Considering Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid’s “Open Letter” and Sheikh Hamdan’s “Two Week Deadline“, we hope these tricks will help UAE Nationals with their job search.
It is an unfortunate reality that even when you have done everything right; got a perfect CV, registered with recruitment agencies, signed up to job alerts, you are still not getting the job offers. If this has been going on for months than we think it is time for you to change your strategy and employ other methods. Here are four tricks that will help you get ahead!
Go freelance
Job rejection is a difficult especially if you had your heart set on working for a particular company. But it’s important to understand that even when passed up by an employer, it doesn’t mean you’re not qualified for their operation. If you’re confident in your ability to perform, drop your interviewers a brief message enquiring about freelance work.
Freelancing is a great way of gaining valuable experience in a particular sector without the need for passing a selection process, in most cases. It demonstrates that you’re enthusiastic about working in a particular role and have the self-discipline to keep yourself on track. Spelled out correctly on your CV, this all looks great to an HR manager as well. It may be your ticket to making a stronger impression and finally landing the interview.
Start networking
“It’s not WHAT you know, it’s WHO you know. “
You have probably been doing a little bit of networking during this time, however if you are hitting the job rejection wall over and over again, it is time to go hyper and with your personal network. Now I have met many Emiratis that say that it is against their family value or culture. But in desperate situations you need to take desperate measures.
So if this is your first job out of University where you are struggling, reach out to your academic mentors. They will surely have some job search wisdom to share and a network they can refer you to.
If you are looking to move from your current job, reach out to your former managers and colleagues. Ask them if they know of any unadvertised openings since companies don’t always promote jobs on the www and use referrals as the first approach of finding a good candidate.
Research
“Out of sight, out of mind.”
In case you don’t have the network to tap into the key is to get yourself involved in as many open events, networking sessions, and conferences as possible. Start meeting people and growing your connections. This process will help you build meaningful long term relations but it is a time consuming process. So be patient and don’t lose hope. The idea here is for you to get to know professionals who are holding the types of jobs you want. Once you have met the ‘right’ people take the relationship a but further and invite them for coffee. Never jump in and ask the obvious question at this stage, ‘do you have a job for me?’, it is way too early. Built rapport first. Instead ask open-ended questions that will give them a room to expand their answers. Ask them questions about their own line of work? After a few exchanges, express your interest in the area. You can also ask questions like: What advice would you have for someone trying to break into your field? Who do you know who is hiring in this are right now?
Use your online profile
Since we are living in the digital age now where opinions are established based on online presence, it is a good idea to be proactive, think out of the box, and focus on your online presence.
There are many social networks like LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram where you can find and connect with the ‘right’ individuals. Once you are connected start posting content that promotes your skills and abilities for that job. So for example if you are in a creative role than share your portfolio! Remember, the proof of the pudding is in the taste. If you are in another industry than share your thoughts and opinions about the industry. Professionally self-promote as much as you can.
Danish Haidri is the Founder & CEO of JobsForNationals.com. He is an engineer by education, recruiter by profession and tech enthusiast by passion. He loves to research and write about employability skills development.