Akhtaboot Announces the Launch of its Twitter Competition 2013 “#CompanyFix”

In its efforts to reward its loyal followers on Twitter, Akhtaboot - the career network announces the launch of its twitter competition 2013 – #CompanyFix – to begin today Sunday, August 18th, 2013.

Participants can compete by tweeting their most creative answers to the question “If you were the owner of the previous company you worked for, what would you change?” within a period of 2 weeks (18/08/2013 - 31/08/2013). After this period, the 5 most creative answers will be chosen by Akhtaboot’s competition committee and placed on akhtaboot.com for people to retweet within 2 weeks (08/09/2013 - 21/09/2013). The answer that gets the highest number of retweets wins a “Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus” mobile phone.

Conditions for participating in the competition:

1. Participants should first follow @akhtaboot page on Twitter.
2. Answer with 1 creative tweet to the question “If you were the owner of the previous company you worked for, what would you change?”; make sure you include @akhtaboot and #CompanyFix in your tweet.
3. The top 5 most creative answers will be chosen by the Akhtaboot’s competition committee. The answers will be announced and added to akhtaboot.com for people to RETWEET.
4. The answer that gets the highest number of RETWEETS wins a “Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus” mobile phone.  

Read More

Dream Job: Reality or Myth?

What is a dream job? Do you know someone who actually has a dream job? Is there really such a thing as a dream job? Great jobs usually develop out of hard work and dedication, not just dreams. This is not to say that you can't create or find a great job. It all depends on your personality, desires and dedication.

So how can you identify the dream job that suits YOU? Start by identifying who you are as a person, what your natural talents are, what your personal values are and then get into a job where you get to apply your talents on a day to day basis and where your personal values go hand in hand with the company you work for. In other words: you have an opportunity to do your very best every day and you look forward to coming to work on a daily basis.

Always remember:

1. There is only one job that would fit you - you may have many options but you can't do them all.
2. Your dream job might not exist out there - you may have to invent it.
3. Change is the only constant - your priorities and talents may change over time.
4. A dream job is one that you'll do even if you're not paid for it.

Written by:
Fadi Alaeddin
Country Manager - UAE at Akhtaboot - the career network

Read More

Beat the Back-to-work Blues

Your holiday is over and now you've got that back-to-work feeling we all dread. No one likes to go back to work, deadlines, presentations, and etc. after a long, relaxing holiday. Time to try Akhtaboot’s simple tips on how to beat the back-to-work blues!

Read More

The Right Career Path for your Personality Type

Find out which type of career best suits your personality.

Many people choose their career paths for all the wrong reasons; they could be influenced by their parents, or they could be passing time until they figure out what they really want to do but end up in the same job for tens of years. When it comes to identifying a suitable life partner, we all look for someone with compatible personality traits. You should do the same thing when choosing your career. It’s a known fact that your personality type may be better suited for one career path over another and more often than not, if you choose a career that doesn't suit your character you become confused, unhappy and will end up switching jobs. Allow Akhtaboot to help you dig deep inside yourself to help you identify what you’ll be good at based on your personality type, instead of choosing a career based on what you think you should do.

Identifying your Interests

Your personal interests have already influenced many of the choices you made in life: your choice of university degree, the things you like to do in your spare time and the holidays. Your interest may also have been responsible for many of the friends you have made and helped you to develop your personal skills. The same personal interests are likely to have a similar influence on your career. For some people, an interest is of such importance in their life that it is the main influence on their career choice. Identifying the activities you enjoy doing and like to spend most of your time on can help you make a wise and fulfilling career choice.

Identifying your Skills

We all have skills that can be valuable in our work role. Without ever having had a job, or any related training, you are qualified to perform many jobs. Skills that are gained from voluntary work, personal hobbies, education, or any other life experiences are just as important as those skills gained from work experiences. Does owning a blog have anything to do with work? Well, almost all companies need people who write frequently, stay in touch with the media, and can produce original, creative content on the spot. Having a blog is a great way to sharpen your writing skills. Once you start identifying the skills you have, your areas of strength, your areas for growth, you can form an idea on the job type that suits your career ambitions.

Identifying your Personal Values

We all have several values that are important to us. In order to discover your own personal values, you must first understand who you are and what you’re bringing to your workplace. Start by asking yourself the following questions: What do you stand for? What do you believe in? What is important to you? It might take you some time to figure out the right answers for you, however doing so will definitely help you figure out what your core values are. There’s something about actually writing down your values that makes you more committed to try to follow them when pursuing a career.

Identifying your Personality

Research shows that if your personality type matches your job you will achieve greater job satisfaction and career success. Those who succeed in finding a job that is compatible with their personality are usually highly motivated and energized by their jobs. They are eager to get to work because their career lets them take advantage of the natural preferences and strengths of their personality. A good way to determine your career personality type is to take a psychometric test such as MBTI (Myers-Briggs©) which analyzes a candidate’s personality in a career context. You can find out more about your personality with the MBTI on Akhtaboot.com for free.

Read More

Organizing Your Workday

Being disorganized can impact both the quality and efficiency of your work. This doesn’t mean that you should turn yourself into a neat freak; however, being organized and well-prepared can definitely work for you. Akhtaboot is here to the rescue with a number of organizational tips that will help you reach your long-term goals at work and simplify your workdays.

Read More

Professional Maturity in the Workplace

What is it & how to achieve it?

In psychology, maturity is defined by the person’s ability to react to the environment in a learned manner, rather than instinctively. Maturity has nothing to do with age; it’s all about knowing the right time and place to behave in a certain manner, and according to the culture one lives in. Just as it is the case in life, success at work depends on a lot of factors. Some think it’s all about luck or fate, but for the majority of us it all comes down to our ability to demonstrate professional maturity no matter what might be your position or career level.

Since employers constantly observe their employees’ behaviors, displaying professional maturity can only work in your favor. Since this is easier said than done, what exactly do you need to do become professionally mature?

Professional maturity in short, is related specifically to how an employee acts, reacts and behaves in the workplace. Professionally mature employees are able to control their personal feelings when it comes to work related issues. For example, if they make a mistake, they accept responsibility for it. They don’t shift the blame to others or give excuses. Some examples on the obstacles that can stand in the way of your own professional maturity are: gossiping, backstabbing and negative office politics. It is strongly advised to stay away from such behaviors, even if you don’t have anything nice to say about the people you work with!

Key elements that will help you reach professional maturity are time management skills and excellence in performance; you should always respect deadlines and complete your tasks on time as it shows the high sense of urgency that you possess towards your job. Moreover, you have to respect authority and believe in the greater good of your company. This means that when the final decision is made, even if it’s not in line with your personal preferences, you should follow through.

In conclusion, professional maturity is all about your ability to separate emotional feelings from the issues. It’s also about preventing the temptation of instant self-gratification from interfering with your quest for long term career success.


Written by:
Tala Al Qudah
HR Specialist at Akhtaboot - the career network 

Read More

Things That Could be Harming Your Career

Is it possible that you are somehow sabotaging your own career success without you even noticing? If your job isn’t going as well as you’d hoped, you may be unintentionally doing something that is holding you back from achieving your career ambitions. Akhtaboot is here to shed light on the less obvious things that you might be doing that are unintentionally hurting your career.

Read More

The Attitude That's Ruining Your Career

Career-limiting habits that might be getting in your way!

It’s a known fact that your attitude at work can dramatically make or break your career. While having a positive attitude is not easily achievable for the majority of employees as many of them are stuck with career limiting habits that keeps them from reaching their full potential at work. Some examples on those habits include but not limited to: unreliability, “it’s not my job” attitude, procrastination and resistance to change. Many people have a misconception that positive attitude is a genetic behavioral pattern that we inherit and have no control over. That’s not actually true as it is a state of mind that you can achieve by inner drive and conscious reinforcement. This doesn’t mean that you have to take on everything people throw at you; you need to set appropriate boundaries when needed but without falling victim to the most common career limiting behaviors. Akhtaboot is here to highlight the most common negative attitude habits to avoid in order to achieve your true professional potential.

Unreliability

Being unreliable is all about not doing what you say you will do. If your coworkers can’t depend on you, why do you go to work anyway? Unreliable employees can jeopardize the success of the entire team and are on their way to career failure. Instead of agreeing to projects you can’t commit to, set the bar at a reasonable level, and then try to exceed expectations. If you can’t follow through, for whatever might be the reason, be outspoken about it and attempt to fix the situation right away. Never hide or make excuses or shift blame when things go wrong.

“It’s Not My Job”

Working with someone who has this attitude can be so frustrating, so make sure it’s not you. This is not the mindset of a team player; this is someone who just wants to make an appearance at work while doing the bare minimum to collect a paycheck at the end of each month. This doesn’t mean that you should say yes to whatever comes your way. However, if you have to say no for a valid reason, show genuine desire to resolve the issue and come up with alternatives to help find solutions. If you find that you’re constantly being approached to help with a task that truly isn’t in your job description, discuss this matter with the management. Maybe it should be included in your job!

Procrastination

We all procrastinate at some point, but what exactly is behind this is that we often struggle with self-control especially when faced with a difficult task. Procrastinators may also say that they perform better under pressure, but more often that's just their way of justifying putting things off. While it’s sometimes perfectly okay to procrastinate as a prioritization tool, if you allow it to become a way of life, that’s when you need to tackle the underlying problems behind it. Whether you have problems with self-regulation, lack of motivation, poor self-confidence or other emotional issues, dealing with this habit usually means dealing with what makes you put things off.

Resistance to Change

The only constant in today's workplace is change. But whether the company is large, small, not-for-profit or even a family business, people tend to fear change, resist it and try to sabotage it either consciously or subconsciously. From missed meetings and deadlines to forgotten agreements and undelivered messages - these are all signs of unconscious resistance. If you believe you might have an issue adapting to change, try to recognize how you react when change is happening. It could be just fear. If that’s the case, try to bring those feelings and thoughts out into the open where they can be addressed.

Read More

How to Stay Productive During Ramadan

With the holy month of Ramadan upon us, working hours for most people decrease which makes it difficult to complete all tasks effectively and efficiently. It’s no secret that it’s hard to work while fasting; however, Akhtaboot is here to the rescue with some tips for a stress-free and productive Ramadan.

Read More

Attitude That Can Boost Your Career

It’s a known fact that your attitude at work can dramatically make or break your career. While having a positive attitude is not easily achievable for the majority of employees as many of them are stuck with career limiting habits that keep them from reaching their full potential at work. Akhtaboot is here to highlight the most important attitudes, behavior and characteristics you must have to achieve your true professional potential.

Read More

Infographic: Evaluating Employee Motivation in the MENA Region

One of the main concerns employers have nowadays is how to motivate and stimulate their employees as employee motivation affects one’s happiness and creativity at the workplace and therefore affects the company’s retention rates and productivity. Akhtaboot surveyed job seekers from all over the MENA region in order to evaluate Employee Motivation in terms of: pay raise, promotions, public recognition, the relationship they have with their direct managers, ownership and personal growth.

Take a look at the infographic below for some interesting facts on Employee Motivation in the MENA region from Akhtaboot.

Read More

Confidentiality in the Workplace

Keeping private information from getting into the wrong hands.

In today’s competitive market, confidentiality is considered highly essential to the success of any organization. Every employee is responsible for handling all company information with care and cautiousness. No information should be disclosed to a third party unless proper permissions were obtained. This is because if it gets into the wrong hands, it can be considered as a breach of confidentiality and you may even be terminated for it. Since your ability to maintain confidentiality can have a profound effect on the success of your career, Akhtaboot is here with a number of tips to help you master the art of keeping confidential information, confidential!

Sharing Information on a Need to Know Basis

While keeping employees informed of organizational plans and goals as well as actively involving them in the decision making process leads up to creating creative plans, some sensitive information should be shared on a need to know basis and only to authorized employees who need it to make decisions regarding a certain matter at work. Make sure that you maintain a smooth communication flow that increases employee productivity and innovation, while making sure you don’t disclose any private material.

Protect Sensitive Files

These days most files are stored electronically. To ensure its safety, sophisticated electronic procedures such as firewalls, password protection and encryption should be adopted. Employees should never leave confidential information visible on their computer screens when leaving their desks. All confidential documents should be kept in locked cabinets or rooms accessible only to those who need to know. All confidential computer files should be protected with passwords. Desks should be cleared of any confidential information before going home at the end of each day.

Initiate Confidentiality Trainings

In workplaces where confidentiality laws control how information can be handled, stored, and processed, confidentiality trainings are conducted to teach employees how to handle private information appropriately. These trainings are used to acquaint employees with the laws and procedures used in the company to comply with the law. Trained employees may also be responsible to familiarize new hires with the already established policies, procedures, and confidentiality guidelines.

Maintain Client Confidentiality

From file clerks, IT professionals to secretaries, all employees at your company must be well informed about the importance of maintaining client confidentiality in the workplace. Ensure that all staff members who have access to private client information understand the importance of protecting sensitive client information. It is not only a question of maintaining professionalism, but it is an important way to gain the client's trust and confidence in you.

Invest in a Paper Shredder

The top most effective way to prevent confidential documents from getting into the wrong hands is to make sure they are properly destroyed before disposal. Investing in a shredder is highly essential to guarantee that paper documents are destroyed internally, before they leave your office. Consider placing a shared paper shredder in service rooms near printers and copiers. Such machines can do the job quickly and have innovative features which can eliminate frustrating paper jams.

As you advance in your career you’ll be working more and more with confidential documents. Workplace data breaches continue to be a growing threat to companies all over the world, resulting in thousands, even millions of dollars in clean-up costs. Evaluating security loopholes in your workplace can definitely help you protect your company's confidential information and ensure that your organization does not become a victim.

Read More

Make a Great First Impression with Your CV

First impressions are everything! Whether it’s your first day at school, at work or at a job interview, first impressions set the stage for what’s to come. When applying for jobs, the employer's first impression is based only on what is written on your CV. Remember that you never get a second chance to make a good first impression. Akhtaboot is here to the rescue with 5 simple tips to help you create a great first impression on perspective employers with your CV.

Read More

University Students across the region to participate in BUiD’s Second week long Sustainability Summer School

“Greener Hands for a Greener Community” is the theme for Summer School at The British University in Dubai

The British University in Dubai (BUiD) declared open the BUiD’s 2nd Sustainability Summer School today. BUiD SSS 2013 event is being held under the Patronage of HH Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chancellor of the University and under the guidance of Prof Abdullah Alshamsi, BUiD Vice-. Some 50 undergraduate and postgraduate students from various universities across the region will actively engage in a week long professional development program on sustainability from the 23rd to 27th June. BUiD’s Summer School was the brain child of Dr Hanan Taleb, the Atkins Assistant Professor in Sustainable Design and Built Environment. She believes the best way to contribute to the environment protection and the reconstruction of land is to raise awareness amongst the youth and train all of us to be responsible members of the community.

Building on last year’s success BUiD Triple S this year is full of stimulating activities. As well as academic lectures, presentations from Industry professionals, talks by experts and debate with their counterparts. Boldly there will be competitions and interactive field trips to sustainability landmarks in the U.A.E such as Masdar City, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), RTA-Dubai Metro and the LEED – Platinum Pacific Control’s building.

Prof Abdullah Alshamsi, Vice-Chancellor at The British University in Dubai who is a strong  advocate of “empowering the youth with the right knowledge” in his opening remarks at the event said “BUiD’s SSS 2013 event is in alignment with BUiD’s objective of disseminating knowledge to the wider community. Through this week-long Sustainability Summer School we want to encourage students to take away the latest practices and knowledge on contributing to a greener community and inspire others to follow the path to sustainability.” Prof Abdullah Alshamsi also took the opportunity to thank the organizations who partnered with BUiD for the Triple S event including Panasonic Middle East as the main sponsor, Emax – support sponsor, Akhtaboot - online recruitment partner and DIAC student hub – Education Partner. “I like to thank all these organizations for showing their commitment in supporting this great CSR initiative” he said.

In its commitment to Sustainability as a core promise Panasonic Middle East signed up as the Main Sponsor of the BUiD SSS 2013 event. Mr Masao Motoki, Managing Director, Panasonic Marketing Middle East & Africa explaining the values behind the Panasonic brand said, “As a company we are committed to the philosophy of placing people before products and also encouraging eco activities, thereby aiming to provide a better life and a better world. BUiD’s commitment in organizing the summer school that encourages young mind to dream, conceptualize, implement and create a sustainable world is a step that synchronizes with our ethos. We are extremely delighted to be associated with this initiative as it also plays a part in our corporate plan to provide environmental education to two million children around the world by engaging them through the various Panasonic Kids School initiatives by 2018”.

This year’s Summer Sustainability School seems is even better than 2012 SSS with many new and dynamic ideas developed by student organizing body which works under the direct supervision of Dr Hanan Taleb. There are nine members who form the BUiD SSS committee, which is led by Ms. Noha Jaheen, student of BUiD’s M Sc Sustainable Design and Built Environment programme, she has played a major  role in the success of BUiD SSS event last year and this year too. Dr Hanan Taleb said, “I am happy to see these youngsters’ enthusiasm and dedication in planning and executing the BUiD SSS event, the main objective of designing this event has been met, whereby the youngsters take up the responsibility for a greener future.” Dr Hanan Taleb also expressed her gratitude to Prof Abdullah Alshamsi-Vice Chancellor, Martin Prince- Registrar and Prof Bassam Abu Hijleh- Atkins Chair and Dean of Faculty of Engineering at BUiD for believing in her and lending their support to the event. She said “This year’s BUiD SSS event will provide a great experience to these students. The theme “Greener Hands for a Greener Community” has been created so that the participating students impart knowledge on how to reduce the ecological footprint not only as individuals but lead by the hand and enthuse other members of the community in developing greener communities for a greener future”.

Some of the key highlights of the BUiD SSS event will be hearing about “Successful Emarati Experience” from Mr Kahlid Al Maskari, Director at Tourism & investment Company (TDIC); a workshop for students on selecting the right material for sustainable furniture by Jens Rathron, Managing Partner at Ithara Group; six student teams will debate sustainability myths and practices, which will be run by Ms Samar Shaker, BUiD’s Alumna Master of Science in Sustainable Design and Built Environment; a Student competition for fabricating sustainable furniture using recyclable material will also run alongside the event where the same six teams will compete. The grand finale of the BUiD SSS event will be the closing ceremony and exhibition on 27th June from 2 pm to 5 pm. The guest of honour for the closing ceremony will be Engineer Abdullah Rafee, Assistant Director-Engineering & Planning Department, Dubai Municipality who will address the students along with Mr. Masao Motoki, Managing Director, Panasonic Marketing Middle East & Africa and the event will also be attended by other senior dignitaries from both Government and private sector.

The BUiD SSS exhibition will be open to the general public from 2 pm onwards on 27th June at BUiD’s campus, Block 11, Dubai International Academic City, Dubai. For more information call 04-391 3626

Read More

Improve Your Note Taking Skills

Taking meeting notes is very essential for any meeting to be effective and productive. You must be alert enough to take legible, clear and meaningful notes. You can’t rely on writing everything down as there is not enough time and you’ll definitely miss out on some key concepts. Akhtaboot aids you and provides you with specific steps in order to improve your note taking skills.

Read More

What to Do When your Best Employee Quits

 In a world of fairytales, your top employees would stay on board for years and years, and you wouldn’t have to worry about substituting them. Unfortunately, reality proves otherwise. When one of your best employees resigns, you can try to convince them to stay but you can't refuse to accept their resignation. Top employees leave for many different reasons: lack of advancement opportunities, excessive workload or simply because they want to pursue a new challenging role. Once the resignation decision has been made final, there may be nothing you can do to change the employee’s mind. The good news is that there are some steps to take to ensure you handle the process as efficiently as possible. Akhtaboot is here to the rescue with a number of tips to follow if a top employee hands in his or her resignation papers. 

Discover Their True Reasons

Many top employees don’t leave bad jobs so much as they leave bad managers. This is why some managers find it hard not to take resignations personally. Of course your best employee will usually never tell you that you are a bad manager so they don’t burn any bridges. You can find out the real reason by allowing the employee to talk freely about his reasons for leaving. From salary issues, personal issues, stress, or others, it might help you do something about it to prevent future incidents. Once you identify the real reason, accept the resignation gracefully and do some self-reflection.

Consider Offering a Counter-Offer

While it never hurts to try to retain your best people, this doesn’t mean that you use counter-offers as a retention technique, otherwise it will turn into a salary negotiation tool. You should be choosy about who to give counter-offers to and let some of them go without a battle. However, if the cost of him leaving is greater than replacing him, counter-offers can be your last shot at trying to retain your top employees. If money is the issue, propose a reasonable raise. If it's about the job title, consider revising that, but if the resignation is all about change, accept it. You don’t want to go through the same dilemma again in a few months.

Make the Transition Smooth

Once the final decision is made, make sure that the rest of the employees know what is expected from them. Allocate enough time to hand over the departing employee’s work to his colleagues. Top employees usually take care of such matters before they leave. Decide whether you wish the employee to work out their full notice period or just leave right away. However, if you do the latter, be sure that you have an available substitute who can immediately handle the job.

Be Transparent

It’s highly essential that you keep the rest of your employees informed when it comes to employment changes. The more information you provide your employees with, the better for long term success. Keeping information concealed can result in gossip and rumors spreading throughout the company. Once the decision is made, start engaging in an open dialogue with your employees as soon as possible.

Read More

Boost Happiness at the Workplace with a Little Freedom

Nothing makes one happier than the sense of freedom. Some companies choose to practice democracy and freedom in the workplace to attract talented employees, encourage innovation and create a happy and productive environment. Happy employees create happy customers which is the essence of business success. Akhtaboot provides companies with some tips on how to create happy employees.

 

Read More

How to Prepare for a Job Interview

Knowing proper job interview etiquette is an important part of successful interviewing. How you dress, what you bring to a job interview, how you greet the interviewer and how you communicate can all make a big difference in the outcome of the interview. Akhtaboot provides you with 6 job interview preparation tips that would help you make a great impression.

Read More

Helping Yourself While Helping Others; Volunteer!

Why volunteer? You think... With our busy lives, it’s hard to find the time or effort to volunteer. However, the benefits of volunteering are enormous; whether it's to you, your family, your community or anyone involved. The right match can help you find friends, reach out to your community, learn new skills, and even advance your career. Akhtaboot provides you with some benefits of volunteering.

Read More