Career Advice for Job Seekers
Career Advice for Job Seekers
Senior executives and human resources professionals from Daimler Chrysler, UniLever, Exxon Mobil, Philips, Sofitel, Nile Hilton, America-MidEast Educational and Training Services, Inc. (AMIDEAST), Middle East Research & Consultancy (MERAC), Look Information Technology, and Cadbury give job seekers exclusive advice on career choices and job searching.
Mr. Ahmed Farid, Human Resources Manager of Philips Egypt
Advice for the job seeker:
Study companies and gather information about them to prepare for interviews.
Be honest with yourself before being honest with your future employer. Is this job suitable for you - are you suitable for the job?
It is not only excellence in a specialization that companies look for, but a well-rounded personality with general knowledge and capability in many areas, combined with a good attitude and personality.
Basic competencies required by most multinational companies are good analytical skills, communication skills, and leadership skills
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Mr. Ravi Miglani, Managing Director of Middle East Research Consultancy (MERAC)
Advice for the job seeker:
Be objective and honest about your strengths and weaknesses. "No one is looking for super-humans. What is important is that [your] strengths and weaknesses match the required job," says Miglani.
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Mr. Sherif El-Ebrashy, Human Resources Manager, ExxonMobil
Advice for the job seeker:
Exxon Mobil prefers to escalate employees to managerial levels and fill in the junior level positions. "We do not hire managers," says Mr. El-Ebrashy.
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Mr. Galal Hamdy, Human Resources Manager, Nile Hilton
Advice for the job seeker:
Being in the service industry, the hotel business requires candidates with a willingness to help and serve others, combined with a pleasant, hospitable, and presentable manner. As Mr. Hamdy states, it is about "responding to a guest's needs, being attentive, and being pro-active."
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Mr. Ahmed El Meligui, Sales Manager, Hotel Sofitel, Cairo Maadi Towers and Casino
Advice for the job seeker:
To work in the hotel industry, "The whole package from personality to attitude to looks is very important because (the employee) is an ambassador of our product outside," says Mr. El Meligui. People working in the hospitality industry need to be decent and presentable both in terms of dress and in terms of attitude.What is required to succeed in this field, says Meligui, is "a love for the hospitality industry."
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Ms. Sohair Saad, Director of Educational Resources Center, AMIDEAST
Advice for the job seeker:
AMIDEAST, or America-MidEast Educational and Training Services, Inc., is a service-oriented non-profit organization. Skills at interaction are especially important in the service industry. "Interpersonal skills are very, very important for us," says Saad. AMIDEAST, being an educational resource center that promotes cultural understanding between America and Middle East through education and training, requires an understanding or experience of U.S. education.
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Mrs. Hanan Salib, Assistant Human Resources Manager, UniLever Egypt
Advice for the job seeker
Unlike the requirements of the service industry, companies like UniLever prefer candidates with an aggressive attitude towards work. UniLever looks out for people who are confident decision-makers, says Mrs. Salib. UniLever often sponsors further education for its employees, and therefore some people take part-time courses toward a Master's degree in Business Administration while employed. An MBA is considered a valuable asset by most companies.
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Mr. Osama Abou Mousallem, Information Technology Manager, Cadbury
Qualities of the ideal candidate:
Experience in a given field might sometimes compensate for education in the area, e.g. an accounting major can still become a Human Resources Manager if he has the right experience (having sufficient experience in dealing with employees, counseling them, working with teams etc...).
"Multicultural experience is important" in a multinational where you need to understand many different points of view.
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Mr. Hazim Sakr, Human Resources Manager, Daimler Chrysler
Advice for the job seeker:
Some previous work experience, be it an internship or part-time job, is considered evidence of initiative in the field of self-development.
People should be able to deal with pressures and adapt to different situations, to be able to change priorities.
The wrong attitude in people is a drawback, says Sakr, for any organization "needs people who will help add value to them and to the group".
The people in any organization need to "know how to tolerate and communicate with each other, and work together as a group" so that with their combined "synergy" they can to achieve results.
Skills in communication, teamwork, and interaction are very important, says Sakr.
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Miss Lisa Nelson, Director of Operations, International Business Associates Media
Advice for the job seekers:
Journalism requires an outgoing personality.
Responsibility and commitment are central to work in journalism, since "gathering information, tracking people…following up til you accomplish your task" are fundamentals of working for magazines like Egypt Today and PC World.
There are different requirements for the many different jobs in the media:
Designers have to be able to work on Macintosh systems, and have familiarity with QuarkXpress.Writers need to be bilingual (English and Arabic), and have good writing and word processing skills. Editors must have previous experience in journalism, or a degree in journalism. Goals are also another important indicator of the match between the company and its employees. Nelson states, "We want to know what [the candidate's] real career path and interests are so we can help them be satisfied on the job, and they can be the most productive for the magazine."
IBA runs publications like Egypt Today and PC World; Miss Nelson finds that both the employees and the company benefit from clear and articulate goals.
Egypt Today requires examples of previous published work to credit one's talent.
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Mr. Abou Bakr Zade, Chief Executive Officer, Look Information Technology
Advice for the job seeker
Look I.T. looks for people striving for growth and excellence. Mr. Zade, says he looks for "People with a vision." They share their successes and their resources. They have a library where the employees contribute books to Look I.T. which proudly calls itself a "learning organization."
During the early interview stages, candidates are expected to demonstrate their work.
Flexibility to changes is very important in a dynamic field like Information Technology.
Candidates need not have direct work experience, for Look I.T. provides training to motivated individuals with good potential. Thus, they might employ a good artist and provide training for a graphic designer's job.
Salary should not be a major priority, says Mr. Abou Bakr Zade of Look I.T. Zade does not employ people looking for a huge number on their paycheck. He prefers people who are willing to work hard. They usually get a lower salary, and get frequent bonuses instead.
Education is not a major issue in Look I.T. says Zade. What is more important is the initiative and the skills which can be gained. One web developer who now works in Look I.T. does not have a high school education, but learned how to use computers through his own drive to achieve. Look I.T. looks at the overall performance and the school background rather than the university background, says Zade. Mr. Zade expresses that experience is not as important for him. What is important is "how you can revolutionize" Look I.T. as an employee.
Look I.T. is a place which fosters vision for the I.T. business and those that believe they can achieve their vision.
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