I read somewhere that CV is just like “toothpaste commercial” that means that an average employment manager devotes about the same amount of time to scanning a CV that most television viewers spend watching a commercial designed to sell toothpaste about 30 seconds. But rather than advertising the features and benefits of toothpaste, a CV is designed to advertise the accomplishments and track record of its author- that’s, you.

Think for a moment about the concept of marketing. Marketing means taking a careful look at the needs of a certain segment of consumers and finding a way to satisfy those needs. A CV is, fundamentally, a marketing tool. The consumer is the employment manager or the person in the company who makes the hiring decisions. The needs of that consumer are the requirements of the position he or she’s trying to fill. You’re the product, and your qualifications for that job are the way in which you’ll meet that employer’s needs. CV is your first form of advertising. Another way to understand what a CV should be is to look at what it shouldn’t be. Obviously, if it’s a marketing tool, it’s not a chronicling of everything you’ve ever done or experienced with no regard for how that list meets an employer’s needs.

A CV, then, isn’t your entire life story, because your entire life couldn’t possibly be relevant to the requirements of a single job. If you want anyone to read it, it’s obviously not a cluttered, wordy, unreadable mess. And most important, it’s never a work of fiction, full of exaggerations, inaccuracies, or just pure fabrications.
The fact of the matter is: An average candidate with a stronger CV gets better results than a superior candidate with a mediocre CV.

CV scripting is a serious business. It shouldn’t be taken casually or unceremoniously. Instead, one must have the passion and obsession to write and maintain a stunning and striking CV. You must derive the pleasure when you’re scripting it. Pleasure because it’s all about you; it’s more like venturing out your own self and exploring every inch of your personality, a rediscovery indeed. This piece of paper is a description of who you are, where you’ve been, where you have contributed, where you have acquired you education, what your belief systems are, what stands possible and what appears impossible for you, what’s difficult and what’s challenging for you, what holds you back, what puts you off and what inspires you, what your motivators and your inhibitors are, what your skills-set is, what your mind-set is, what your strengths are and what your hiccups are, your ambitions and aspirations, your dreams and your career goals. Since it all relates to you, it’s only YOU who can and should write your brochure. The designing and embellishment part of the CV can be left to others but as far as the content is concerned, as far as the real stuff is concerned, it’s your basic and fundamental job.

My observation is that graduates take low interest in writing their own CVs. For them, it’s often not more than a monotonous, tedious and boring task. Writing a compelling, convincing and captivating CV shouldn’t be taken as something like filling an income tax return pro forma. This activity rather must be loved, enjoyed, cherished and treasured.

Selling yourself depends on getting noticed, standing apart and being different from everybody else. If at the outset you’re represented only by your CV and your CV looks like everybody else’s CV, then you look like everybody else.
(Ashraf Chaudhry can be reached at ashraf@ashrafchaudhry.com)

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3. Career Tip: Ashraf Chaudhry, Pakistan’s Number 1 Sales Trainer and Author of “The Craft of Selling Yourself”

What are your thoughts vis-a- vis living / working in the UAE in specific and ME in general? The Middle East in general and the UAE in specific may be undergoing more dynamic change and growth than any other part of the world. It is an exciting time to be here, to work with talented Emiratis and others in the region to shape the future commercial and entrepreneurial climate. There is a richness in the multicultural environment here that is unsurpassed.

What are your views on the progress of academia in the Middle East in general/ UAE specifically? The last six years have seen a global boom in higher education, with established universities creating or expanding their satellite campuses, and new universities being created from scratch. Universities in the Arab world have become increasingly confident of their intellectual heritage and centuries-old tradition of learning from the best practices that other cultures have to offer. A new generation of educational leaders has emerged here, with direct experience in other educational systems around the world, and they are combining those lessons with local strengths to create synergies in academic institutions. The strongest universities in the region already compete for faculty and students with any university worldwide.

Many challenges remain for others, in creating robust institutions, an understanding and appreciation of academic culture and procedures, autonomy, endowments, research facilities, maintaining the highest academic standards, retaining faculty and staff, and so on. But the prospects are very bright. I am less familiar with primary and secondary education, but I gather from colleagues that there is a great deal of progress going on there as well.

From where you stand, do you see more professionals having opted to pursue post-graduate education with slowing employment markets last year? And is now the right time? Many professionals returned to (or stayed in) graduate school in 2008 and 2009. There’s a good argument that with the economic slow-down, if one has the financial resources then now is a good time to re-tool oneself, either to get brought up to speed on the latest developments in one’s chosen field or to chose a new line of work. Some people find that — after a decade of work in the same field — their learning-curve, motivation, and productivity-growth begins to taper off. A fresh start can be rejuvenating, and allow one to create new approaches drawing on one’s previous work. However, starting afresh may first require one to step down a notch or two, before climbing ahead in the new field. 2010 may also see high enrollments, although early indicators are that the recession has hit its bottom.

Where are the gaps in the Middle Eastern academic infrastructure in your opinion? One gap that can be relatively-easily addressed over the next 5-10 years is to create regional fora for academics in the same field to gather together, through conferences, workshops, symposia, Festschrifts by former students, research collaborations, and the like. With world-class conference facilities and umpteen new universities in the region, this is a natural vacuum waiting to be filled. There is also a lack of shared data and research. This may take longer to sort out and develop, but will be a natural outgrowth of research productivity over time. Creating a respect for basic academic research, critical thinking (and writing), encouraging a climate of open, vigorous and rational debate, scholarly standards uninfluenced by any other consideration, and enhancing an academic atmosphere of mutual trust and freedom of thought are among the broader goals. More down-to-earth, there is currently a lack of research and teaching assistants ready to help with data collection and analysis. In many graduate schools this role is filled by graduate students, sometimes in a mandatory quid pro quo for scholarship tuition money, which trains the students in how to research and teach as well as assisting the faculty. Broadband connectivity in many institutions still needs improvement, in reliability, widespread and uninhibited access to academic content, but in many ways this is simpler to address than other challenges.

As a successful entrepreneur yourself, what would you say are the top 3 essential ingredients for a thriving entrepreneurship culture to develop and be sustainable? Come to our conference on “Best Practices in Entrepreneurship Policy” (BPEP), sponsored by the Legatum Institute,  and help leading entrepreneurship supporters find out!  :-)  There are many factors, but since you ask for three, I’d highlight these:
a) The regulatory environment: laws should encourage, not discourage, starting new ventures. This means: (i) a minimum of bureaucratic red-tape (licensing, permits, fees, etc.), low minimum-capital costs, perhaps assistance in the form of effective “one-stop shops” if they dramatically speed up the time required (instead of slowing it down). But (ii) regulations should also take account of the harsh reality of entrepreneurship: something like 75% of new startups don’t survive beyond three years. This means that “exit” (including insolvency restructuring) should also be relatively painless for legitimate firms. A number of countries in the region need to reform their insolvency laws, in keeping with best-practices worldwide (and Islamic banking norms), to decriminalize insolvency and allow for a rational, orderly and transparent prioritizing and pro-rating of creditors’ claims. Youth should not be punished for starting a company that doesn’t make it. For wealthy families these debts can be managed, but for poor or middle-class youth the fear of jail can be a rational and serious deterrent to starting a company. This is a complex issue that will require training for judges, lawyers, accountants, banks, other creditors, and entrepreneurs themselves. The Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance issued a declaration on insolvency in May that is worth examining. Finally, (iii) regulations should not be done away with carelessly or entirely, they exist to address market failures and to protect the broader public interest (maslahah al-aam). Insufficient regulations can breed distrust and undermine markets. The lack of effective and autonomous regulatory oversight in US financial markets is part of the reason for the financial collapse. But regulations should encourage new entrepreneurs.
b) Widespread access to early-stage seed-capital: a crucial link in creating a culture of entrepreneurship is institutionalizing mechanisms for capital to flow to where it will have the highest marginal impact. A 100,000 AED investment means nothing to a wealthy scion, but could be the big break that a budding middle-class entrepreneur needs. To a poor youth in the Maghreb or Levant, even a 5,000 AED investment could mean the start of financial independence and job-creation. Fostering legal mechanisms that help institutionalize this early-stage “angel investing” is one of the highest priorities for the region. It requires the ability to accurately assess entrepreneurs’ credit history, efficiently perform due diligence, ensure the impartial enforcement of contracts, be protected against non-market forces, retrieve collateral if need be, etc.
c) Mentorship and education for youth: nothing better inspires future young people to start their own company than getting to know successful entrepreneurs and having an education that rewards creativity, innovation, responsible risk-taking, and leadership.

Would you say entrepreneurship is innate or is a skill that can be personally developed? There is a common myth among people who have never taught or studied entrepreneurship that “it can’t be taught.” That’s nonsense, as proven by decades of evidence and research (by the Kauffman Foundation and others). Sure, there are some ‘natural-born entrepreneurs’ who will succeed in any situation, without any education or skills-development, which is great. And some people have no desire for the hard work, risk and responsibility that starting a profitable company requires, so won’t ever try. But for many people in the middle, the right combination of encouragement, skills-development, active (and responsible) investments, and mentorship can make all the difference between starting their own successful company or simply being an employee of someone else. Some basic business skills are required (financial literacy, financial responsibility), but the more important skills are psychological: developing the right attitude, taking responsibility for one’s financial destiny, looking inward and unlocking one’s true passion or calling in life, unleashing one’s creativity and innovation while being hard-nosed about market-realities, finding one’s leadership style and building a competent team who respects this, etc. When I was Director of Entrepreneurship for Georgetown University, one of our key goals was to reach out beyond the business-school to inspire students in the liberal arts or sciences to start their own ventures. (Most MBA’s don’t start their own company, and most companies aren’t started by MBA’s. Accounting skills are fairly transferable and relatively easy to hire, but it’s hard if not impossible to hire the leadership, determination and creativity that it requires to start a successful company.)

Would you say the UAE is the right spot for entrepreneurs at this particular moment in time? Any other regional countries/markets you find promising for entrepreneurship today? The UAE offers some of the brightest prospects on earth for entrepreneurs. There is a stupendous business infrastructure in Dubai, burgeoning demand in Abu Dhabi, untapped markets in the other Emirates, strong support for business from the country’s rulers, free zones, and a talented and young professional class. It’s a regional and global business hub, and investors are eager for sound business models to invest in. There are still ways that the UAE can learn from other countries’ experiences, of course, but it is deservedly recognized as a leader. For entrepreneurs just starting out, the UAE has some of the best entrepreneurship initiatives and programs in the world, including those led by the Mohammed bin Rashid Foundation al Maktoum Foundation, Mohammed bin Rashid Establishment for Young Business Leaders, Young Arab Leaders and Khalifa Fund, and many private sector initiatives. As I’ve said elsewhere, the economic crisis in many ways has created new opportunities for entrepreneurs.
The dynamism and growth in the region creates niches that entrepreneurs can fill much more quickly than can large existing firms. Other countries show vibrant prospects as well. Saudi Arabia was ranked #1 for the region by the World Bank’s Doing Business unit, and is fueled by a new generation of educated youth and government investments in education and technology. Qatar is transforming its economy in a single generation, and is growing fast. Lebanon is undergoing a business-Renaissance that received assurance by the acceptance of all parties to the June 2009 election (assuming they can form a government). Pro-entrepreneurship reforms, initiatives, and educational programs are underway from Syria to Yemen, Morocco to Oman. I’ve compiled an online list of more than 150 such initiatives, which so far barely scratches the surface.

Who are the icons and mentors who have influenced you career progress the most? I was lucky to have a great public and higher education, so I give thanks to my many teachers, and to parents who gave me the freedom to pursue my interests. When I was 19 I took off a ‘gap-year’ from college and, working as I went, traveled around the world on a shoestring. That opened my eyes and gave me an appreciation of the similarities and differences in regional challenges, and responses to them. I’ve benefited from too many people’s advice and role-modeling to name just a few. Years ago I was an assistant vice president at Citibank, working for the chairman’s chief-of-staff, which gave me insights into the inner sanctum of Wall Street. But in the realm of entrepreneurship, I’ve learned a great deal by observing up-close for two decades a good friend who is a hyper-successful serial entrepreneur. He’s still not afraid to fail, which I’ve seen on occasion (and even shared in), but when he triumphs he does it big. He’s one of the hardest-working and most-effective people I know, expects the same from his team, delegates responsibility but also leads, and “aims for the stars” every time.

Anything else you would like to share with Bayt.com’s community of employers and job seekers? I hope your employers will recognize that the greatest productivity comes from finding a ‘good fit’ for employees, enabling them to fulfill their own visions, rather than trying to shoe-horn people into pre-conceived roles. Give talented employees the autonomy to find ways that their passions align with the company’s objectives. (If they’re not a good fit, help them move on to a better fit elsewhere so that they provide a networking resource in the future.) Likewise, job-seekers should expend the effort to figure out what they really want to do in life, and then position themselves to achieve it, even in small steps.

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1. Career UnCovered: Ahmed El Zeftawy, HR Director of Al Jaber Group, UAE
2. Career UnCovered of Faysal El Jurdi, CEO of Vision Group Hospitality Recruitment, Beirut, Lebanon
3. Career Uncovered: Asher Noor, CFO of Morgan Stanley, Saudi Arabia

How do you like living and working in Lebanon? Lebanon is a multicultural country lodging a pool of talented and energetic professionals, and despite Lebanon’s continuous political instability, its citizens maintain a solid belief system in their country and this is the exact reason why I have returned to Lebanon in 1997. My aim was- and remains- to participate in the development of our nation by enhancing and promoting organizational awareness in national companies .

What is your average day at work like? M1 maintains a family spirit that distinguishes it from other practices, thus allowing a balanced working life for all its staff. We believe in our people’s capabilities, and thus, in return, job commitment and employee loyalty are always achieved. My day at work is like any other dedicated director, challenging, demanding and most definitely exciting!

What is your biggest professional challenge? Globally, HR went through many transformations, from personnel administration to service provider to strategic business partner, managing and developing Human Capital. My challenge is to reinforce the positioning of HR as a strategic partner to any business.

What is the most important thing you look for in new hires? Behavior is key. Technical skills and talent constitute a large fraction in the decision making process, however integrity and a “can do” spirit closes the deal.

What is the biggest challenge you face in hiring talent? The nature of our business is somewhat complex. Finding the incumbent with the appropriate expertise, and cultural know-how takes quite some time.

What is your favorite part of your role? Organization Strategy. Participating in the company’s strategy analysis and definition is an essential and constant learning tool for any director, not only is it an exciting challenge but a gratifying development to one’s function and career.

What has been the highlight of your career in HR? When I worked in 1997 on Total Quality Management based on EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) model, I recognized that the management of human capital has a profound impact on any business. This intangible asset is the foundation for any company wishing to achieve an Economic Added Value.

What do you read to keep abreast of industry developments? As many articles as possible, and certainly books. The last 2 were “Beyond HR”- John Boudreau, Peter Ramstad and “Brillant NLP”- David Molden

What is your advice to someone looking to enter the field of HR? I would stress on the following attributes: Flexible, rigorous and methodical , culture conscious, tolerant,  Compassionate, and exemplifies company’s values.

How is the Middle East evolving as a place to practice HR? There has been a drastic improvement in the Middle East, however some executives and entrepreneurs still regard Human Resources as a service provider rather than a Strategic Business Partner and are focused on profit margins rather than Human Capital. The corner stone of any sustainable organization remains talent management, and it is our responsibility to continue demonstrating to our business partners that investing in HR yields substantial returns.

If you could wave your magic stick and make a significant development in one specific area of HR practices worldwide, where would that fall? HR should be an integral force of any institution, from analyzing to defining and implementing strategies.

Anything else you’d like to share with the community of Bayt.com Employers? I wish to thank Bayt for its initiatives and for actively evolving the literacy on HR in the region.

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1. Career UnCovered: Ahmed El Zeftawy, HR Director of Al Jaber Group, UAE
2. Career UnCovered of Faysal El Jurdi, CEO of Vision Group Hospitality Recruitment, Beirut, Lebanon
3. Interview with Dina Mehanna, HR Director at Genius Computer Technology, UAE

Answer from Bayt HR Guru: Allow us to first praise your boldness to mull over an absolute career shift, despite the current global economic uncertainty, in the pursuit of your long time passion and ideal career path. It is definitely not insane- as a matter of fact, 94% of Middle Eastern professionals have recently stated in Bayt’s “Career Reinvention” poll they would like to change their careers completely-  32% of which confirmed the main reason was to pursue a dream or passion. At 30 years old, it is not too late to set your foot in the advertising business and grow exponentially, should you prove yourself determined and capable! We would recommend however you do not rush into it right away, as the effects of the economic downturn have not yet fully waned and you need to acclimatize yourself to the needs and nature of a very different industry. Taking baby steps towards that transition instead is highly advisable at this stage: get active and keep yourself updated with the industry’s latest trends, check what are the industry positions mostly in demand by employers online right now (P.S: Bayt’s job search by sector can prove to be very helpful), and if you need to develop any specific skills in order for you to build on your advertising knowledge. Talk to people in the industry and learn from their experiences, understand what the true nature of the advertising jobs are and which particular area in advertising you would best fit into as the industry is broad and multi-faceted.  Only once you are truly in the know of what the demands are and certain that you could, and would, want to master the art of advertising completely, should you start seriously targeting your companies of choice in search for that dream job of yours!  Best of luck from the Bayt team!

Interestingly, another 22% of the employers polled said that references were not important: of these, 11% said they sometimes take references into consideration but look at other criteria, while the other 11% said that a candidate can be a good fit regardless of whether s/he has a strong reference.

The ‘References in Middle Eastern Job Applications’ September poll series conducted by Bayt.com sought to understand from employers what importance they attach to the references and statements of potential new recruits, and what other tools employers use to assess a candidate’s suitability for a particular role.

Despite employers believing that references are important, when posting a job vacancy, only 50% of recruiters said that they always ask for a reference, while another 23% said that they don’t really ask. Just under a fifth – 18% of employers, said they often ask for references, while 9% said it depends on the seniority of the position being advertised.

Moreover, the poll showed that the region’s recruiters are largely split over whether they go on to check a candidate’s references having asked for them: 39% said they always contact the references mentioned on a job seekers’ application, while 14% said that they sometimes do. Another 14% of employers said that they never check references, while 14% said they will make the decision to check references according to the importance of the position.

What we are seeing from the results of this latest bayt.com poll series is that while employers on the whole hold references to be very important, there is a large split as to whether or not they go on to check them.  This seems to back up the widely held notion in the region that final employment decisions don’t rely on a good reference like in more mature markets, instead, new recruits can often get by without actually needing to have one.

Employers were asked to what extent they rely on the statements candidates make on their application, in assessing their suitability for a job. For the most part, employers said they don’t tend to check on an employee’s statements until they are ready to make an employment offer (53%). Interestingly, 27% of employers said that they have to trust what their interviewees say, and therefore rarely go on to check other evidence like their references. The poll also showed that a relatively small percentage, 13%, will actually go on and check certificates and references in certain cases, while only 7% said that they won’t only rely on an interviewee’s statements, they would rather play it safe and ask for references.

Employers are largely divided as to what role the statements made on application forms actually play. That a relatively high proportion say they rarely cross check what a candidate has written shows that many candidates are selected on the strength of their interview, rather than having to go through various layers of recruitment procedure.

On receiving an application for a position, employers were largely split over how much time they actually spend reviewing the application: 48% of employers agreed that they spend ‘some’ time reviewing the application to make sure that the information matches what they are looking for in a candidate, before scheduling an interview. A significant proportion of recruiters, 33%, said they spend quite a lot of time with the application, taking their time to go through every detail to avoid short listing the wrong candidate.

The poll found that another 7.5% of employers admitted that they don’t spend any time at all with an application, and unless they have a specific job vacancy advertised then the application will go in the bin, compared to 4% who said that they will skim through the application and then ask most candidates to come for an interview. This was not the case for the other 7.5% of employers who said that how much time they spend with an application depends on certain factors, such as how much time they have, or how senior a position the vacancy is.

The results of the poll demonstrate how important the original application is: for the most part, employers spend a significant amount of time assessing the details a candidate puts on his/her application, and make their decision based on that. It sends a clear message to job seekers how important it is to make a strong impression with employers when they apply.

The poll asked the region’s employers what other factors they use in the recruitment process:  30% said they conduct ability tests, 20% rely on references and 5% undertake personality tests, while an additional 35% said they conduct all of these.

Recruitment can often be a complete mystery to job seekers, and many have a limited understanding of how important things like a good application, or a good reference actually are. In conducting polls such as these, Bayt.com provides a very interesting insight into how employers think when it comes to selecting their candidates and job seekers could use this data as a general indicator, and then assess how strong different elements like their references, experience and applications are. This could ultimately help job seekers to stand out from the rest, and find their ideal job more easily.

Data for the ‘References in Middle Eastern Job Applications’ employer poll series was collected online between 17 August and 29 September 2009, with a total of 147 employers across the Middle East. This and other Middle East human resources research is available online at www.bayt.com.

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- Professionals can now access Bayt .com mobile via any Mobile device with internet access simply by visiting http://m.bayt.com- they then get instant access to all jobs currently available on our website.

- Professionals can also view job descriptions of posted vacancies in a friendly user mobile version then apply to posted jobs via their Mobile devices, by simply using their stored CVs.

- Should they wish to also include a Cover Letter, professionals now have the option to do so on Bayt Mobile.

- Right now, the search for jobs on M Mobile is done by location, soon enough Bayt will enable professionals to job search by sector and industry, just like the actual Bayt.com site.

- More  Mobile Options will soon be available to professionals as well such as refreshing their CVs, saving a search (then applying to it at a later stage), e-mailing a found Job to their actual Bayt.com account or to their personal E-mail and accessing their CV Stats ( how many times their CV has been viewed and more…)

- All the above of course, does empower Job Seekers in the Middle East, what about Middle Eastern Employers? The fact is all employer job postings are now automatically making an appearance on Bayt Mobile- without any further charges- and thereby expanding registered employer access to reach further  talents who are usually on the move and  hard to be located!

Yet another Bayt love touch, absolutely free of charge offered to Middle Eastern Job Seekers - and Middle Eastern Employers - do try it for yourself and take it a step further and spread the happy news amongst friends, relatives and family members on the move… Join us in contributing to the wellbeing of our society and the enhancement of the Middle Eastern Job Market! We’ll keep you posted with further developments as they occur. Meanwhile, feel free to take a peek or a maybe plan a longer stay at: http://m.bayt.com

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A)    Difference in Index By Country: compared to June 2009

- The UAE is still showing strong signs of a recovery (positive increase in all indices) – Kuwait, Qatar and have the strongest recovery indices since the last wave.
- Lebanon is showing a slight dip in its CCI and its ECI while Algeria is showing a dip in its PCI and ECI. All other surveyed countries are showing improvements- to varying extents.

B)    Appraisal of Present Situation & Regional Highlights

- Vis a Vis Financial Situation & Country’s Economy:

- UAE and Jordan are still the most pessimistic Vis-a-Vis financial position  (with 40% and 39% of professionals respectively stating they are doing worse than last year).
- Qatar, Egypt and Algeria are the most optimistic Vis-a-Vis financial position (with 35% , 32% and another 32% of professionals stating they are doing better than last year).
- Jordan and Egypt are still the most pessimistic Vis-a-Vis Current Economy (with 39% and 34% of professionals respectively stating it is doing worse than 3 months back- their figures have however improved since the last CCI wave)
-  Kuwait is the most optimistic Vis-a-Vis Current Economy (with 30% of respondents stating it is doing better than 3 months back).

- Vis a Vis Consumer Behavior:

- Professionals across the region in general still agree now is not the best time to buy durable goods.
- Most inclined to buy goods are professionals in Kuwait (at 26%) followed by professionals in the UAE (at 25%). Professionals most convinced the time is not convenient to consume durable goods are professionals in Jordan (at an overwhelming 50%) followed by professionals in Morocco (at 49%).

- Vis a Vis Business Conditions:

- Kuwait is the most pessimistic Vis-à-vis Business Conditions (with 49% of professionals stating business conditions are bad).
- Algeria followed by Lebanon are the most optimistic Vis-à-vis Business Conditions (with 32% and 30% of professionals, respectively, stating business conditions are good).

- Vis à Vis Employment Market:

- Professionals in all countries are still reporting low availability of jobs (despite a slow improvement), mostly professionals in Morocco ( at 56%),professionals in Lebanon (at 55%) and professionals in Jordan (at 54%) stating there are very few jobs available.
- Qatar, closely followed by KSA are the most optimistic Vis à Vis Employment Market ( with 21% Qatar Professionals and 20% of KSA Professionals stating there are many jobs available)

- Salary vis-à-vis Cost of Living:

- Professionals in all countries still agree salaries are not keeping pace with the cost of living, mostly professionals in Jordan and professionals in Bahrain (with 68% and 67% of them respectively stating that their salaries have not kept pace with their cost of living).

C)    Future Expectations & Regional Highlights:

- Expectations of future financial position are still showing an upward trend across all surveyed countries: Professionals in Qatar, KSA and Egypt are the most optimistic (with 51%,50% and 49% respectively stating they believe their situation will be better in a year’s time)
- Professionals in Kuwait, professionals in the UAE and professionals in KSA are the most optimistic vis-à-vis country’s economy (with 51%, 49% and 47% respectively stating they believe the economy will get better in a year’s time) while professionals in both Egypt and Jordan remain the least optimistic (with 29% and 28% of them  respectively stating things will get worse next year).
-Professionals in Qatar, professionals in Kuwait and professionals in the UAE are the most optimistic vis-à-vis future business conditions (with 57%,56% and 55% believing business conditions will be better in a year’s time), while professionals in Jordan and professionals in Egypt are the least optimistic (with 17% and 15% believing they will get worse).
-Qatar professionals, Kuwait professionals and the UAE professionals are also the most optimistic vis-à-vis future employment market (with 43%, 42% and 40% of them stating employment market will get better in a year’s time), while Jordan professionals and Egypt professionals are also the least optimistic (with 34% of them in each county believing they will get worse).

D)    Links:

-To Research Report: http://www.bayt.com/en/research-report-5846/

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1. Personal Attitudes of Middle East Professionals Towards Work Fluctuate
2. Middle East Professionals Cut Costs
3. 2009 Middle East Salary Survey Released

How do you like living and working in KSA? What I like most about KSA is the great potential of the market and the various opportunities for career development and professional growth that are offered to working professionals.

What is your average day at work like? As my role basically is to enhance HR strategies & plans and to link them to the company vision & business goals, i spend most of my working day immersed in strategic planning activities like meetings with division heads , reviewing reports & analysis , presenting HR plans, etc…

What is your biggest professional challenge? For a long period of time, the HR function in the Middle East region was looked at mostly as only personnel and administration- mainly only with payroll, records keeping and government relations. My biggest professional challenge continues to be the challenge of positioning the HR function as a strategic business partner within the organization.
What is the most important thing you look for in new hires? Commitment, core interpersonal skills but most importantly the ability, the willingness and the passion to learn and keep developing new skills.

What is the biggest challenge you face in hiring talent? Mostly lack of qualified candidates within the budget

What is your favorite part of your role? HR development:  encouraging, contributing, planning and being significant in people’s lives at work and the organization’s development as a whole instills a feel of professional fulfillment in me.

What has been the highlight of your career in HR? Initiating complete HR policies and practices in well known enterprises, which i believe played a big role in getting me to where I am today,  an HR Advisor for a huge enterprise like SNC-LAVALIN.

What do you read to keep abreast of industry developments? SHRM publications and education material , articles in HR websites and professional networks and HR books.

What is your advice to someone looking to enter the field of HR? If you are people oriented, if you genuinely like supporting others and improving their lives, then HR, without a doubt, is the right field for you.

How is the Middle East evolving as a place to practice HR? There has definitely been an evolution of Middle Eastern management practices, or a hunger to implement advanced management practices and methodologies, especially by using IT systems for example, quite effectively in both managerial and operational processes, but when it comes to HR Management, I think we still have a way to go and i personally trust the reasons below could have somehow long affected the Middle Eastern HR Evolution:

- The fact that oil is one key participant to the region’s fast growth has forced enterprises to focus more on operations rather than human capital value.

- The local regulations in some of the Gulf countries have set some limitations to the workforce’s expectations and ambitions. A misconception has been developing in the mind of professionals aiming to work in the region- a mere financial reward is to be reaped, but not a stable career path that is based on training, development and opportunities to grow.

-HR function was mainly considered mostly as a personnel and administration function which mainly involves in payrolls, records keeping and government relations only.

- Lack of solid HR educational programs across the region: most of the HR practitioners have developed their skills merely by experience.

I strongly  believe now is the right time for HR professional to position themselves as change leaders: obstacles will never fade away but the road is definitely easier now for highly motivated HR professionals to reengineer the HR function and role within their organizations, especially with the revolution of technology /social media and the existence of professional communities like SHRM and ASHRM: such powerful resources can and must be used to increase HR knowledge, professional networking and credentials .

If you could wave your magic stick and make a significant development in one specific area of HR practices worldwide, where would that fall? Marketing & Positioning of HR as a vital function for organizations

Anything else you’d like to share with the community of Bayt.com Employers? Thank You Bayt for giving us, HR professionals in the Middle East, the opportunity to share our concerns and ideas and exchange our knowledge and experiences.

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3. Interview with Sherwett Shafie, HR Manager at WHS Plastics Egypt

Vis-a -Vis investment in Vehicle: An in-depth look at the figures shows that 56% of total respondents are not planning to invest in a vehicle within the next 12 months, against 26% who are considering it(in the last wave- June 2009- 58% had stated they were not planning to purchase a vehicle, against 24% who were thinking about it). The Survey shows respondents in Jordan are the most interested in buying a vehicle within the next 12 months- at 33%- followed by Qatar – at 32%, while at the other end, respondents in Syria are the least interested – at 15%.
Slightly more than half (52%) of those considering the purchase of a vehicle in the current CCI wave stated they are aiming at a brand new one. 

Vis-à-vis Investment in Property: Bayt’s CCI Survey shows that the trend of not getting involved in property investment continues from the last wave.  An overwhelming 60% of total respondents are not planning to invest in property within the next 12 months, against only 21% who are planning to invest( in the last wave, June 2009, the figures were almost identical: 62% of total respondents had stated they were not planning to invest in property , while 20% had stated the opposite). The survey shows respondents in Qatar are the most interested in property investment- at 29%- followed by Bahrain’s respondents- at 28%. On the other end, although the most interested in “investment in vehicle”, Jordan respondents show the least enthusiasm to invest in property- at 14%.
Interestingly, out of the fifth of respondents planning to invest in property, 60% are looking into investing in brand new property (not previously lived in).

Vis-a- Vis Investment in Electronic Appliances: As with the previous CCI wave,  electronic appliances that score the highest interest amongst total respondents  taking part in Bayt’s CCI Survey- September 09- are desktops or laptops (at 31%), followed by furniture (at 19%).  Respondents in Syria show the highest level of interest in desktop/laptop purchases (at 41%) compared to only 25% in both Lebanon and UAE, which show the lowest level of interest. As for investment in furniture, KSA& Qatar show the highest interest levels – at 22%- compared to only 16% if UAE, Jordan and Egypt, which show the lowest levels of interest.
Interestingly, respondents in the UAE have generally expressed, in this wave, low purchase intention across all electronic Appliances.

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Best career advice I ever got Never sell yourself/ your business cheap, and stick to your pricing strategy especially if you are confident that you are offering your clients quality and value for their money.

Favorite Job task I ever had to do Interviewing a fresh graduate who thinks he owes the world and who would only consider a managerial position to start with! I like it because it reminds me of myself, right after graduating from my Hotel school in Switzerland- I had the same attitude at the time. You later see things clearer: as soon as I started my first job as a reservations officer I knew that I had a lot to learn before I reach my goals.

Most dreaded job task I ever had to do Analyzing and auditing my Profit and Loss statements with my financial controller every end of month. Despite my long experience in Financial Management, I find figures and numbers quite boring and would spend my time amongst people discussing new plans and strategies.

Best career decision ever made Vision Group , up til 2007, had two major fields of expertise: hotels & resorts management and hospitality recruitment. Based on a long experience in both industries and in business development in general, we  realized that we had to concentrate on one line of business in order to succeed and meet our objectives , so the decision was to close down our hotel management division and divert all our efforts, know-how and professionalism towards recruitment and since then. This was the best decision I have ever made: my team and I have developped an even greater passion for this industry which provides us with an exemplary sense of satisfaction every time we assist a jobseeker with a new career opportunity that allows him to have a better life and future.

Weirdest career decision ever made Going to Kazakhstan five years ago to manage a hotel resort on China’s lake- at that time Kazakhstan was not on the international business map and although I was faced with some rather ackward situation, the whole experience was quite interesting: I have learnt about a whole different culture and way of doing business.

My Biggest Professional Challenge Proving to our employers that hiring then developing their staff is an absolute necessity: people are a company’s best assets and should always be taken care of!

Icons who have influenced my career progression/Role Models I have been influenced by my grandfather’s wisdom, my father’s business spirit, my mother’ s patience and social principles and by my first boss and CEO in the hotel industry from whom I learned many management techniques and leadership skills.

Most recommended readings (Websites, books)for people interested in my field of work/ industry Any article or information one finds interesting whether it’s in a magazine, a book, newspaper or website. I read and store quite a bit of articles and then refer to them whenever I am planning to set new corporate strategies.

In another life, my perfect job would be Probably a hotelier all over again as it made who I am today. truth be told, I would have loved to be a singer or a musician in another life and honestly hope one of my future children would have the gift of music: exceptional, creative and spiritual.

My living and working in Beirut experience has so far been If one can survive in Beirut - on the professional level-  and keep on moving forward, this means he/ she can work anywhere in the world and succeed!  Even if Beirut is a small city compared to other major business cities in the world- I believe the challenges, competition, surprises and difficulties one can face in Beirut can be just as tough as any other major city- if not tougher.  I totally enjoy it!

A successful career thought/ Motto that I live by (and advise others to consider “Keep walking and do not be afraid of going slowly, be only afraid of standing still”: It’s a Chinese proverb and I like the wisdom it entails.

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