“Your Career Advisor” is responding this week to:

• What is wrong with my functional CV?

• How difficult would it be for me to get into another career track ?

• I am stressed of selling, what else can I do ?

• I am at a stand point in my career, which way to go ?

• How can I further develop my skills in health care management ?

All reasonable questions related to careers, skill development or employment related issues – sent to advisor@skill-link.com - would be addressed in this section every week.

Q1: What is wrong with my functional CV ?

 I attended one of the skill-link.com lectures on how to write a resume and I have also read your book on the same subject too..

As mentioned in the book , there is the functional type of C.V. which starts with "Summary Background" . I followed the instructions , but I found out that my resume gets criticized by every one I meet.

Please, find attached my resume and give me advice on how to modify it as soon as possible because I am applying right now for a job.

M. Y. (Cairo)

Replying:

Dear Ms. Y.

As you may know, job seekers use the functional CV in two main cases, if they are new graduates, where they have little or no job experience; or in case they want to do a major career change, moving into a new field where there previous employment history is not very relevant. You obviously belong to the first category.

Is there anything fundamentally wrong in the CV you showed us ? not really, however the main observation we have is that it is too long for someone of your age and experience. It should be shortened to one page and if you really insist two.

This could be done by summarizing your skills under each header (presentation, community service, research) etc.. you used in one paragraph describing the essence of what you achieved as opposed to listing in detail each and every thing you did. You should also notice that the activities section in a way is a repetition of what you started with 'the skills section' (so merge them together). Also, you can get rid of the paragraph where you list all the courses you studied in university.

Once you have done that your CV would be in a better shape. The next things to remember are:

1. You should always send it with a cover letter to a potential employer, addressing what you are and why you are interested in them and why they should be interested to see you.

2. There is never one standard CV... depending on who you are addressing it to, you may want to emphasize some facts and ignore others that are less relevant to the target employer... for instance, if you are applying for a social foundation, a newspaper and a hotel... each of them should receive a different CV focusing on different aspects. The hotel will not really care about your research capabilities and community work, but rather in your organization, event management and people skills etc... 

On a more cosmetic note, you may wish to use a different font (such as Times New Roman 12).

We hope the above was of some use to you.

Good Luck

Q2: How difficult would it be for me to get into another career track ?

I am a Faculty of Mass Communication graduate, and have been working as an executive secretary since 1996 in a private sector company manufacturing electrical switchboards, cables, electrical components etc.....

My job includes executing other tasks in addition to secretarial work, such as marketing and handling customer service processes. My aim has always been to change my career since a secretary's work is rather boring.

They didn't pay me well or even allow me to acquire any promotion or title other than executive secretary. I obtained 2 marketing diplomas one at the British Council and the other at RITI (Regional IT Institute) on my own expenses. My final graduation project addressed the “Impact of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) on Customer & Employee”.

In spite of this, my employers didn't give me any attention in salary adjustment and / or promotion.

Should it be difficult for me to change career and apply for an HR or a Marketing job at another organization? Knowing that I'm veiled and I prefer to work indoors not outdoors. It is worth mentioning that in the company I am currently employed with, there is no HR department.

I read a lot in HR Management in addition to the above mentioned diploma which is more or less related to the HR field.

R. A. E. (Egypt)

Replying:

Dear Ms. A.

If you browse the archives of 'Your Career Advisor' available online and presenting questions and answers we have addressed over the last few years, you will notice that we regularly receive similar concerns from young or not that young professionals who feel trapped in the job of secretary and would like to move to other things.

In your particular case, you took positive steps to develop your skills, by reading and obtaining two diplomas. It is worth noting, that we are not in a position to blame your employers for not promoting you or increasing your salary because of that. The employer is looking at the current job you are performing, and whether they need you in another department is completely up to them, if they think you should remain a secretary, then there is no reason for them to increase your salary or promote you because of your marketing studies.

Having said that, there is no reason why you should not move to a new job. The key thing is for you to know what is it you want to do. Marketing and human resources management are two completely different things… so make up your mind. Also remember, that your character and interests may fit one of these functions and not the other (or maybe something totally different). The move is feasible, however you may be required to get into a more junior position, since your previous 7 or 8 years of experience will not be very relevant, specially in marketing.  This may also involve a pay cut, you have not told us about your current compensation, so we can not assess how much you may expect to loose in term of salaries. However this should be only for the short term, since if you prove yourself, you should advance rapidly.

Obviously, such a move may be a little easier within your same company, if senior management agrees, since they already know you and your are familiar with the organization and how it operates. This of course depends on the availability of a vacancy, and senior management believing you can perform the proposed job.

We hope the above was of some use to you.

Good Luck

Q3: I am stressed of selling, what else can I do ?

I graduated a few years ago from Ain Shams University's Faculty of Engineering. Kindly be informed that all my working experience is in the sales field either by selling product or services which can be clear by reviewing my resume registered on skill-link.com, but I really get exhausted from the continuous stress related to my job status.

I am thinking of changing my career by working in the pre-sales or project management field in the IT field but with a reasonable salary relevant to my experience.

Please advise where should I start especially that I am really always willing to learn but I don’t want to sacrifice my whole experience.

M. Y. (Cairo)

Replying:

Dear Mr. Y.

Let us start from the end, when you say 'sacrificing your whole experience' one imagines you spent 15 years or so in one track. You have been working for about three years with 4 employers in 3 different lines of business, the common thread between these jobs was that you were in business development / sales. So there are no great sacrifices here. Additionally, sales and business development are the life blood of any organization… hence a very useful skill to have.

Another comment you should be aware of, is that stress exists in a variety of functions and roles… we know of many cases where project managers are under intensive stress…

Now your main concern should be your CV, you are hurting yourself by changing employers so often. This will hurt your chances with future employers… you need to stick to a good organization and spend two or three years to claim a track record and achievement and make your CV reader forget the rapid moves at the start of your career.

As to whether you would fit in pre sales or project management, it is difficult to tell by just reading your CV. However, pre sales usually involves selling technical services, products or solutions… it seems you were not involved in this before. Project management also needs you to be involved in projects, whether IT projects or other…. So, first get some experience in projects and may be if you like it, get a project management certification and hopefully with a professional attitude and hard work you will advance and achieve your career objectives.

We hope the above was of some help to you.

Good Luck

Q4: I am at a stand point in my career, which way to go ?

I feel that what is happening to me right now needs to stand and decide. Of course I need your advice. So I will try to tell you my story in short.

I have joined the company where I am working currently (in Saudi Arabia) 10 years ago. Fortunately the company was growing fast, allowing better chances for promotions.

I tried to plan for my career; there were two ways either technical or managerial. I found myself best fit in the managerial field, so I took this way. This happened two years after I joined the company, this was really early by our standards. Since then I had a series of ups and downs. During this period I haven’t experienced any serious problems with my subordinates or the customers, my serious problems happened always with the other managers or with my boss.

To explain these types of problems let me give you an idea about my professional character and our company management business conditions. I am a planner, procedural, factual, and with good analytic skills. When I am given the chance I always achieve results which exceed my boss’s expectations. They sometimes call me troubleshooter.

I hade noted records of achievement when heading some units.

On the other hand I find my boss doesn’t respect procedures or facts and he used to use spies and to be lead by the others. He is using the word 'flexibility' to do anything anyway. His knowledge about the work is very minor, while he finds me intelligent and very clever but aggressive and trying to be “too ideal”.

About six months ago I was assigned to head the largest unit in the company, which can be called the company engine (operations department). The unit experienced too many problems with the performance, the staff attitude, productivity, satisfaction, and unit structure. It was a big challenge for me, and I worked on it very hard. I could achieve very noticeable good results. During this period I used to raise objection about wrong communication channels used by different managers and especially by the boss (he inspires this spirit), and also the flexibility meaning that anyone can play another man’s role.

One month before I went on vacation, politics were played. It was initiated by evaluating how much I am effective to the position. The evaluation was based on three main areas / sources: the staff, the customers, and other managers. The feedback (based on my boss) was: the staff are much more satisfied about working with me rather than before, the customers feel that there a considerable improvement, the other managers: some of them said I am not helping them enough while the others said that they have comments on my work.

Any way, this matter ended with my boss saying that I have to do my work the way he sees it, I tried to tell him that it won’t work. This resulted with me being moved to another position.

My current problem now can be summarized in the following:

1. I am a straight, honest person. I can’t call wrong right even if it comes from my boss. I can’t tune with non-procedural environments. So that I don’t feel that I have a future in this company.

2. I have been moved to a position, which I was holding 4 years ago (which I made a considerable achievement in it before. I am very demoralized and disappointed

 I am an Egyptian and working in Saudi Arabia and my questions are:

1. I am searching for job now, should I resign and search for a job or I have to continue my work and search at the same time. With regard to that based on the job conditions in Saudi Arabia I can’t move to a competitor if I don’t have a permit letter from my previous employer.

2. With regard to that I am not only looking for money from my job but what is more important to me is success and progress, How can I achieve this ?

M. A. (Saudi Arabia)

Replying:

Dear Mr. A.

You have articulated your case very well. Obviously we only hear your side of things and not the other. You may be as you described yourself… others may be bad or used to doing things differently, however it is obvious that if you spent such a long time with your employer and were promoted several time, that you are a valuable member of the company and of useful knowledge, skills and contribution.

The other thing is, regardless of who is right and who is wrong, there is a chemistry problem, mainly with your boss and probably with some other managers. At the end of the day, a boss is entitled to run things the way he sees it, that is life. There may be also some jealousy or internal competition, specially if your boss is not one of the owners.

Regardless of the reason(s), it seems like a good time to consider a move. After 10 years it is justifiable anyway.

The answer to your first question is easy, as much as you can, do not resign until you have another confirmed job offer. The reasons are obvious, and your negotiating position is better this way. Now, if this job will be in Saudi Arabia and not in another country, you are stuck with their unhuman rule of sponsorships (Kafala), where they need to approve your transfer. We are not in a position to assess how cooperative they will be, hence it would be wise to seek more than one career option, one at least to be outside the Kingdom.

The second question, is not really a question, but rather a statement that we respect you for. As you said, it is not all about money, but rather the work environment, the opportunity to develop, achieve and be recognized are as important. It makes a big difference if one likes the place he works in, this is one of things that make one get out of bed every morning looking forward to a day's work. How to achieve this ? by identifying the right place… you have enough experience and market exposure to help you sort out good organizations from those that are not that good. We could help, if in a future opportunity you share with us your options.

We hope the above was of some help to you.

Good Luck

Q5: How can I further develop my skills in health care management ?

I am a physician who graduated in 1999 from Ain Shams University's Faculty of Medicine. I also completed a 2 year diploma of Healthcare and Hospital Management at the American University in Cairo. Currently I work in the field of Healthcare Information Systems, I need to promote my qualifications.

Are there higher degrees ( than Diploma ) in the field of "Healthcare Management" or "Healthcare Information Systems" ? As these are the areas of interest to me.

M. K. (Cairo)

Replying:

Dear Dr. K.

It is an interesting field you are considering, Egypt is notoriously behind in health care management. Aside from the diploma you mentioned, a number of universities abroad offer masters degrees in health care management, others offer MBAs (Master of Business Administration with a health care management concentration). Again these are outside Egypt, and your message did not state whether your question was restricted to Egypt or not. The country anyway does not seem to be offering more advanced degrees in that area.

Among many others in North America and Europe, Harvard University's School of Public Health offers a Masters Degree in Health Care Management.

If traveling to study abroad proves to be inconvenient or too expensive, you may wish to consider distance education programs (e Learning). There are some credible and well known online universities out there, one of them is Phoenix University. It is offering a Master of Health Administration (MHA) program prepares leaders who can effectively respond to the dynamic and ever-changing health care industry. These individuals have a capacity to critically examine and evaluate issues and trends and are empowered to influence the destiny of the global health care system. Curriculum is tailored to the needs of the health care leader/manager by providing content in finance, policy, research, technology, quality improvement, economics, marketing and strategic planning. 100% of the curriculum can be completed online so you can earn your degree on your schedule - and finish in just 2-3 years

We hope the above was of some use to you.

Good Luck

Note from the editor: 
Employer names and inquiry sender names were withheld for confidentiality

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