Vague objective statement

Instead of a vague objective statement, develop a tagline about what you do or your particular area of
expertise.

Too job-oriented
Your resume should not merely be a list of the duties and responsibilities you had at each company
you worked for. Provide examples about how you achieved results and success. This may be a good
area to outline your strengths.

Using personal pronouns and articles

A resume is a form of business communication, so it should be concise and written in a telegraphic
style. There should be no mentions of "I" or "me" and a minimal use of articles.

Listing unnecessary information

You should only include your interests and hobbies if they’re related to the job. For example, if
you’re applying to become a nurse manager, you can include that you’ve volunteered at hospitals
throughout college.

Not including a summary

Include a summary of your experiences that demonstrates your skills and achievements directly
related to the position you want (This may not be applicable in all cases unless you have extensive
work experience).

Font Size
The font size for resume content should be 12 points.

File Type
Your resume should be saved in a plain/rich text format. Do NOT save it as in the form of a PDF file
type because it could exceed the maximum file size of 200 kilobytes accepted by many email severs.

Cultural Tips and Tricks

Salary Negotiation
Although negotiating salary, may be common in some places it is not recommended for the UAE
market. It may give the potential employer a negative impression about the candidate.

Work Environment
Typically, the work environment follows a fun and laidback attitude. It’s not a typical North
American culture where an average individual works five days a week from 9-5pm. Don’t be
surprised if you find yourself working overtime without overtime pay.

You can't get a job without at least one interview.

1. Greet your interviewer with a firm handshake and a smile, address your interviewer by name, and
make eye contact.

2. Never sit until asked to do so.

3. Ensure you are informed about the position and the organization before your interview. Wherever
possible get a job description or review the details of the position. Go to their web site. You should
know approximately what the salary range is for the position (particularly if going through an
agency). Research the organization and affiliations. Be aware of all products or services.
4. Make sure you are familiar with all dates and information on your resume. Be prepared to go into
detail and to give examples of various difficult work situations you have successfully handled.

5. Make sure you know the exact location and how to get there. Get there five to ten minutes early.

6. Dress should be appropriate, businesslike and conservative. Always look successful.

7. You may be asked to talk about yourself, but keep your entire life history for non-business
situations! An interviewer is interested in how you and your experience best suit the position and the
company. Do not take notes, and do not be concerned if your interviewer takes notes. Never speak
negatively about present or previous work situations.

8. At the end of the interview you may have an opportunity to ask questions. Express enthusiasm and
interest in the company and the position. Thank the interviewer for their time. You may ask what the
next step would be in their hiring process. Do not discuss money/salary during the interview, or ask
about benefits and vacation, unless the interviewer brings these subjects up for discussion. End the
interview with a handshake.

9. A follow-up note or thank you letter sent after the interview, if you are particularly interested in
the position and organization, is a good way to keep your name visible. A follow-up call within a
week is a good idea, if you have not been contacted.

10. If an agency arranged the interview for you, call them immediately. It is important for the agency
to get your response about the position, before they talk to the employer. A positive response from
you can often lead to a positive response from the employer. Keep in touch with your agency.

Interviewing Questions:

Here is a list of tough interview questions. Always attempt to answer these questions with an on-the-
job example or experience to support it. Make sure that you are as prepared as you can be because
you have to assume your competition is.

1. Tell me about yourself.

2. Why have you decided to change jobs? Why are you looking?
3. Why did you leave your previous positions?
4. What motivates you?
5. Describe your ideal job.
6. Describe your ideal manager/supervisor.
7. What salary/rate are you looking for?
8. How do you spend your free time?
9. What are your short, medium and long-term goals?
10. How do you react to criticism?
11. Tell me about yourself. How would you describe yourself?
12. What are your long and short-range career goals?
13. What are the most important things you are seeking in a career?
14. What do you consider to be your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
15. Site some examples of your ability to be a team player.
16. Why should I hire you?
17. How could you contribute to our organization?
18. Why did you choose the college you attended?
19. Why didn't you go to college?
20. What do you know about our organization?
21. Why are you interested in working for our organization?
22. What extracurricular activities are you involved in?
23. Are you willing to relocate?
24. What type of a work environment are you seeking?
25. What do you know about the position you are applying for?
26. What do you know about our industry?
27. What are you proudest of in terms of your accomplishments at you present position or former
position?
28. What do you think will be the toughest aspects of the job if you were to accept the position?
What will be the most enjoyable aspects - the least enjoyable?
29. What do you think your greatest contribution will be or what aspects of the job or the company
do you think you would be able to make your greatest contribution to?
30. If you are selected for this position, how would you deal with the situation of individuals in the
company who were competitors for the job for which you are being interviewed and who may feel
that they are better qualified? (Some of them may be your subordinates.)

15 Questions You Can Ask:

1. To whom would I report?

2. What is the most important (crucial) part of this job?
3. What is your management style?
4. Is relocation necessary or mandatory after a certain period of time?
5. How much will I be expected to travel?
6. Could you describe your perception of an ideal candidate for this position?
7. What is a typical career path for this position?
8. What is your perception of what I'll be doing on a daily (weekly) basis?
9. What are some of your company's foremost aims and goals?
10. What are the short/long term goals for this department and how do they relate to the company as
a whole?
11. Where does this company see itself five years from now?
12. How would you describe the environment I'll be working in?
13. How would my performance be assessed?
14. Please describe the organization of the company.
15. When could I start?
16. What will be my main responsibilities for this position?

Reasons Why People Don't Get Hired:

1. Poor personal appearance

2. Lack of interest and enthusiasm: Passive, indecisive and indifferent.
3. Over emphasis on money: interested only in best dollar offer.
4. Condemnation of past employers.
5. Failure to look at the interviewer when speaking.
6. Limp, fishy handshake.
7. Unwillingness to travel or relocate to employers preferences.
8. Late for interview.
9. Failure to express appreciation for interviewer's time.
10. Asks no or poor questions about job.
11. Vague, indefinite response to questions.
12. Overbearing, over aggressive, conceited with superiority or "know it all complex."
13. Inability to express self clearly; Poor voice, diction, grammar.
14. Lack of planning for career; no purpose and goals.
15. Unwilling to start at the bottom; expects too much too soon.
16. Lack of confidence and poise, nervous, ill at ease.
17. Makes excuses, evasive, hedges on unfavorable aspects of job history.
18. Lack of tact or cynical.
19. Lack of courtesy; ill mannered.
20. Lack of maturity.
21. Wants job for short time.
22. No interest in company or industry.
23. Low moral standards.
24. Intolerant: strong prejudices.
25. Inability to take criticism.

SCANNABLE RESUMES

Human resource professionals in small, medium and large organizations are investing in new state of
the art computer systems to increase efficiency in storing and accessing resume information. By
using artificial intelligence capabilities, resumes are optically scanned into the computer system as an
image. The computer then "reads" the resume and creates a database of the applicant's relevant skills,
degrees and achievements in the form of key words. Employers then access a candidate's resume by
searching for key words.

To maximize potential employment opportunities, it is important to be prepared to submit an

effective "scannable resume". Develop your resume by using the following guidelines for format and
content.

Keep it simple.

Standard serif and sans serif fonts work best. Avoid ornate fonts and fonts where the characters
touch. Font size is also important. Use sizes between 10 points and 14 points type size.
Italics and underlining cause problems for the scanner, especially if combined. Use bold face for
emphasis or ALL CAPITAL LETTERS.
Vertical or horizontal lines should be used sparingly. When used, leave at least a quarter of an inch
of space around the line.
Avoid graphics… and shading or shadowing.
Do not compress or expand the space between the letters or lines.
Do not double space within sections.
The resume you submit should be an original. It should be printed with a laser printer on white or
light colored 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper. Print on only one side.
Resumes which have been folded, stapled etc. will not scan well.
It is imperative that you describe your skills and accomplishments in key word phrases.
Use the language of your profession.

Nouns are more distinguishable to a computer than action verbs. Label yourself with phrases that
describe activities or experiences. For example: use "managed training and development" vs. "trained
and developed" or use "assisted with salary survey" vs. "surveyed salaries of..." You may also want
to consider a summary of accomplishments that focus on results not duties and responsibilities.
Remember to keep the resume basic in format, style and language.

ACTION VERBS

The bold and italicized words are effective for highlighting accomplishments.
Management skills Communication skills Research skills Technical skills Teaching skills

Administered Addressed Clarified Assembled Adapted

Analyzed Arbitrated Collected Built Advised
Assigned Arranged Critiqued Calculated Clarified
Attained Authored Diagnosed Computed Coached
Chaired Collaborated Evaluated Designed Communicated
Co-ordinate Corresponded Examined Engineered Co-ordinate
Delegated Developed Identified Maintained Developed
Developed Directed Inspected Operated Enabled
Directed Drafted Interpreted Overhauled Evaluated
Evaluated Edited Interviewed Programmed Explained
Improved Enlisted Investigated Remodeled Facilitated
Increased Formulated Organized Repaired Guided
Initiated Influenced Reviewed Upgraded Informed
Integrated Interpreted Summarized Instructed
Organized Lectured Surveyed Persuaded
Oversaw Mediated Systematized Set goals
Planned Moderated Stimulated
Prioritized Negotiated Trained
Produced Persuaded
Recommended Promoted
Reviewed Publicized
Scheduled Reconciled
Supervised Recruited
Translated

Interview practice session - sample interview questions

SELF ASSESSMENT

1. Tell me about yourself

2. How do you manage your time to meet deadlines? Have you ever had more to do than you could
accomplish? How did you handle it?

3. What kind of things do you feel most confident doing?

4. What things frustrate you the most? How do you usually cope with frustration?

5. In what area have you shown your greatest improvement in the last two years?
EDUCATION:

6. What extracurricular activities were you active in? What made you choose them? Which of them
did you enjoy the most? Why?

7. What skills did you develop through your university education? How will these help you in a job?

8. What was the most important thing you have learned at university?

9. If you were to start university again tomorrow, what courses would you select? Why?

10. What type of educational upgrading do you plan to undertake in the future?

EMPLOYMENT:

11. What type of work do you feel you are best suited for? Why?

12. Describe a previous work experience you really disliked and explain why you disliked it.

13. In past jobs, what achievements were recognized by your supervisor?

14. Can you recall a time when your work was criticized? Describe the situation and your response.

15. Describe your ideal work environment.

16. In previous work positions, did you initiate any new procedures, systems, programs or activities?