Jobs in Pakistan, Jobs in Middle East

When searching for a job you will find that most of the jobs require at least a “Bachelor’s degree or equivalent”. So does this mean that if you don’t have a bachelor’s degree you can not apply for that job? Well, not really!

Degree is indeed a requirement for many jobs, but some allow your industry experience to overcome your qualification. Job postings that require a bachelor’s degree “or equivalent” are the ones that you should look for because they do accept your professional experience as an alternative to your lack of education. However, degree is generally mandatory for those fresh candidates who lack relevant professional experience. The word “equivalent” comes into play when your professional experience is such that it could overcome your lack of education.

The requirements for equivalent experience varies from employer to employer but a good thumb rule is to display all your performances, results and accomplishments of your previous work on your resume. Sell your results to the employer if you really want to convince him with your experience. Add proper statements to quantify your short term and long term accomplishments during your previous work. It is even better to give a dollar value against these accomplishments. By putting all these things in your resume you are actually selling your results instead of education.

You should include actual accomplishments of your career. Following are some examples to help you:

Team Lead/Admin: Successfully managed an office team of 100 employees. The Team received “Team of the year award”.

Marketing Manager: increased Company’s revenue by 40% by implementing innovative marketing plan.

Customer Service Manager: Managed the whole department of 50 customer service representatives who successfully handled over 5000 calls per week.

Human Resource Manager: Supervised 30 H.R representatives who interviewed, hired and trained more than 10, 000 employees annually.

Computer Programmer: Designed innovative software for company’s account department that resulted in an 80% increase in the work efficiency.

Bank Manager: Managed 20 potential clients who made investments of more $30 million.

In order to overcome the “degree” obstacle you need to convince the employer by proving to him the benefits in hiring you. Give him examples from your previous work experience, tell him your achievements and accomplishments of previous work, and tell him the benefits you could give to his company. The whole myth behind qualifying for “equivalent experience” is selling your results to the employer.

Many candidates get rejected before they are interviewed because they do not update their resumes. Unfortunately, most of the job seekers are unaware of this mistake. Here are five reasons why updating resume is so important:

1. In today’s world, there is no such thing as job security, so you should always be prepared to grab another opportunity just when it appears. Just imagine if one day your friend comes to you with an exciting new job offer and he asks you to forward your resume now, what will you do if you don’t have your resume updated? You may loose a great opportunity and that is a big loss.

2. As economies change without any warning, big companies and industries too take unexpected turns. It may happen that one bad morning you wake up and find yourself in an industry in complete distress. That’s true, it has happened to many people before and it could happen to you as well. If you keep your resume updated, you will be to tab various opportunities at a time.

3. As financial crisis approach, companies begin to downsize their resources. They start to cut their costs and man power. You could also become a victim of downsizing anytime and then suddenly you will feel the need to update your resume but that stress is not worth taking. However, by keeping your resume updated you could deal with such a situation when needed.

4. Updating your resume could also help you with a better position within your current work place. When your performance and capabilities are reviewed during the annual evaluation, your updated resume would make it clear to your boss that you have been contributing a lot to the company all along.

5. If all of a sudden your family decides to shift to another city or country, how will you manage your job? Now that you are required find a new job in a new place, the need for an updated resume increases even more. Therefore, keeping your resume up to date is just like planning ahead.

Now that you know how important it is to update your resume regularly, we will tell you five ways of how you can update your resume.

1. Ask yourself where you want to see yourself in a few years time and what are your goals? Your resume must reflect your career goals. Replace your objective statement with a focus statement that describes the position title you are aiming at.

2. Mention all the tasks that you have accomplished since your last update. These accomplishments can include short term goals, special projects, tasks or anything beyond.

3. Don’t forget to write down the conferences you have attended since last update, they do matter a lot when it comes to selection. Also add any training sessions or seminars that you have attended.

4. Update your personal information if required. If you have changed your cell number, moved to another city or have another email address, mention it on your resume.

5. Mention any awards or honors that you have received since last update.

You might have heard the famous saying, “I don’t love my job but I am doing it because I have no other choice.” This is the saying of a looser who has surrendered his will power to his weaknesses. We say that a job that you don’t love is no job. Read the following step by step guide to find a job that you will love.

1. Decide your career

Determine your career by comparing your ambitions with capabilities. Your ambitions should match with your capabilities or else you won’t be able to find a job that you could enjoy.

a) Avoid glamorous goals

Don’t eye at something very big, it may be out of your reach. Remember, a glamorous career could be very competitive. Look for short term achievements that you could enjoy.

b) Create a career growth plan

In order to achieve success throughout your career you should design a career growth plan like where do you want to see yourself after 5 years? 10 years? 15 years?

c) Look forward to long-term benefits

In the beginning, if you are offered low-paying jobs don’t ignore them. Take them as your learning and training opportunities.

d) Look for a work that you could enjoy

Whatever you do, it should keep you happy. Look for a job that you could enjoy and not get bored with.

2. Get necessary experience

Every job has its own requirements, and experience is one of these requirements. Whatever job you are applying for you should have the necessary experience to qualify for that position. Therefore, do whatever it takes to gain necessary experience for the position you are targeting.

3. Expand your options

In order to develop your career you should not limit your options to a few selective jobs. Rather you should expand your list of available jobs based on your current experience.

4. Plan out your career

Make a plan for your career development based on realistic goals. Select five jobs that you can competitively interview for right now. List them priority wise based on your education and experience. Select another five jobs that you can qualify for in 5 to 10 years time. Prioritize them giving the highest rank to the one that is most appealing.

5. Just do it

You don’t need to learn any rocket science to follow this whole process. Just decide and get disciplined, believe in yourself and don’t let any doubts to deviate you from your career path. Don’t slow down, send as many resumes as possible, keep it up and running. Don’t get depressed over rejections; you will only loose confidence in yourself. Life doesn’t stop with a few rejections, the race is still on.

Many job seekers fail to understand why they are still unemployed despite all their efforts. They search thoroughly, apply to a number of jobs everyday and update resumes, yet they don’t get a job. So they ask themselves, “What’s wrong with the employers?” Well, the truth is that the problem does not lie in the employers but the jobseekers themselves. Unfortunately, many job seekers are not ready to accept this truth.

You may have been updating your resume regularly but it still could not satisfy a single employer, why? The answer is simple, “it did not contain what employers were looking for.” Here, we will discuss 10 reasons why employers might have rejected you.

1. You tell lies

Your resume might have been rejected because it contained too many lies. The employer dismisses you the moment he learns that you have told a lie in your resume. Even if you manage to deceive your employer today, it will be discovered later in your career.

2. You disrespect your previous employers

You would certainly love to slander your previous boss in his absence but you must not do it in front of your new hiring manager. Talking negatively about your previous employer in front of a hiring manager is considered to be one of the most harmful mistakes that a candidate can commit.

3. You don’t have enough potential

Employers look for candidates who have the required potential to grow with the company. If you don’t show them what they are looking for, they will definitely reject you. Therefore, let them know that you have envisioned a future with a successful career in this company.

4. You don’t explore the company

Another reason why employers might reject you is because you do not know any thing about the company. The employers expect you to ask good questions about the company and job role. Therefore, you must employer the company online or through other possible means.

5. You are not enthusiastic

Many candidates are rejected because they did not show any enthusiasm for that job. Employers don’t want such people to work in their organizations; they rather look for enthusiastic people who are ready to take up the challenge.

6. You are being personal

Telling too much about yourself, your hobbies, your activities and your life in the interview can also cost you the job offer. Your personal information could offend some people or it may be misused by your employer. Therefore, you must not tell anything that is not asked.

7. You only care for money

During the interview you were only concerned about money which made the employer dismiss you. When giving an interview, do not bring the issue of salary until the employer asks you about it. Secondly, if you are currently employed do not lie about your salary because the employer can verify it within no time.

10. You don’t give examples

In order to determine how you can help the company, employers look for specific examples in your resume. If you do not demonstrate your role with specific examples in your resume, you may get rejected.

11. You are not experienced

These days managers don’t have much time to train new employees; therefore they look for experienced candidate who will save their time, effort and money. If you do not have the required experience for a particular job, the employer may reject you right away.