Sharjah24: Human resource professionals, industry experts and trainers gathered on the opening day of the ‘Career Builder Forum’ in Sharjah yesterday to share insights, develop soft skills and competencies of undergraduates and young job seekers, and to offer invaluable tips and tools to secure the right job.

Organised by Sharjah Public Libraries, speakers and panellists at the two-day forum discussed the importance of effective communication and smart time management, while also presenting step-by-step processes for creating a professional resume and preparing for interviews. The opening day of the forum also explored practical ways to make job hunting more fruitful and helped hone the skills of job seekers to empower them in finding their desired jobs. 

In a session titled ‘Secrets of job hunting’, coach Rama Muhanna stressed the importance of professional networking as being vital for career growth. She pointed out that attending job fairs, for instance, is a great way to meet officials and recruiters.

Muhanna also called on undergraduates to enrich their knowledge and experiences by attending various functions organised by their respective universities in addition to enrolling in training courses and volunteering activities to showcase their abilities and talents. These could help job seekers establish connections or long-term relationships with business owners or heads of organisations.

The trainer also cited the necessity of using social media platforms as a tool to connect with prospective employers and head-hunters, stressing the importance of attending job interviews even for subpar positions to extend one’s social network. 

Communication skills
In the ‘Advancing communication skills’ session, trainer Karina Rawashdeh highlighted the importance of developing strong and concise communication skills to advance an individual’s personal and professional lives. She added that good communication skills are a desirable quality and signals leadership potential while being a good listener also has a significant role in the workplace.

Time management 
The session on ‘Time management and decision making’ led by trainer Ezz Eldin Ahmad introduced ways to ‘declutter’ one’s life to raise awareness of managing time and limiting procrastination effectively. He also highlighted how proper planning and setting priorities were essential for good time management. The trainer also imparted ways of managing routine stress that negatively impacts productivity and decision making.

Teamwork
Trainer Mohammed Mahmoud led the session on ‘Teamwork administration’ and discussed the various strategies to inculcate team spirit to achieve success and excellence. He also explored ways to build efficient and collaborative work teams and discussed strategies of handling the distinctive characteristics of members within a team.

Charisma
In her second session titled ‘Charisma’, trainer Karina Rawashdeh discussed ways to utilise the art of charisma and persuasion to enjoy considerable advantages both in securing a job and advancing in one’s personal life.
 
CV
Lecturer Tahani Al Tara emphasised that a strong CV was essential to get ahead of the competition. In the session titled, ‘Preparing a CV’, he offered practical tips to design and write a winning and impactful CV that effectively showcases the applicant’s unique skills, interests, and experience. While highlighting how to build a standout CV, he also drew attention to the common CV mistakes and offered insights on how to avoid them.

Successful interviews
The ‘Successful interviews’ session was led by trainer Mohammed Mahmoud who discussed the most frequently asked interview questions and presented ways to prepare for the interview. He elaborated on  the appropriate responses essential to succeed at interviews and land a dream job.