Where it all started
I have been a passionate people over numbers educator and advocate for over a decade. It has always been my mission to help people perform and ignite their abilities to excel in life instead of driving numbers to perform. With little over 16 years of experience designing strategies to improve the Learning, Development, and Organizational Development functions through analyzing data & gathering intelligence that supported future foresight projects. Allowing me to advance systems and programs' capabilities to help individuals' grow and drive organizational value and performance.
I embraced an incredible opportunity to work with some of the most desirable organizations globally, such as Virgin & Golds, affording me opportunities to excel. Being promoted multiple times within my career and applying a wealth of knowledge and experience in strategic planning, building collaboration, and partnerships all over the Middle East, Africa, and the USA. From giving public lectures at top-tier Universities in the UAE, I spoke to thousands of students on their future goals, job market, and the power of a great first impression at interviews.
Over the last few years, I gained valuable experience working in a recruitment agency where I successfully designed and facilitated over 100's of training material, which has changed the philosophy and methodology of how recruitment is conducted. Signing some of the most desirable companies in the GCC, amongst many others. Overachieved in a candidate led philosophy, changing the direction of our recruitment methodology, and becoming the second person to bill one of the highest numbers in the business's history on a quarter of a million dirham deal.
Collaborating with candidates and identifying a real need for professional, elegant, and authentic CVs and Resume's in the market sparked my passion for professional profile writing that can leave you feeling confident. CV and resume writing can be an insightful, thorough, and thoughtful journey, one we hope to take our clients through, helping to place them in the best position to be approached for a specialist or expert role. I have made a name for myself in the market as a specialist driving authentic profile writing. And this is how iFormat started.
iFormat
iFormat specializes in writing professional, elegant, and authentic CV's and resumes for any industry. With over ten years' combined experience in CV and resume writing, recruitment, interview coaching, cover letter writing, personal and business LinkedIn optimization, website writing, and professional biography, we are the specialists. We have reviewed thousands of CVs and resumes and understand the job market, which makes us the best people to provide insight into the requirements of what a professional summary needs to display to make the best first impression.
Whether you are actively seeking an opportunity, headhunted, receive an invitation to a board or committee role, or even an invitation to speak as an expert, a well-written executive summary will get you noticed among the crowd. In today's competitive market, we face competition like never; the smallest detail can make a big difference in the first impression. We help you write while using NLP and a psychological approach that stimulates the mind when reading your profile.
Know the market
The biggest obstacle people face when looking for their next career move is understanding where and how to start looking.
One of the first things to start doing when thinking of a career move is being realistic, writing down job departments and titles, and making what you want more clarity. You should have no more than five roles to excite and keep you engaged; the word "anything" should not be in your mind.
Know your worth! Maximize your time with agency recruiters; it should not just be a one-way communication channel. Ask questions about the market, roles they think you can be useful for, and, most importantly, the current salary, compensation, and benefits trends for relevant positions in the market. The information gathered from recruiters can be valuable information in today's job market.
Steps to understand the market
One of the best ways to identify what is happening in the market is to examine what jobs are being posted on LinkedIn or other online job portals. Understanding a company's hiring needs is key to finding the perfect job for you.
Job hunting has drastically changed over the years. I remember a time when you could walk into a company, hand them a beautifully kept brown envelope with your CV or Resume in it, and still get called back.
Oh, how times have changed!
We need to remember that online job hunting is continuously evolving. As technology evolves, I see job hunting shifting towards a more relationship and value-based experience.
The time of applying online for a job and receiving a call back are rapidly fading.
So what do we do now?
First, don't panic! Take the time to build a value-added relationship with recruiters and hiring managers. It's incredible to learn how much skill and knowledge you bring to the table. You should have a collaborative relationship with recruiters, a long-term strategy that will eventually pay off.
Tips to add value and build relationships
1 Post content on LinkedIn that recruiters will find interesting, usually market information and interesting facts about your industry experience.
2 You are recommending experts in the market to recruiters for the jobs they post. This way, you get to give before expecting something in return; a gesture like this builds a valuable connection, instead of sending a message saying you are looking for a job.
But one thing is for sure; value-added relationships are the future!
Set aside three days a week to focus on yourself when applying online for jobs. It's incredibly important to stay in high spirits!
Job seeking with a purpose
Chapter breakdown
1. Building meaningful connections on LinkedIn.
2. Planning your career move.
Knowing what you want way before you approach the market will be a psychological mindset you want to be in before taking on a task that can have a lot of highs and lows.
When seeking your next career move, limit your interactions with online job portals a few times a week. Manage your levels of emotions; not all companies will respond, and not all applications will be accessible. More importantly, manage instant rejections with powerful daily affirmations and nurture your mind with positive thoughts.
The way to maximize your online platform for endless opportunities is to focus on building relationships instead of following the quick apply mentality.
Stay and maintain the level of engagement on online platforms such as LinkedIn to build professional and meaningful connections.
Tips for building meaningful connections on LinkedIn
1 Connect with recruiters, HR managers & internal recruitment managers within companies.
2 Post valuable content by giving advice that people can use, for example: Did you know? Here are three things you should know when? Add pictures to all your posts as it will get more traction this way.
3 Comment on topics similar to your interests, post on LinkedIn regularly, at least three times a day.
4 Give it a few days before messaging your contact on LinkedIn; this way; they get to spend a few minutes on your profile before deciding to message back.
How