1. 1
Planning Your Future
Obaid Saad Alabdali
MGT and MKT Department
04-05-99

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3. 3
Congratulation
l Job getting campaign
l Time and effort to get a job
l Six months period to get a job
l Employers do not hire you as a reward, but
rather for the promise of what you can do
l The cost of making a wrong decision is
great

4. 4
Objectives of this Seminar
l Planning your Career
l Preparing your Resume
l The Job Interview and Follow Up.

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6. 6
Career Definition
l A job or profession that you have been
trained for and intend to do for several
years.
q Example, career in retailing

7. 7
Planning Your Career (1)
l You must put considerable time, effort,
and thought into getting a job if you want
to have a rewarding and fulfilling working
life.
l Self Analysis
q Making important decision
• Choosing the University
• Selecting your Major
• Changing major at least once in your college life)

8. 8
Planning Your Career (2)
l Think about your life, your interests,
things you are good at( and those you are
not) and the experience have give you the
most satisfaction. These make sound career
decisions

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SWOT
l Strengths
l Weaknesses
l Opportunities
l Threats

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Important Questions (1)
l Which courses have you enjoyed most and
least in School?
l Recalling projects on which you have
worked in class, companies, which one you
like and dislike?
l Do you enjoy working most with records,
people, ideas, or things?
l Do you enjoy working more with your
mind or with your body?

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Important Questions (2)
l Do you prefer working independently on a
project or with a team?
l How important to you is being your own
boss?
l In what type of work office setting do you
function best: a quite office, an environment
with a lot of activities and people, or an
outside locations

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Important Questions (3)
l What type of work schedules would you
prefer: fixed or flexible? Days, nights, or
weekend, how eager are you to work
overtime?
l What is important about the geographical
location of your job in terms of climate, size
of area and location? Do you prefer a
particular city, region and etc?

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Important Questions (4)
l For what kind of organization would like to
work, large or small, established or new?
Commercial or government, or nonprofit?
l People with whom you like to work with?
l How would you like to dress for work?
l What types of material rewards are
important for you in terms of salary,
commissions, fringe benefits, security?

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Important Questions (5)
l What about job training?
l What are your career goals five years after
graduating from college?
Your answer to these questions will help you
identify the type of career that would offer
you the most satisfaction and success.

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Many jobs are available (1)
l Research
q Armed with your self-assessment, you should
secure additional information- about possible
occupation, demographic trends, and
industries and companies which are interested.
l Occupational Information
q Ask current employees ( the nature of work,
working condition, job out look,earning, etc.)

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Many jobs are available (2)
l Demographic information ( job trends,
example, services and IT)
l Industry and company information
l Network
q Job getting process
q Initial network ( friends, family, professor,
college alumni, any help)
q Personal and professional connection

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Preparing Your Resume (1)
l A resume is a brief record of one’s personal
history and qualifications that is typically
prepared by an applicant for a job.
q (what I have learned and what I have done)
l The emphasis should be in the future rather
than the past; you must show how your
education and work experience have
prepared you for future jobs.

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Preparing Your Resume (2)
l Be realistic about the purpose of your
resume.Many people have are not hired
because of their poorly written or poorly
presented resumes.
l The purpose of the resume is to get you an
interview, and the purpose of the interview
is to get you a job.

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Resume length (1)
l Think about the receiving end (recruiters)
l He spends no more than 35 seconds
looking at each resume during their initial
screening.
l How much information can the recruiter be
expected to read in less than a minute?
l Get to the point and say goodbye.
l Hire you not marry you?

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Resume length (2)
l How much is too much?
l The thicker the resume, the thicker the
applicant?
l Manager prefer one-page resume for the
entry-level positions, and two pages for
unusual circumstances.
l Too much information is as bad as too
little.

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Resume length (2)
l It must be attractive
l Easy to read
l Do not make your resume too short
q A resume that does not fill one page may tells
the employer that you have little to offer.

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Resume Format (1)
l Content of your resume is more important
than the format
l But first impressions are lasting
l Before you begin writing your resume,
think about the format, because
q some format decisions will affect the amount of
space available to discuss your qualifications
and background.

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Resume Format (2)
l Customize your resume for each
employment opportunity
l Print your resume on a laser printer
l Use different type faces and different size
and style to make different parts stand out
l Choose a simple, easy-to-read typeface
l Avoid special effect

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Resume Format (3)
l Use simple format with lots of white space
l Use short paragraph
l Use logical organization
l Format your resume on standard-sized
paper (8 1/2 by 11 inches) so it can be filed
easily
l Avoid brightly colored papers

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Resume Format (4)
l Dark colors do not photocopy well
l Choose white or an off-white (cream)
l Use paper of good quality 20-pound bond
l Present a professional, conservative
appearance
l Your resume should 100% free from error-
in content, spelling, grammar, and format

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Resume Content
l There is no such thing as a standard resume
l But there is a standard parts of the resume

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Information On a Resume (1)
l Name, address, and telephone number
l Job objective
l College major, degree, name of college,
and date of graduation
l Jobs held, employing company or
companies ( but not complete mailing
address or the name of your supervisor

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Information Wanted On a Resume (2)
l Dates of employment, and job duties
l Special aptitudes and skills
l Email address, home page

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Information Unwanted On a Resume (1)
l Information related to bases for
discrimination
q religion
q age
q gender
q photograph
q marital status
q High school activities

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Identifying Information (1)
l Your name and your address including your
phone number are crucial
l Your name should be the very first item on
the resume arranged attractively at the top
l Use your complete name, avoiding
nickname
l Do not use a personal title such as Mr..

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Identifying Information (2)
l It is not necessary to include the heading
“Resume” at the top (your name is the
heading, it stand out in the recruiter's minds
l If you will soon be changing your address,
include both, along with the relevant dates
for each
l If you will be away from your phone, get
an answer machine (available for contact)

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Job Objective (1)
l Is a short summary of your area of
expertise and career interest
l Recruiters want the objective stated so that
they will know where you might fit into
their organization

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Objective must be
l Personalized-both for you and for the
position you are seeking
l Specific enough to be useful to the
employer but not so specific as to exclude
you from many types of similar position

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Education (1)
l Unless your work experience has been
extensive, and directly related to your job
objective, your education is probably a
stronger job qualification, therefore it
should come first in your resume
l List the title of your degree, the name of
your college, your major, and expected date
of graduation (month and year)

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Education (2)
l List your GPA if it will set you apart from
the competition (at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale)
l If you have made the dean’s list
l Unless your course of study provide
distinctive experience that uniquely qualify
you for the job, avoid including a lengthy
list of college courses

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Work Experience (1)
l List any work experience-is a plus
l If your work experience has been directly
related to your job objective, put it ahead of
the education section

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Work Experience (2)
l In relating your work experience use either
l Chronological
q organize your experience by date, describing
your most recent job first and working
backward
l Function
q Organize it by type of function performed
( such as supervision or budgeting)

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Work Experience (3)
l Or skills developed ( human relations,
communication skills)
l Show the employer
q Ability to work well with other
q Communication skills
q Competence and good judgement
q Innovation
q Computer knowledge

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Other Relevant Information (1)
l Foreign language
l Competence in common software programs
such as spreadsheets, world processing
(non-business major)
l Include any honors or recognition that have
relevance to the job you are seeking
l Membership in business related
organization

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Other Relevant Information (2)
l Involvement in volunteer
l Include your hobbies and special interest
l Travel experience
l Willingness to travel

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References (1)
l A reference is a person who has agreed to
provide information to a prospective
employer regarding a job applicant’s
finiteness for a job
l The name and address of references should
not be included on the resume itself

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References (2)
l Your references should be professional
references ( University Professor with
whom you have had a close and successful
relationship)
l Reference Upon request

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Electronic Resumes
l It is a resume that is stored in a computer
database designed to help manager and
initially screen job applicant
l Applicant may mail or fax a paper of their
standard resume which is then scanned into
database

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The Job Interview
l The purpose is to verify information on the
resume
l Explore any issue raised by the resume
l Get some indication of the probable
chemistry between the applicant and the
organization
l The applicant get information about the
organization

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Preparing For a Job Interview
l Researching the organization
q Learn any thing about the organization
q Study the competition
q Understand the market

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Practicing Interview Questions (1)
l Tell me about yourself
l How would you describe yourself?
l Tell me something about yourself that I
won’t find on your resume
l What do you take real pride in?
l Why would you like to work for our
organization?

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Practicing Interview Questions (2)
l Why should we hire you?
l What are your long-rang career objective?
l What types of work do you enjoy doing
most? Least?
l What accomplishment has given you the
greatest satisfaction?
l What would you like to change in your
past?

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Practicing Interview Questions (3)
l These questions are not difficult to answer,
if you practice them.
l Interviewer asks difficult questions to
judge your behavior under stress
l If you do not understand the question ask
him to rephrase it or to be more specific.

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Preparing Your Own Questions (1)
l How would you describe a typical day on
the job?
l How is an employee evaluated and
promoted?
l What types of training are available?
l What are your expectation of new
employees?

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Preparing Your Own Questions (2)
l What are the organization plan for the
future?
l To whom would I report? Would anyone
report to me?
l What are the advancement opportunities
for this position?

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Questions should not be asked
l Avoid putting the interviewer on the spot
l Avoid asking about salary and fringe
benefits during the initial interview

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Dressing for Success
l First impression
l Pay attention to your dress
l Dress in a manner that flatters your
appearance
l Clean, conservative clothing for interview

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Controlling Nervousness
l Face whatever the interviewer throws your
way
l Practice mock interviews
l To avoid excessive nervousness
q arrive properly equipped (pen and notebook,
list of Qs you want to ask, two copies of your
resume)
q Arrive on time (10-15 minutes early)
q Become familiar with your resume

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Conducting Yourself During the
Interview (1)
l Observe the organizational environment
very carefully, and treat people with
courtesy
l Maintain formality
l Great the interviewer by name, with a firm
handshake, direct eye contact , and smile
l Wait till the interviewer is seated, and then
take your seat

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Conducting Yourself During the
Interview (2)
l Sit with your feet planted firmly on the
floor
l Avoid taking notes
l Never wander around the office
l Show interest in everything the interviewer
is saying
l Do not concentrate so hard on formulating
your response

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Conducting Yourself During the
Interview (3)
l Answer each question in a positive,
confident manner
l Answer each question as honestly as you
can
l Do not try to oversell yourself
l If asked about salary expectation, try to
avoid given a salary figure

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Conducting Yourself During the
Interview (4)
l Group interview ( several people interview
you)
q try to know names and positions
q address the answer to everyone
l Interviewed more than once
l When the interview finish ask the
interviewer when you might expect to hear
from him

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Communicating After the Interview
l Try to learn from the interview
l Send a short thank-you note or e-mail
message as a gesture of courtesy and to
reaffirm your interest in the job
l If you do not hear from the interviewer by
the deadline date he gave you for making
decision, telephone or e-mail for a status
report

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Handling Rejection
l Do not spend your time after a job
interview sitting by the phone waiting for
word on the hiring decision, go on looking
for a job
l If you did not get the job, do not get angry

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Accepting a Job Offer (1)
l Job offer is never “official” until is in
writing
l Avoid making permanent plans until the
confirming letter arrives
l Accepting the job offer is easy (acceptance
letter)
l Give the good news first, follow it with any
necessary details (salary, starting date)

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Accepting a Job Offer (2)
l Once you accepted the job offer
q you should immediately inform all other
organizations at which you are seriously
considered for a position to withdraw your
name from further consideration
q If you receive other job offer you should
decline them

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Delaying a Job Offer
l You receive one job offer from one
company while you still have other job
interviews pending
q request for time extension with diplomatic way
q Express appreciation for the job offer, tactfully
ask for an extension and close by reaffirming
your interest in the job

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Refusing a Job Offer
l Refusal letter should be written in the
indirect organization pattern
q beginning on a neutral but relevant note
q state the refusal in neutral or positive terms
q closing on pleasant, supportive notes

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Reference
Contemporary Business
Communication
By Scot Ober
1998