"I am watching this and am just sitting at home with my CVs because I am scared to talk. Yoooh."

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@prince_lee asked:

"Just wondering if you handed out your CV alone or with your ID and something else?"

@shaun vented:

"Yoh, I gave up. All they say is that I must go online, and some never get back or want experience."

@nthatisi joked:

"Girl, I was also rejected because of no experience. I think we should lie from now on."

@atinyarmy_shippingbossnoeul questioned:

"How can one get experience when they don't wanna hire us?"

More stories on employment in SA

• Briefly News recently reported on a young man whose parents broke down in tears after he landed a job.
• In another story, a Mr D delivery driver revealed how much she earns per delivery, and the shocking amount left South Africans divided on tipping.
• A woman shared a payslip of an ANC notary earning a basic salary with no benefits after 10 years.

Source: Briefly News