The Ideal Candidate
CareerMidEast.com interviewed various leading multinational companies and asked them what they look for in a potential employee. 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 told us of their company's expectations in terms of experience, education, and skills required in potential candidates. Read on to find out the qualities they look for in candidates.
Mr. Ahmed Farid, Human Resources Manager of Philips Egypt
Qualities of the ideal candidate:
Flexibility in understanding different points of view.
Ability to see the big picture, and be able to appreciate how different jobs relate to each other. "I always say that we all do the same work in this company…the only difference is the degree of work in each discipline," says Farid.
Confidence
Knowledge of future goals and how to achieve them.
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Mr. Ravi Miglani, Managing Director of Middle East Research Consultancy (MERAC)
Qualities of the ideal candidate:
MERAC looks for people who are sincere and realistic towards their work. They select hard working and intelligent candidates who realize that escalating to managerial positions requires a lot of hard work and putting in overtime
Grade Point Average (GPA) of over 3.6, or an excellent overall score, is used as a method to screen resumes, serving as a indicator of future ability.
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Mr. Sherif El-Ebrashy, Human Resources Manager, ExxonMobil
Qualities of the ideal candidate:
Positive aggressiveness. "We look for people who can challenge the status quo…who can take risks," says El-Ebrashy. Aggressive people make "decisions that are not traditional."
Analytical skills in order to assess decisions from different points of view, make intelligent final decisions, and move on from there, confidently.
An ideal candidate is "someone who can escalate…someone who will be willing to challenge us as an organization, to challenge us as interviewers." There is no one set list of requirements that you need to fill out to land a job offer - in fact, the ideal candidate is one that challenges the average requirements.
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Mr. Galal Hamdy, Human Resources Manager, Nile Hilton
Qualities of the ideal candidate:
Someone "geared into the hospitality industry", who has "the willingness to help people and to give."
Language skills. Fluency in another language, besides English and Arabic - especially German, French, Italian - is considered an asset.
Computer literacy in hotel systems, like the Fidelio system.
For people working in personnel, Hamdy prefers recruiting people with a law degree or with a keen awareness of the legal system.
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Mr. Ahmed El Meligui, Sales Manager, Hotel Sofitel, Cairo Maadi Towers and Casino
Qualities of the ideal candidate:
Dynamic, creative, productive, and hard working.
Cooperative with colleagues and looking for improvement in the future.
The ideal person would have "an attractive personality", "charisma" and "a spark in his or her eyes."
Experience is not always necessary. In fact, El Meligui prefers a fresh graduate to an experienced person because they stick more closely to what they learn through training.
To work in sales, the appropriate image is critical and appearance is important. Also the candidate's proximity to work and ownership or intention of getting a car is a factor.
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Ms. Sohair Saad, Director of Educational Resources Center, AMIDEAST
Qualities of the ideal candidate:
A courteous and pleasant manner.
Flexibility and patience in order to deal with the public.
Confidence but not arrogance, can speak to people in a manner in which they can understand.
Candidates should also have an understanding and appreciation for the importance of American education in the Middle East.
Mastery of the English language
At least basic computer skills (Word Processing, Excel, PowerPoint etc.) * Good communication skills are required in all jobs.
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Mrs. Hanan Salib, Assistant Human Resources Manager, UniLever Egypt
Qualities of the ideal candidate:
Good decision-making ability
An aggressive attitude towards work
Confidence (candidates who "say No loudly," says Mrs. Salib)
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Mr. Osama Abou Mousallem, Information Technology Manager, Cadbury
Qualities of the ideal candidate:
Aggressiveness towards the job
Accountability for his/her work.
Adaptability to the work environment
Challenges the average requirements and exceeds the company's expectations.
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Mr. Hazim Sakr, Human Resources Manager, Daimler Chrysler
Qualities of the ideal candidate:
Full of energy
Is "positive, flexible, has a high work ethic, and a lot of enthusiasm," says Mr. Sakr. "We look at integrity, teamwork, work ethic...commitment to excellence…people who exceed the required expectations."
Has good communication, teamwork and interaction skills
Able to deal with pressure and adapt to different situations, be able to change priorities.
Has some previous work experience, be it an internship or part-time job, which is considered evidence of initiative in the field of self-development.
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Miss Lisa Nelson, Director of Operations, International Business Associates Media
Qualities of the ideal candidate:
Egypt Today requires samples of previous published work.
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." Her company that runs publications like Egypt Today and PC World, finds that both the employees and the company benefit from clear and articulate goals.
Writers need to be bilingual (English and Arabic), and have good writing and word processing skills
Designers have to be able to work on Macintosh systems, and have familiarity with QuarkXpress.
Responsibility and commitment to the job
Ability to meet deadlines "accomplish things quickly."
Resourceful
Cooperative and flexible within a team and
"Willing to ask questions, who take initiative and are persistent."
Professional, prepared, and confident.
An outgoing personality.
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Mr. Abou Bakr Zade, Chief Executive Officer, Look Information Technology
Qualities of the ideal candidate:
Experience is not as important as "how you can revolutionize" Look I.T. as an employee.
Look I.T. looks at the overall performance and the school background rather than the university background, says Zade.
Candidates need not have direct work experience, for Look I.T. provides training to motivated individuals with good potential.
Flexibility to change is very important in a dynamic field like Information Technology.
Has a vision for success and strives for growth and excellence.
Willing to learn
Able to work in teams, to accommodate