The Secret Formula to Employment: Akhtaboot unveils the 8 essential skills that employers consider when hiring

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in education throughout the globe. Most parents are investing in their children by educating them and preparing them to face the highly demanding work environment. As a result, thousands of students graduate from universities with similar degrees. With that in mind, what really matters nowadays are the competitive attributes that distinguish you from other candidates. Akhtaboot presents to you the 8 essential attributes that employers look for in potential candidates. Try to master one or more in order to be able to compete effectively in the job market.

The Remarkable CV

“If you call failures experiments, you can put them in your resume and claim them as achievements.” Mason Cooley.

Don’t underestimate the power of a CV because a well written CV will certainly get you an interview. Your CV is the first instrument that you can use to exceptionally brand yourself. Therefore, use it efficiently to highlight your strengths and to bury your weaknesses. What is even better is to turn your weaknesses into strengths. For example, if you do not have a university degree, you need to emphasize your job experience. But the question remains: Will my CV get me a Job? Probably no, but an interview will!

Relevant Work Experience

“Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.” Barry LePatner.

Have you ever stopped to wonder why most of the employers you applied for have never called you back? One reason may be the lack of relevant experience. Therefore, set your long term career goals and plan your way to reach your goals by applying to jobs that will enable you to gain the relevant experience and prepare you for your dream job. After all, reaching the top won’t happen overnight!

Good Cultural Fit

“You just can’t fit a Cadillac in the India Cultural Center.” Dawn Hudson.

Managers tend to create a culture for their organizations that is compatible with their own way of thinking. The culture of any organization is a set of shared values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors among all employees. Research the company’s culture before you go to the interview and check if you match their general environment. In the interview, emphasize how you fit the culture by sharing experiences and stories that the Company can relate to.

The Ability to Work in Teams

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” Henry Ford.

Learning to work in teams is vital element to your career success. Believe it or not it can sometimes be harder than working on your own. The good news is that you can definitely learn how to be an effective team member. Cooperate with other team members, try to share as much information as you can with them and don’t hesitate to offer help whenever your expertise is needed. In the interview, state real examples on how you have added value to your previous team members.

Problem Solving Skills

“Leaders are problem solvers by talent and temperament, and by choice.” Harlan Cleveland.

These days, managers prefer to hire people who can be counted on to solve problems and handle responsibility. It is not professional to go back to your manager seeking his help whenever you face a tiny insignificant issue. Instead, try to research and find the solution yourself. Remember that you can find any type of information over the Internet, so don’t go running to your manager until you have exhausted all the resources available to solve the problem.

Multi-tasking

“If you can’t ride two horses at once, you shouldn’t be in the circus.” American Proverb.

Some jobs require you to have more multitasking abilities than other jobs. If you have limitations to your multitasking abilities, try to apply for jobs that require more routine tasks such as sales. At the end of the day, managers want things to get done on time. Therefore, your most important mission is to set priorities for your tasks and manage your time in a way that enables you to finalize them.

Long-term Commitment

“Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes… but no plans.” Peter F. Drucker.

Companies’ biggest fear nowadays is the loss of employees’ loyalty and long-term commitment, especially after the recent financial crisis. Companies have been forced into lay-offs, which in turn have affected employees’ morale. Due to this fact, managers have become more hesitant to trust their newly hired employees until they show constant interest for the good of the company. Present new ideas, give your opinion about critical issues and offer help to your colleagues whenever you feel your expertise can add value.

Communication Skills

“The art of communication is the language of leadership.” James Humes.

Nowadays, soft skills are more important for managers than technical ones especially in areas where there is a lot of interaction with clients and outside parties. The perfect employee would be cheerful, diplomatic, patient and able to deliver complex information in a simple manner.

Remember that employers don’t expect to find all 8 characteristics in you. If you think that you have one or two, try to strengthen them and highlight them in the interview in order to impress the employer. Don’t waste time trying to create something you don’t have. Instead, focus on a couple of attributes and master them in order to shine!

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Akhtaboot as Online Media Sponsor in the First Forum on Organizational Success and Excellence

Mr. Philip Diab - CEO of Leadership Formation,Dr.
Amjad Al-Aryan - CEO of Pharmacy1, Osama
Fattaleh - COO of Aramex during the Pannel
Discussion

Under the Patronage of Her Excellency Suhair Al Ali, Minister of Planning, Leadership Formation held the first ever Executive Forum on Organizational Success and Excellence in collaboration with Akhtaboot as main online media sponsor. The event was held on December 9, 2009 at the Sheraton Hotel and attracted participants from diverse organizations and industries.

Attendees had the opportunity to learn from renowned leaders of global and regional organizations about best practices and approaches for excellence and growth in today’s business world. Featuring world-class leaders in the fields of project management, strategic excellence, leadership and governance, the single day event provided invaluable insights for corporations, non-governmental organizations and government agencies facing the challenges of growth, development, and sustainability.

Keynote speakers shared their personal experiences on topics regarding Organizational Success and Excellence. Speakers included: H.E. Suhair Al-Ali, the Minister of Planning and International Cooperation; Mr. Gregory Balestrero, the CEO of the Project Management Institute, a global association with nearly 400,000 members and a similar number of certification holders (PMPs); Ms. Linda Crompton, the CEO of BoardSource, an organization dedicated to advancing the public good by building exceptional non-profit boards and inspiring board service; Mr. Ricardo Vargas, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Project Management Institute(PMI); Mr. Philip Diab, the CEO of Leadership Formation, a consulting firm that enables organizational success in strategy, alignment, execution, and people.

In addition to keynote speakers, a number of panel discussions were held throughout the Forum, allowing local experts and members of the audience to tackle core topics related to leadership. Panelists included: H.E. Nadia Al-Saeed, General Manager of Union Bank; Osama Fattaleh, Chief Operations Officer of Aramex; Dr. Amjad Al-Aryan, Chief Executive Officer of Pharmacy 1; Khalil Khouri, Chief Executive Officer of NSCC; Andrew Cobb, Chief Projects Officer of Arab Bank; Haifa Najjar, Superintendent of the Ahliyyah School for Girls and Bishop’s School for Boys and GAM City Council Member; Amal Shabib, Chief Planning & Development Officer of Nuqul Group; Abed Shamlawi, Chief Executive Officer of Int@j.

As main online media sponsor, Akhtaboot has actively promoted the event through its website (www.akhtaboot.com) and other social media channels so as to attract Companies and individuals interested in learning about best practices and approaches for excellence and growth.

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Wearing the Same T-shirt Doesn’t Make you a Team: Akhtaboot unveils the 9 essential roles that make up a successful team

Teams have become a strategic tool in organizations’ success. Due to the recent financial crisis, organizations are restructuring themselves in order to be able to compete effectively and efficiently in the highly demanding market. Management in many organizations has agreed that teams are more flexible and responsive to the continuous changing environment than traditional departments. Teams have the capability to quickly unite, organize, coordinate, adapt and disband.

Contrary to the traditional belief, the success of a team depends less on how clever, talented or qualified employees are, and more on how they behave. Employees should be able to understand their team roles within a particular team; this will assist them in developing their strengths, managing their weaknesses and improving their overall contribution to the team.

Akhtaboot presents the nine roles that make up a balanced and successful team; each is grouped within three main types of employees.

Action Players: Result Oriented Employees

The Team Executive – Implementer

Have you never missed a deadline? Do you like to turn people’s ideas into positive action? Are you are willing to handle jobs everyone else avoids or dislikes? If you answered yes to all of the above, then you are an “Implementer”. Implementers rarely miss deadlines and are eager to turn decisions and strategies into defined and manageable tasks, sorting out objectives and pursuing them logically. However, most implementers are close-minded and inflexible.

The Doer – Shaper

Do you like to be challenged? Do you tolerate working under pressure? Do you usually say what’s on your mind? Do you do whatever it takes to achieve your goals? All the above characteristics define a perfect “Shaper” who gives structure and energy to the team and directs them towards achieving results. Yet, while they strive to achieve their objectives, Shapers sometimes forget to be sensitive to the feelings and perceptions of others.

The Perfectionist – Completer

Have you ever been frustrated from a teammate who worries excessively about minor details and refuses to delegate tasks? Sorry for the bad news, but you can’t kick him out of the team because nothing will be finalized without this annoying team member. What we call a “Completer” is a perfectionist who will often go the extra mile to make sure everything is just right. Completers are detail-oriented and motivated by their own high standards.

Saviors: Problem Solving Employees

The Genius – Plant

Don’t ever underestimate a “Plant”! He is quiet and silent, but when the time is right he astonishes the team with innovative and creative ideas. Plants are open-minded and willing to accept change. They are geniuses but have low communication skills, as they are unable to deliver and convince other team players of their ideas.

The Person Who is Loved by Everyone – Monitor

“Monitors” are fair and logical observers, they judge their colleagues based on what they actually see. In most situations and problems, Monitors will make the right decision, as they are unbiased and are able to see all options with the greatest clarity. They take everything into account; they move slowly and analyze all aspects of the situation. However, they can become excessively enthusiastic for some things without logical grounds, and they may face difficulties inspiring themselves or others to be passionate about their work.

The Know-it-all – Specialist

Have you ever felt that there is only one team member who you always can turn to when you are stuck or when you need information about a specific subject? He is the “Specialist” of the team. Specialists tend to be the most knowledgeable about their own particular field, as they are eager about learning and educating themselves. They are constantly working to improve their skills and wisdom. Specialists bring a high level of concentration, knowledge and expertise to the team, but they limit their involvement to cover this narrow aspect of team work.

Feeling Employees

The Leader – Coordinator

Have you ever felt deceived by a team member who only implies to others what they should do but he does nothing to help? Unfortunately, this team member is playing the leader role and he manages the team’s chaos. By default, the “Coordinator” becomes responsible for organizing tasks among team members. He explains group goals, sets the agenda and the timeline but does not dominate discussions.

The Fuel of the Team – Teamworker

“Teamworkers” are the oil that keeps the team engine running. They are good listeners and excellent in resolving conflict. The value of Teamworkers tends to show only when they are absent and when the team begins to argue and no one is there to solve the problem. Because of their unwillingness to take sides, a Teamworker may not be able to take decisive action.

The Thief – Resource Investigator

The “Resource Investigator” is enthusiastic; he vigorously pursues contacts and opportunities at the start of the project and passes his enthusiasm to other team members. He focuses his attention on building relationships outside the team rather than concentrating on internal issues. Unlike a Plant who strives to create new ideas, a Resource Investigator would rather steal them from outside parties. Yet, he tends to lose his energy by the end of a project and he starts to neglect small details.

The success of a team is not only about having all the above team member types, it’s also about the integration and coordination of these roles. Teams can be made up of 4 to 12 employees; therefore, it’s not necessary for a team to have all the 9 mentioned roles. Best teams, regardless of their size, try to utilize the benefits of each member’s role toward achieving a common goal, so keep in mind that wearing the same t-shirt doesn’t make you a team!

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Akhtaboot at Maharat Face to Face Job Fair- Oct 19, 2009 at the Sheraton Hotel, Amman

In its ongoing commitment to support Jordan’s young graduates to find the right job and plan their career path, Akhtaboot- the career network showed its continuous support to Maharat Program by participating in Maharat Face to Face job fair which was held on Oct 19th at the Sheraton Hotel, Amman.

Maharat is an Employment and Training Program for Jordanian recent graduates that provides a world-class development opportunity for Jordanian youth and companies. Akhtaboot and Maharat have always been partners in trying to leverage the Jordanian job market by giving job seekers the opportunity to grow their career related knowledge.

Maharat has granted Akhtaboot two booths; Akhtaboot’s CV evaluation booth where Maharat graduates were given free advice on how to rewrite their CVs, common mistakes they should avoid and important elements to make their CVs stand out from the crowd in today’s competitive business world. The second booth was devoted to interview Maharat graduates through giving them the opportunity to work in Akhtaboot, where they can gain excellent experience in a dynamic environment that promotes continuous career development and skill improvement.

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It’s Not Only What You Say that Counts: Master the Art of Non-Verbal Communication

Employees usually underestimate the effect of their body language and their non-verbal communication. Your body language and facial expressions are very important in social settings, meetings, interviews and everyday work life. They can affect people’s perceptions of your intentions, as non-verbal communication often conveys more to listeners than the words you speak.

Employees will be able to send stronger messages to their audience when their verbal language matches their non-verbal language. Here are six non-verbal signals that every employee should consider in the workplace.

Facial Expressions

Your face reveals both the type and the intensity of your feelings. Your eyes are especially effective for indicating attention and interest, influencing others, regulating interaction and establishing dominance. For example, in the Arab world eye contact is very important when you are in an interview or a meeting; it conveys confidence and implies respect for the other party.

Facial expressions are not only useful for expressing feelings, but can also be used for hiding them. Employees sometimes use fake facial expressions to hide their anger or frustration toward an unsatisfied customer or a disappointed boss. Make sure that you use the right facial expressions in the right context.

Gestures and Postures

Whether conscious or unconscious, gestures and postures can reveal whether you feel confident or nervous, friendly or hostile, assertive or passive, powerful or powerless. Being able to effectively interpret your audience’s gestures and postures can lead to successful conversations and meetings. Angry people may lean back with their hands crossed over their chest or may lean forward with their fists clenched. Acknowledging these acts and their implications may direct the employee to alter the flow of the conversation and its intensity level. Moreover, employees should also focus on their own gestures and postures to avoid sending unwanted or negative non-verbal messages.

Vocal Characteristics

Your tone and volume of voice, your accent, your speaking pace and all the little um’s and ah’s that creep into your speech say a lot about who you are, your relationship with the audience and the underlying emotions of your words. Being too quite may give the impression that you are shy with no opinion on the subject that is being discussed. On the other hand, being too loud may limit other people’s participation in the conversation because it conveys aggressiveness and dominance. Respect your audience by maintaining a moderate volume of voice while giving others a chance to participate.

Personal Appearance

People respond to others very much on the basis of their physical appearance. Employees should always maintain a presentable look by taking good care of their grooming, clothing, accessories and style. If your goal is to make a good impression, adopt the style of the people you want to impress. When talking about work clothing, it’s very important to take into account the type of job you are dealing with. Employees who do not have to meet external clients or attend business meetings can dress casually so as to be comfortable to work long hours in front of their computer screens. On the other hand, employees who meet customers or visitors on a regular basis should maintain a professional image by dressing formally. For more information on Dressing for Success, visit the Akhtaboot Blog http://blog.akhtaboot.com.

Touch

Touch is a very important way to convey warmth, comfort and reassurance. Nevertheless, it is a very sensitive issue when it comes to the workplace and should be handled with careful attention. While many people see a hand on a shoulder or a pat on the back as a valuable way to convey encouragement or concern for another person’s well-being; sexual harassment fears have made many people avoid all types of touching other than good old handshakes. One helpful recommendation is to keep all types of touching professional and businesslike, this way you can communicate positive feelings and warmth to the other party without crossing the red line.

Time and Personal Space

Arriving to all meetings on time will definitely help you gain people’s respect in today’s business world. When it comes to interviews, the worst way to start one is to be late. Make sure that you have all the right directions and give yourself plenty of time to get there ahead of time.

In addition, take good care not to invade other people’s private spaces. Standing too close when talking to someone may either show respect or may implicate intruding. The best thing is to keep a moderate space between you and the one you are speaking to.

The interpretations of your non-verbal communication differ from one person to another and from one culture to another. Being able to read people’s faces, tone of voice and body language is definitely of great value for your career success and personal development. Following the above recommendations will help you advance your career and will definitely give you an edge over your job-seeker competition!

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PepsiCo Partners with Akhtaboot to recruit for PepsiCo’s Accelerate Management Training Program

Jordan Ice & Aerated Water Co. (PepsiCo International Jordan) partners with Akhtaboot to recruit for its latest Management Training Program, Accelerate. Accelerate is one of the most prestigious programs adopted by PepsiCo Middle East countries to develop local leadership talents and to give exceptional fresh graduates the chance to accelerate their career and climb up the PepsiCo ladder.

Akhtaboot, Jordan’s number one recruitment website, has been chosen by PepsiCo as the leading supplier of talented fresh graduates with a strong academic background in any Business, IT or Engineering disciplines. Lama Mazahreh, Staffing & OMD Supervisor at PepsiCo Jordan, a subsidiary from PepsiCo International, said:

“Akhtaboot has been & will always be our number one choice for recruiting high calibre, especially for our Management Training Program ‘ACCELERATE’. 2008 & 2009 ACCELERATE candidates were all hired from Akhtaboot. It’s always my pleasure to work with such a professional and helpful staff and I definitely recommend Akhtaboot’s unique recruitment services to other businesses.”

The three-year program is tailor-made to equip exceptional fresh graduates (with a GPA of 3.00 or higher) with practical functional experience through On the Job Training relating to PepsiCo’s different business activities. Graduates who are interested in applying to Accelerate program can apply through www.akhtaboot.com for their chance to obtain a long-term career with PepsiCo throughout the second and third year of the program.

PepsiCo is a world leader in convenient snacks, foods and beverages, with revenues of more than $39 billion & over 185, 000 employees.

Established in 2007, Akhtaboot is an online career network that is committed to providing a user-friendly way of linking the right person to the right career opportunity. Akhtaboot serves as a career network for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

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Time Management: Get more done with less stress by taking control of your time

Time Management is one of those skills that you don’t learn in school or university, yet it is one of the most important skills that you must master in order to be successful in today’s competitive workplace. It doesn’t matter how many years of experience you have or how skilled you are; your inability to manage your time well enough to get your work done will definitely cause numerous difficulties and complications to both your professional and social lives and can also lead to increased stress, anxiety, frustration and other negative feelings. Nowadays, careers are made or broken on your ability to handle multiple tasks and manage your time, and no matter what type of work you do, you can definitely have a hand in making your workday more satisfying with Akhtaboot’s following time management techniques.

Remember that those techniques should do more than just help you achieve your career goals, they should help you make more time for what you really want to do, not just what you have to do.

Prioritize Tasks with Pareto’s “20/80 Principle”

Effective time managers are aware of the fact that they cannot do everything that has to be done at once. They prioritize tasks by consciously choosing to spend their time on what is most important to them. The key to effective time management is to apply the “80/20 Principle” which states that 80% of your results are produced from 20% of your efforts. This rule will help you discover the percent of your tasks that you need to focus on so as to achieve the greatest returns on your efforts with the limited amount of time that you have.

Manage Time Allocation with Parkinson’s Law

Parkinson Law states that “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”. It means that the time you need to complete a certain task depends on the time you originally give yourself to get it done with. If you give yourself a tight timeline to do something, you won’t start because you implicitly know that the time frame is unrealistic. If you allocate too much time to complete the task, you won’t start either, because you secretly know that you still have a lot of time on your hands. To break this loop, you have schedule how long you would like to work on certain projects or tasks and then track your progress. This method will help increase your productivity and reduce time wasting.

Identify your Biggest Time Wasters

In order for your time management process to be effective, it is really important that you identify the biggest time wasters at your job. Time wasters usually fall under two main categories: self-generated and external time wasters. Self-generated time wasters are things that we cause ourselves and that we have total control over, such as disorganization, the inability to say No and procrastination. As for external time wasters, interruptions to your work are inevitable; from the ringing telephone, to clients passing by unannounced, to meetings that go on too long with no fruitful conclusion. Making a list of the major time wasters and arranging them in order of their impact will help you save some of your daily working hours and maximize your productivity.

Get it Right the First Time with Total Quality Management

TQM is a process whereby the need to get everything right the first time and to continually improve your production is required. Total Quality Management is not about doing more, it’s about improving the quality of the important tasks at hand. This might take a little more time in the beginning but will definitely reduce rework required to fix mistakes and will save a lot of time on the long run. Contrary to poplar belief, time management is not about doing more things in less time, but it’s about doing the right things better. Keep in mind that the more you bite off, the longer you have to chew.

Taking Control of Technology

The internet is definitely one of the top addictive time wasters in today’s corporate world; it can actually consume a whole working day before you even notice. Your email, for example, has grown into a serious time drainer with your inbox getting out of control throughout the day. But just because someone can contact you instantly, it does not mean that you have to reply immediately. Unless your job demands that, do not respond to your emails immediately, instead, assign a few times a day to check it and respond and don’t look at it otherwise.

Everyone who works wishes there were more hours in the day so that they could do their job right. While time management is a not a new term, most people are really bad at making the most of their time at work. In the quest for success, however, wasting days, hours or even minutes is bad for your career, so why not cut to the chase and get rid of the factors and behaviors that are, in fact, wasting your time.

Whether you feel overwhelmed by your workload or you just want to find an extra few minutes in the day, one fact will always remain the same: we all have the same 24 hours and you really can’t manage that time, but you can manage yourself better. If you don’t, time will do a pretty good job of managing you!

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