What are Employers Really Looking For When Making Hiring Decisions?
Your CV has been prepared by a professional and the basic ‘C’s are in order:- the content is comprehensive, concise, current and correct, the format is clear, cutting-edge and clinical and the paper is crisp and clean. But is that enough? What is it on the CV and beyond that the employer is looking for as he/she analyzes your suitability for the job?
One answer sums it up in a few more ‘C’s: employers are basically looking for a certain level of Competence, Chemistry, Confidence, Character, Commitment, Charisma, Communication Skills and Capacity for Growth and Learning in all hires. Obviously the relative importance of one criteria relative to the others will vary depending on the nature of the job:- charisma for example, while always helpful with the internal politics, may be of lesser import for some back-office positions relative to key client-facing front-line positions. Capacity for learning will also be more or less critical depending on how high up the career ladder you have progressed and what the learning gradient ahead of you looks like. However basically speaking these eight criteria are at the top of the employer’s mind any time a new position is on the table.
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Women Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling in the Middle East
The findings of the latest research white paper from Bayt.com, the Middle East’s #1 job site and YouGovSiraj, an international leader in market research, titled The Rising Ranks of Women in The Middle East Workplace indicate that professional women in the Middle East feel optimistic, empowered and confident of their career prospects.While it is important to point out that the macro level indicators still put the region at the bottom of the list on a number of working women related issues – such as having the smallest proportion of the workforce composed of women (less than 33% across the region – AHDR 2005) and lower access to education generally as well as fields of education, significant advancements have taken place in recent years.


