Jobs in Pakistan, Jobs in Middle East

Due to unemployment and downsizing in companies, some people are left with the only choice of working from home. They need a good internet connection and of course a UPS with some good battery time in a country like Pakistan where electricity is a forever like issue. Part timers and people working from home have online jobs where they can remotely communicate with their employers. When you are working for foreigners and you get paid in dollars or pounds, it seems to be a very attractive deal. It’s a virtual workplace and it is an easier way of doing a job.

There are many reasons why people choose to work from home but they all get almost the same benefits. They can stay at their home with their children close which saves them day care expenses. They do not become a part of office politics and do not have fear of losing job because of any professional jealousy or personal grudges. Most of all they are self-employed and they set their own schedules and deadlines.

Online jobs indeed set you free and you get more time for your own life. However, people are facing issues working from home and they are unable to manage it properly. The question is why is it so? Well the answer is very much predictable but there are some ground realities that we are avoiding most of the time.

• Meeting the deadline

If we have time to complete our work and the deadline is at a distance, we become lazy. Most of the time we have other things to do and we don’t follow the schedules. It’s better if you make a schedule considering both, professional and personal aspects

• Making To-do list a day before

Make sure you make your to-do list a day before. First, list down your fixed events like meetings, lunch and conference calls etc. then tackle and manage other things in an efficient manner.

• Take breaks and stop working on time

If you are addicted to your computer and working more than regular, then what’s the fun of doing an online job?

Take breaks and avoid sitting on computer for a long time. Once, you are done with your daily assignments, end your work and shut down your computer.

It is a little tricky to send your job application email. Hiring managers and recruiters receive many emails on daily basis. How can you be prominent in your email? You may follow these tips to attract the precise attention to your job application email.

• Add meaningful Subject Line

• It is the best tip among all to add a meaningful subject line. For example if the subject line is read “Education+ Position Title+ Industry Experience + Years of Experience “, the recipient may take more interest in opening and interpreting it. For Example “Application for marketing Manager + 12 years of experience + MBA in Marketing” also seems good. It all focuses and highlight your experience and best qualifications. The clearly stated subject line will attract the attention and persuade the receiver to open the job application email as soon as he takes a look.
• The best opening line in an email would be “personality X suggested me to contact you concerning this position.” The receiver knows the person X and that person is absolutely endorsing you for the present position. So it is better to find a warm contact to that company or hiring managers before you send a job application email to the company or the hiring manager. To apply for a job a warm introduction is the best way.
  • List shortly that why you are a suitable candidate
• It is useless to write that I m applying for the position and also have attached my CV. He/she will know this by your subject line. Instead list shortly that why they should look at your attached resume. This will work as the shorten version of the cover letter. Keep the information short and use bullets, as it will help to go through faster. Describe shortly that why you are a best for this job. Use the terminology in the job description by looking at the job description and cover all the experienced areas.
• Email is easy to send but it is not always reliable. You may end up in the spam folder or ignored because the receiver is swamped. Call to follow up if you don’t hear from the company within a week.

• Warm Referral

• Call to follow up

If you follow the above four points for your job application email, at least you  will feel positive that you did everything to stand out. The rest is up to timing and circumstance.

To screen applicants, many employers are using a new way to save their time. Nowadays many employers prefer to resort a telephonic interview before a face to face interview of the candidate. Employers have a lot of resumes for the job and they avoid investing time in a meeting for every candidate. So to screen out the candidate a telephonic interview is the best way to decide whether he is eligible enough to call for interview or not.

There are no specific questions for phone interviews. Some of the employers may ask the standard questions like your experience, any extra courses or any specific skills you have. However, some employers may also ask the most challenging questions such as planning to handle the different critical situations or asking for your response on a scenario.

A phone interview has its own benefits and disadvantages. Some people speak well on the phone whereas some people feel comfortable speaking face to face and feel a little awkward on the phone.

But in a telephonic interview, your best voice is needed for a good impression over the employer. The phonic interview is the shot to get a step closer to secure the job offer. If you don’t handle your interview well or leave a negative impression then the employer may change their mind about inviting you in for an interview.

In a phone interview, you must be more challenging, enthusiastic and energetic. Your accent is the most important in how you appear. To engage the interviewer, you should change your voice tone. You should also be much confident to ask some questions.

To put your excellent voice forward and go forward on an opportunity to a job offer, take the following tips.

Consider every call as an interview call.

Phonic interviews are usually not taken as a schedule. You may have a call of the employer as a response of your submitted resume or cover letter and you have to face an interview at the moment you pick up the phone. Some employers will consider asking for your time but it may not be true in all cases. So, even if you suppose that you may have a calling interview by the employer, be ready to provide a practiced greeting when you pick up. Also be careful about the background voice of the call. If you are not in a position to receive the call, i.e. you may be on the way to your home or in the family function, let it go to voicemail. Sure to call back as soon as possible.

Talk Passionately.

The interviewer will judge your personality through the quality of your voice. So be confident, energized and enthusiastic while answering the questions. Try to have a consistent voice tone and try to have a smile on your face as you talk and be conscious of your tone and pitch.

Positive approach of words.

Use positive words in your speech like yes I can do, yes it is easy in your conversation. These positive words will leave a constructive and positive impression than using “No I can’t,” or “I haven’t.” you must be conscious in your speaking, to avoid the “ahs,” and “ums.”

Be active as you would attend an interview in person. Keep the important points in your mind that you can use to explain how your skills, qualifications or previous experiences are best fitted for the open position. Also, ask questions during interview. These questions will show your interest, concentration and desire to work with the company. If possible then keep your CV or resume and a pen on hand. These will help you to take notes or for reference while on the call.

Find out next steps. Your interview should end with a full understanding of what is the next step. If you are confused about anything, then don’t hesitate and ask it. The employer will take this question in a positive way that you have a desire to go for the opportunity or care about it.

Like in-person interviews, phone interviews also need a follow up with a thank you note to the individuals you spoke with. The phonic interviews are as important as the face to face interviews are. Your impression in the phonic interview will be considered a lot while deciding among you and other candidates.

The rules of the game in searching a job have changed considerably. With the changing demands and growing use of technology, the methods have changed. Nowadays if you want to be effective at finding a job, you need to engage and involve with everybody you know.

The ratio of success in job searching through classified ads is dramatically changing. Only a small percentage of candidates are successful in their job searches through classified ads.  Internet has replaced newspaper ads and you need to learn to use online job boards, company Web sites and online social networks and no need to mention that computer is used on extensive scale.

In the online job boards, some boards are general and broad, while some are especially designed for a profession, an industry, a company or other criteria. Among those job boards many of them let you search for open positions, post youresume and fill your applications online and forward it. Except for solicited spam, the communication is one way. In this way one of the most popular sites is Bayrozgar.com. There are also several aggregators that help to make the search more efficient.

For job seekers external recruiters is another avenue. It is better to create satisfactory and long-term relationships with them. It is a better investment of your time. Resumes have also gone through a face-lift, facelift. Nowadays resumes need a positive fine-tuning so that they match the particulars mentioned and required in the job description.

In the past resumes were considered to have various activities comparable and matched to the job narrative. But nowadays employers want to see quantifiable activities and actions in the resume with good percentage. You have to emphasize on particular abilities and skills to achieve the best results as a multidisciplinary and group member. Because of the active and dynamic nature of business, nowadays the resumes needs to show flexibility, resourcefulness and overtime expanded responsibilities. But the most important thing to notice is the use of right keywords in your CV. Most CVs are scanned into an applicant-tracking system because of the wrong use of keywords. These CVs are never resurfaced unless the right keywords are added in the resume.

Power statements have also gained much importance in your CVs formation. These statements help the candidates to make an impact by providing and highlighting the relevant information about them. For constructing a power statement “Identify a value, strength, skill and highlight them. And also show the result of your skills on your Cv.

When it comes to reviewing a job application, a cover letter is the first thing that a potential employer sees. Your cover letter is believed to be the first opportunity to make an impression over the hiring managers and recruiters and so it also proves the first opportunity to disappoint them. A minor mistake of even inappropriate jokes may ruin an application from you.

below are the top 10 worst things to write or mention on a cover letter:

Next to Nothing

Providing information that is much lengthy is a common cover letter mistake and vice versa too short cover letter is also destructive.

A cover letter should contain a word count of 200 to 250 words and the candidate should highlight his success in his career.

Personal Stories

Sometimes you will see the employers who are interested in personal stories. It does not mean that you will write your experiences in your cover letter. It is better to save your stories for your interview. If someone asks in your interview about your hobbies or experience of your life, be prepared with the strong answer.

Inappropriate stationery

The universal stationery colors are ivory and white. Using different or dark colors is not considered a good way to get the attention of the employer.

Awkward Language

Be careful in the grammatical and other language flaws in the cover letter. A lot of people apply for jobs and according to many hiring managers they used English as a second language and the connotations of certain phrases and word may not be clear to them. Hiring managers have no problem in this way but at least they should get the help of someone for these words to understand the meanings.

Avoid tired opening lines

It looks ridiculous when a cover letter is received with tired stand-by opening lines. Avoid adding lines as opening like “please find my resume with my highlighted skills and experience that will surely help your company to succeed and grow. Rather than try to use some different words like if your company could benefit from my expertise with a perfect record of success and may capture thousand of rupees in revenue so please take some time to review my attached resume.”

Emphasizing a lack of experience

Many of the candidates take the irrelevant experience even further, in spite of the fact that they have no significant skills, but approaching to be hired anyway. If you don’t have a relevant experience then you should focus on definite sales experience or figures in the relevant projects. Never mention your shortcomings in the letter.

Cultural Preferences

Searching a job is not only a way to earn your livelihood but your job should be a perfect match according to your interests, skills and working atmosphere. This entire thing merges and helps the candidate to feel at peace even under pressure and masking anxieties to appear confident instead of worried. Some candidates subjects to the hiring managers with long lists of dislikes and personal likes in cover letter.

Arrogance

It’s one thing that can help you to promote yourself constructively in a cover letter but also be careful that it doesn’t deteriorate into overt bigheaded. When it comes to indistinct skills especially, it comes true.  The words like I am a superstar in web developing or ‘rockstar in QA never explains your skills to the employers.

So be careful in personalizing your cover letter to the employer. Especially in listing relevant the skills and your purposes to the job, you must be very careful.

Wrong Company Name/Wrong Cover Letter

Most of the candidates misspell the name of the company or get the wrong name. It is one of the biggest mistakes in writing the company letter. The letters with these kinds of mistakes are never considered for further processing and these candidates are taken as lazy who does not have any interest in anything.

Jokes

A good sense of humor is a good idea but jokes in cover letters are never liked by any one and usually cause a turn-off for busy employers. It is better to have them for interview, if you find a chance to say. Write your cover letter in full and serious professional tone.

These days it is a difficult task to find a job. In the competitive market you have very limited opportunities and you may find yourself thinking for a job that you might never consider otherwise. In your job search you will have one option that is working in night.  But working on night shift, looks quite far step. Taking this step means, you will turn your social life on a side. Would you like to revolve the positive aspect of your social life down? Obviously not.

But it is quite surprising that working on night shift has many advantages. Here are some benefits of working in night shifts.

Better Pay

Many of the workers don’t like to work at night and this general unwillingness to work is the reason that compels many employers to take the salary into consideration. Night shifts are recognized for social drawbacks and troublesome nature and for these reasons many employers get ready to pay more than morning shifts. If you think that you can manage the unsociable working hours then extra cash is an obvious bonus in limited working hours.

Getting Ahead

During night shifts, many of the organizations have a skeleton staff. Therefore night workers have more opportunity when an opportunity arises for promotion. Night workers have less competition for the job. If you get used to for night shift you will have more opportunities for new jobs.

Getting to Work

Are you feeling tired of wasting many hours in stuck traffic each day? Or you are tired of waiting for public transport that is usual overcrowded?  If it is so then nigh shift will save your time from stuck traffic and overcrowded buses. You will have quiet roads and the buses free from over crowdedness at night. Getting to work, night shift is easy and you can also save much time by avoiding the rush hours.

Freedom at Work

You will also have Freedom at work in night shift. Just imagine a job with no watcher at your every move and no bosses. The night shift may not be quite so relaxed, but the limited staff will provide a space in our time and work as well that you need to get at the job.

Avoid the Boring Bits

Motivational talks, Staff meetings, and many other workplace routines are attended in day shifts. If you don’t like to attend all these events or feel tediousness, the night shift offers a sweet run off. In addition you will find more time to focus on the actual job at hand without any irritating distractions.

Family Commitments

If you have kids or are married then working on night shifts does not seem a good option for you. But in night shifts you will have extra daytime freedom that will provide you flexibility.

In spite of all the above benefits, must consider whether the schedule in night shift will work for you and your family. Night shift is a good option for you if you feel that you may have better sleep and better health after doing a night shift. You will also feel that night shift work better than morning shift because of its different relaxations.

It is very natural to get emotional or feeling grief when you lose your job. You get angry and feel frustrated, irritation, anxiety or embarrassment. But you must have control over your emotions; if you don’t do this you will face difficulty in your job search. Your former employer will be the most likely target of your anger. And it is much dangerous in your job search to express those feelings about your former boss or employer. Follow these points to behave well in this situation.

The employer who is listening to you is taking you as the person who may leave them one day. If you speak poorly about your past employer means you are giving an indication to the interviewer that you may also speak in the same way about them. Your frustration and anger shows that you are still not focused on your job. Never discuss this with your new employer. Keep in mind that your employer has no interest in your problems with former employers.

Future employers are asking.

Many of the Hiring Managers or recruiters will ask whether you want to say something about your former boss. So choose your words very carefully and also keep in mind some of the common interview questions mentioned as under.

• Why are you for the job and what did you disliked in your previous job?
• Tell something about your former supervisors and boss
• What were the major problems that you faced because of mismanagement of your previous employers?
• Describe the worst quality of your former boss
• What was your repute and what kind of references can be received for you from your former bosses?
• What was the decision when you were in disagreement with your boss.

It is better that you appear with a proper plan in the interview. If you are angry with your former employers keep the following points in your mind.

Don’t use bad words

Avoid any kind of bad mouthing about your former employers, co workers, managers or boss. There are also many positive points that you can use in your interview like your contacts with other important personalities in the former job or your accomplishments.

Have positive energy in your discussion

Be positive in your discussion about anything. Try to keep your negative energy out of your discussion.

Avoid any negative discussions about your previous jobs

Never let the employer to have a long discussion on the topic. It is better to create your script before you appear in the interview, wrap it in positive aspects and move forward towards another successful career. Stay on what you say in your discussion and be positive.

Take some time to think about how you will handle the interviewer in answering the questions during an interview and prepare yourself beforehand about any negative questions asked about your previous jobs. Even if you have any bad experiences in your previous jobs, you should always avoid discussing them with your future employers.

Many factors are involved to get ahead in a workplace.  Your way of working, your skills, qualification and values matters a lot in your job. If you can’t show or deliver all these in your work everything else is of no use as the company would not like to work with you. Not only this but your overall impression also matters a lot.  There are also many other things that you can do to maintain your professional image at your work place.

Dressing, a key to success

Your dressing is the result of your liking and disliking. How you dress and what is the way of your dressing say a lot about your personality to others. If you come in an unprofessional way it means you are a careless person. Your good looking dress will help you to look professional and interested in the job.

Just imagine if you are the boss of a company and two employees are working under your guidance and fighting for the same promotion.  One of them is always dressed properly with tie over pressed suit and polished shoes. Other employee comes wearing same suit and tie daily that are even not pressed with dirt or unpolished shoes. Both of them have same qualification, experience and skills and are working well enough in the company on the same level. When you need to promote one of them to whom you will promote? The decision will be much easy in the end. Dressing will be a deciding factor in this scenario.

Your dressing is a way of your first impression

In your work environment your dressing counts a lot in your first impression. So be careful in your dressing especially on your first day. Be professional in your dressing in the office. Go to your work in professional dressing and understand the way of dressing in the office. Understand the basic key, the working environment in the office. The working environment will lead you towards the right directions in the term of your dressing.

If you are working in a professional office or organization like a customer relations and you are rolling up your sleeves in the working hours or have rings or bands on your hands, it is obviously a bad idea. But the opposite rule applies in the opposite field as if you are working in a creative environment the tattoos or your turned sleeves can be considered as a fashion.

The basic need is to understand your working environment and culture. Proper and professional dressing will make you look nice but will also make your image among others in professionalism and attitude.

In today’s particular economy, many of the young students are staying at colleges and universities to get higher education and earn higher degrees. But when it comes to education it is better in this economy of twenty-first century, to get as much education as you can and study something of your interest and what you are passionate about.

The higher degrees are rewarding for many people. These degrees are also an ability to work effectively and skillfully in stressful environments. But as students finish their degrees and even think about their career, many of the students ask the question: Is it possible to leverage a graduate degree to break into the business world?

After graduation many of the students take interest in entering the business world. But a smart candidate or job searcher quickly realizes that he is not a suitable one for many of the jobs in the market for which he is interested in. After one or two interviews it is easy to understand that there are many job seekers or candidate with same qualities and no one will prefer him over the other on the basis of his graduate degree. It is also common that many of the specialized skilled companies look for special skills in the company.

So what a candidate can do? In this way candidate should make use of his skills. The graduate candidates have the ability to communicate effectively. A graduate can understand information and share knowledge easily; reading and writing skills are also one important skill for these students. These are all fields of a fresh candidate the need is to search how these skills are valuable to communicate with clients.

Many companies specifically search for people who may balance out fields and fill basic positions with excellent reading and writing. If you have this ability then marketing this ability can make your resume special and stand out.

Keep your different views on the table of employers. This is another way to take advantage of your graduate degree, prove to employers how differently you think and how can prove yourself if you find a chance. Having a command on a field or having different expertise in different area can also creates a better impression of you.

Show your willingness to work, pitching yourself as a person with outstanding thinking , all these things will send a message that you are able to work and can easily transfer your education into your skills in a specific working and business environment.

But a higher degree has lot of advantages over a graduate one, so if you find yourself in the position to complete your degree you must earn it.

Every organization needs a person who is determined to manage and lead a group. This leading person is being chosen according to his interpersonal skills and creative mental abilities. The person having this kind of responsibility usually has superb leadership skills to penetrate a large number of people to lead. In creative jobs leadership skills are truly required by the candidate. Leadership involves skills, personality, leading abilities and broad vision.

Employers always look for highly motivated individuals with high scholastic achievements, certificates and skills to lead different groups and departments in their company. In every individual leadership skills are being developed but it depends upon the individual on how much he takes interest himself to develop these qualities. And one of the best ways to develop or enhance these qualities is to join the creative jobs. Creative jobs provide a room to develop your ideas into practical applications.

In a certain company, leadership skills can affect its input or output system. You have to understand that if the leader of a company is not running the company in efficient manner, the workers also will not take interest in company’s progress. This attitude may result in low production and quality. Otherwise, a leader with different ideas and creative skills can produce great outputs. He may create unity, increase production, reduce diversity and stress from handling employees and can create a sense of satisfaction. In every field of business, everyone wants to be successful. So, leadership skills are of utmost importance.

There are many jobs that need leadership skills such as Key Accounts Manager, Project Manager, General Manager, and Team Leads etc. The field may be any one, and different fields may require different skills and abilities but it depends upon the person that how does he perform his duties. A good leader always possesses the quality to embrace the change openly and whole heartedly. He does not resist for any kind of change, in fact he takes these changes as challenges. He understands that adopting the change in environment and even in products leads the company on top.