Ali Bin Habib Travel Agency

Writing your Resume

Your resume is an important tool to take you closer to the job you desire. It's a sales proposition which highlights your skills, credentials and abilities.

Cover letter:
The cover letter is your opportunity to describe your experience and expertise for the job you are applying.

Your resume should be about two pages long:
A resume should be about two pages long. It is supposed to be a brief presentation of your skills, work experience, achievements and education. Anything too long runs the risk of being skimmed over and not read properly. What your resume has to get across to the potential employer is just this – you have the required skills, experience and education to handle the job! Appropriately focusing on the key aspects unique to your experience.

Job objective:
The job objective is an excellent area to include in your resume and is usually omitted. It puts your resume in the right perspective for the reader and clearly shows where you are headed in your career plans.

The next section that your resume should contain is a 5-6 point summary of your skills and experience. That includes:

	No. Of years of past and relevant work experience.
	A brief description of the work done.
	Specific skills acquired.
	Significant achievements.
	Educational qualifications.

You could present the work experience in reverse chronological order:
Start with the most recent work experience at the beginning of this section and the rest later on. That is the organization where you are currently working first and the earlier ones worked in, later in the resume. This should highlight your relevant work experience at the outset.

Present education qualifications with the most recent one first:
When giving information on your educational qualifications in a separate section, it is advisable to begin by presenting the most recent degree/diploma achieved, as this is usually relevant to the work you are currently doing. For example, if you have acquired a post-graduate degree in management, give that information at the outset.

There is no need to go as far back as schooling, unless you are a fresh graduate with no work experience. Remember, the resume is just 2 pages and you need to give better reasons for being recruited

References should be provided on request:
Though it is useful to have names and contact numbers of people to give as references, it makes sense to provide them only on request. You should not give the details on your resume but provide the information later on, when asked for, or further on in the selection process.

The reason for this is that at the outset you do not know how long your resume will be with a company before you get an interview call. By then the persons you mention as references may moved or their contact numbers could have changed.

Cover letter

A cover letter typically accompanies each resume you send out. Your cover letter may make the difference between obtaining a job interview and having your resume ignored, so, it makes good sense to devote the necessary time and effort to writing effective cover letters.

A cover letter should complement, not duplicate your resume. Its purpose is to interpret the data-oriented, factual resume and add a personal touch. A cover letter is often your earliest written contact with a potential employer, creating a critical first impression.
Effective cover letters explain the reasons for your interest in the specific organization and identify your most relevant skills or experiences. They should express a high level of interest and knowledge about the position.

Evaluating Employers

Knowing the company you plan to join is an important part of your job search.

It allows you to get a preview into the organization and find out if you will fit in and enjoy your new job. It should give you information to answer the question- Do your goals match with those of the organization?
When and how should researching the prospective employers be done?

When and how should researching the prospective employers be done?
Draw up a list of organizations that you would be interested in applying. This would, of course, be done keeping in mind your career goals.

Send your resume to the short-listed organizations and wait for interview calls. The information you have gathered during your research of the company would help you give better and well informed answers regarding the organization you are interviewing with, the work you think you could be doing there etc. And of course, once you are made a job offer your research will help you decide if the job offers and choose the one that satisfies your requirements the most.

The Company background:

	When the company was set up
	The products/services that the company deals in
	Number of offices/branches in various cities
	Size of organization-its turnover, employee strength
	Organization structure
	Working environment
	Management style
	Importance of training programs
	Company salary structure
	Increments pattern

Best source of information is talking to people currently working in the organization or people who have earlier worked in that organization and have since left. This could give useful information on work environment, organization structure, job content, management style and personnel.

Work Abroad

Working overseas can be extremely challenging, but it would help you if you went for your new job well prepared. After all, you will not only be in a new work environment but also in a new county with its own unique culture.

Whether you are going to join a new company, or are moving on a transfer with your existing employer, there are certain issues you need to consider before making the shift abroad.

Get over all information regarding not only your salary and benefits, but also other relocation expenses such as airfare, housing children’s education etc.

The kinds of relocation expenses that you need to check out on are:

	Airfare
	Housing (your rent allowance)
	Schooling/education of children
	Cost of living

You need to research on the cost of living, education and housing. Such research takes time to come to a conclusion and take up a decision. This process will enable you to plan in advance and make the move abroad easier.

Regarding details of your salary and benefits package, you need to clarify the following issues:

	Salary payment procedure
	Your leave entitlements
	Medical aid entitlements
	System of taxes in the foreign country

Regarding health insurance, you should clarify the details of the coverage of your policy/plan. What does it include? Does it cover routine medical expenses, hospitalization and emergencies? Does it also cover expenses such as dental care?

How about a situation where you get seriously sick or injured and cannot work but need to return to your home country for prolonged treatment? Are these expenses included in your policy? When does your medical coverage come into effect? When you leave your home country or when you arrive aboard? How long is the insurance valid for?

Ensure that all documentation is appropriately done:
This would include getting all legalities and formalities done like passport, visas, work permit employment contract and an international driving license. The work permit is an important document, which your employing organization has to get for you. They have to approach the government of the country that you are moving to certifying that you will be working for them and so acquire a legal work permit for you.

Information on laws and customs in the foreign country would help you adjust easier to the new living and working conditions there.

Telephone Interview

Telephone interviews are becoming an important part of the recruitment process. They are now used frequently by many organizations, as the first stage in selecting a candidate. Telephone interviews are often used to screen candidates in order to narrow the pool of applicants who will be invited for in-person interviews.

Employers, use the telephone interview as an initial screening interview. It is a short, cost-effective way.

There is no fixed system for when a telephone interview is held, unlike a face-to-face interview where the time, date and venue are scheduled well in advance. Some employers could inform you beforehand when they are likely to call. Others may just decide to pick up the phone and call you also cannot be sure who is making the first call, whether the HR person or the recruiting agency.

As the telephone interview is usually the initial screening interview that works as elimination round, your objective is to get short-listed! It is important that you remain cool and confident throughout the duration of the telephone interview, as this will do wonders to your performance!

The primary concern of the interviewer, during a telephone interview, is to judge you by your communication skills. How well do you communicate on the telephone, where you cannot see your interviewer? Do you seem uncomfortable since you cannot see the interviewer’s reactions? Do you sound confident, qualified, interested and enthusiastic despite the absence of non-verbal cues from the person at the other end? Or are your left stuttering and groping for words, distraught by occasional awkward silences during the telephone call?

These are issues that you need to keep in mind during the telephone interview.

Avoid verbosity and lengthy detailed explanations in your answers. This will show clarity of thought and can be achieved by your preparation.

You have to be sure that the interviewer has heard and understood what you say, so initially you may need to be careful about the pace at which you speak.

Be sure why you are changing jobs-delving deeper into your career plans will give you more convincing reasons for why you want to quit your existing job.

Keep a paper and pen or pencil handy to down any points or names that you may need to, during the course of the telephone interview