The Importance of a Professional Portfolio Presentation

Competition for finding placement in the labor market of today is at an all time high. As technology continues to evolve and the application of design and marketing elements becomes more creative, so must the new entrepreneur in making a first impression.

One of the most valuable resources available to job seekers of today may be passed over, or even ignored - a Professional Portfolio Presentation. Typically, a portfolio is a term that many of us place hand in hand with a professional who has 20 or more years of experience in a particular career field, and we do not consider ourselves worthy of flaunting our accomplishments with such a bold statement. However, consider that even your smallest personal accomplishments are the contents that your professional portfolio is built upon. A professional portfolio is the culmination of every milestone and accomplishment in your adult life, as pertains to your career field.

If hundreds of other job seekers competing for the same position submit their résumé; only a few will make it to the interview. If of those few, only a couple report to the interview armed with a professional portfolio, who do you think will make the greatest impact on the selection board? Knowledge is power, and what you need to know; is that taking the time to develop a professional portfolio and keep it updated will be the cornerstone to your personal success in the career field of your choice.

Your portfolio is the first opportunity you have to publish yourself; it will indicate your value, portray your experience, and serve as a creative asset to intrigue prospective employers and leave a lasting impression. If well designed, the portfolio will be the most refreshing part of the interview process to panel members. When you design your presentation, don't be afraid to be creative. We live in a visual world and the use of color copies, with bold and exciting presentation techniques will provoke the interest of readers, and display your creative talents. The opportunities for expressing yourself are endless. If you find yourself at a loss for creative ideas when getting started, research some of the professional scrap book designer references for ideas. In the field of communicating via media, a well designed portfolio and a web presentation of your credentials will indicate your passion for advancement and growth, and most importantly, demonstrate your creative talent. With a great design, a visually appealing portfolio will continue to sell you and your value when you are not there!

When you submit your résumé to a prospective employer, mention in the cover letter that your portfolio is available upon request. The combination of a résumé and professional portfolio will serve to prioritize your placement in the line of potential candidates. Once you have your portfolio prepared you will carry it with you to interviews, and have it readily available on a daily basis. Be sure to have either an automated version or a professionally prepared paper copy of your traditional portfolio that you can leave with the employer; never leave your original presentation behind.

Networking opportunities come along when unexpected, and it doesn't hurt to be prepared if you find an opportunity to market your talent and you are asked for more information. Having additional copies of your credentials readily available will be impressive to curious talent scouts. If you are specializing in communications or a media related career field; an automated version of your portfolio or an online portfolio presentation is the most effective way to portray your talent and skills in web design or marketing strategies.

Why wait to put a portfolio together until you have 5, 10, or even 20 years of experience? Start to build your portfolio now, and watch it grow along with you as you progress in your career field. Not only will you have a valuable asset that sets you apart from other job seekers; you will have created a personal biography outlining your accomplishments and success that will serve as a legacy to leave behind for your family, friends, and loved ones.

Lisa Parker, CPRW is a Certified Professional Résumé Writer, Owner of Parker-CPRW, http://www.parkercprw.com, and a Member of The Professional Association of Résumé Writers and Career Coaches (PARW-CC).

by Lisa Parker, CPRW

Working in Dubai

The number of people that go to Dubai to work there is increasing by the day. The main attraction that pulls expatriates into Dubai for jobs is the salary that is offered and the enviable lifestyle that Dubai has to offer. Dubai is seeing an explosion in development. It is growing fast and the foreign population is playing a crucial role in helping Dubai attain the status that it now enjoys. With this rapid development, the employment opportunities in Dubai have also increased manifold. There are job opportunities available in every sector. Oil & gas jobs, construction jobs, IT jobs, banking jobs, teaching jobs and more such specialized jobs are up for grabs in Dubai.

For all those planning to apply for a job in Dubai or take up a job in the emirate, it is advisable to do a beforehand study of the place and of the sector that wish to apply for. While the common perception is that all jobs in Dubai are lucrative and pay well, that is not particularly true. The jobs that require special skill sets and expertise pay the most. In other menial jobs, the salaries are just the same as anywhere else. However, the best part about earning in Dubai is that one gets to save up a lot.

Also, there is a highly enjoyable social life to enjoy in Dubai. These reasons combine together to make Dubai a preferred destination for expatriates.

This also accounts for the fact that major recruitment companies have set shop in Dubai. These agencies help in sourcing talent from various parts of the world to fit in the right positions in Dubai. However, the best way to land a job in Dubai is to post your resume at various job sites and to those sites that specialize in hiring in the Gulf. At these websites, there is enough information available about the living and working conditions in Dubai.

For foreign workers, it is important to know that work hours in any job in Dubai are generally long. The work week is generally from Saturday to Wednesday or Sunday to Thursday. Friday is a holiday in Dubai. Generally, workers are expected to work for 10-12 hours per day, even six days a week. So, one must consider this before making a career move. It would be a good idea to write to your employer or to the HR department of the organization with which you wish to work, and find out all these details well in advance.

Basis this information, you can take a well-informed decision whether to take your family along or not while moving to do a job in Dubai. Do proper research and try to network with the people who are working in the same industry. This would give you an insight into what it is like to be working in the kind of industry and profile that you wish to take up in Dubai.

Generally, employers offer a good remuneration package to potential and worthy candidates. The package may include a housing allowance, health care benefits and allowance towards children's education, money for annual trip home and other such benefits. While you are considering a job offer, keep in mind that housing and schooling in Dubai are expensive. So, any job offer that pays for both would let you save a lot. Then, all you need to do is to weigh it in terms of number of hours that will need to be worked each week to make a decision whether the offer is acceptable or not.

The work culture in Dubai is to work hard and socialize harder. If you are career focused and are willing to spend extra hours at work, working in Dubai might turn out to be a very fruitful experience. However, if your family is accompanying you, then you have to give it a clear thought. You might not get as much time as you would want to spend with your family otherwise. You just have to be comfortable with this idea in your mind to get real joy out of living and working in Dubai. To get a real feel of what it is like to live in Dubai, you can become a part of forums to get feedback from people who are living and working in Dubai. Here you will find useful advice to give you a base to form your expectations.

Before moving to Dubai, get in touch with the embassy of your country. They will be able to provide you useful information about the industry that you wish to work in and also about other apprehensions that you might have about living and working in Dubai. If you accept Dubai with an open mind, it will welcome you with open arms. There is a lot of expatriate population, so you wouldn't be alone. People would mostly be friendly and willing to give a helping hand.

Some useful links: www.naukrigulf.com www.naukrigulf.com/ni/nijobsearch/loc-jobs-dubai/

by geetika jain

Job Seeking Online with Digital Resumes

With the Internet becoming more and more a big part of our daily lives, we can't avoid the inevitable - like it or not, job hunting online is here to stay. Technology has changed the way we do things now. Can you remember how job hunting was like before the Internet arrived? Everything had to be done manually. You had to scour newspapers for job listings. Then you had to print out hard copies of your resumes, and send them out. If someone calls you, that's good news. But most of the time, there will be no reply.

Now, job seeking is very different. You can do everything online. New websites and applications are being invented and released to help manage the job hunting process. Both employers and employees must learn how to make full use of technology to help them achieve their goals.

Understanding both sides of the process.

The employer.

Even if you are a seeker, it will certainly help if you can understand more about what is happening on the side of the employer. Here is what usually happens when an employer wants to find new employees online.

The employer goes to a number of job search websites, and pays a small fee to post a job listing. The post contains job description, and all other relevant information about the job position. Contact information and job application details will also be listed. The employer will then manage the job applications from the respective job sites.

The employee.

Now think about this. As an employee, how do you come to know about the job opportunities available? You make a keyword search based on the position right? When you make a keyword search at a job site, all the jobs with the relevant keywords will be presented to you. You may then proceed to read the job descriptions, and decide whether you want to apply for the job or not.

There are several ways you can submit your job application. Some employers accept only resumes in Word Doc. Some may require you to email the resume to a specific email address, while others may just need you to post your digital resume (assuming that you have already saved your resume on the website). The employer will then shortlist the job candidates, and contact them to arrange for face to face or telephone interviews.

This is the most common process. Sometimes, the process can be reversed. That means, instead of the employee seeking out the right job opportunities, employers now attempt to seek out the right job candidates. How do they do so? They can conduct resume searches. Again, the searches are based on keywords.

By now, you must have realized the importance of keywords in a resume. Use all the relevant keywords you can think of in your resume before uploading it to a job site. That will greatly increase your chances of being exposed to the right employers.