“Your Career Advisor” is responding this week to:

• I have some questions regarding the Petroleum sector?

• I know it is an odd request, but could you help?

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: I have some questions regarding the Petroleum sector?

I am a Faculty of Sciences graduate, currently in my mid forties. I have been working during all my professional life in the field of petroleum products and lubricants.

I posted my CV on skill-link.com a long time ago and I have no interest messages from employers, why?

I also have some comments about job categories in your site, there is no field for petroleum sector which include many companies like Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total, Caltex, Petrolub, and general sector company like Misr and Co-op, they all work in fuel and lubricants.

Additionally, there are no options on the online CV for the required job title, to make it easy for a company to search for employees (eg. Lubricants and Lubricants Additives, Technical Services, Production etc…).

And finally, I would like to know if Skill-Link have any information about a company will be established between ADNOC in the UAE and Egypt's General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) in the field of marketing lubricants through a chain of services stations and direct sales to industrial customers. I read about it twice in the newspapers. I will be grateful if you pass me any information about that.

I really appreciate the effort that Skill-Link does

A. O. (Egypt)

Replying:

Dear Mr. O.

Thank you for your kind words about skill-link.com. The following are replies to the issues you raised:

(1) skill-link.com caters for the category of companies you mentioned; in the sector / industry information associated with each job experience, you will find the CV owner can select from the following:

Sector: Petrol, Gas, Energy & Mining
Industry: Petroleum Products Distribution (it covers lubricants - and it was used by all our registered users working in that field from companies like Shell & Exxon Mobil)

Other industries skill-link.com has within the same sector are:

Oil & Gas Equipment & Services
Oil & Gas Exploration & Production
Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing
Gas Distribution

(2) With regards to Job Titles, our long experience in recruitment told us that Job Titles vary from one company to the other and that searching based on a title could be misleading. For example a sales position could be sometimes called: Sales Executive, Sales Coordinator, Relationship Management, Channel Distribution, etc... for the same job in various companies. Same in information technology, the same job in different companies could be called: IT Manager, EDP Manager, Information Services Manager, Systems Manager, Computer Manager.... and so on.... So we solve this by having generic "functions" you can select when entering your CV... whereby all people use the function that best describes their role/job description. This has proven to be satisfactory in over 90% of the cases... of course in our 44,000-person database there could be a few exceptions. For instance in your case you selected Quality Control... maybe your job title is different but this is probably what best describes your role in the company.

(3) With regards to a joint venture between ADNOC and EGPC, we will try and find out more information. Our people in Dubai and in Cairo have not informed us of any specific plans in that respect.

(4) As to why you have no messages from potential employers? That is a good question... it has to do with the fact that your experience is more specific to a particular industry (and not a general one, for example you are not an Accounting Manager or a Civil Engineer where many sectors would be interested in). It also has to do with your position/level, the higher it is the more limited the number of opportunities are (since by default there are fewer positions the higher you go, and in many cases companies elect to promote from within). This does not mean chances are not there.

If we had to make one suggestion with regards to your CV on skill-link.com we would advise you in the "Brief Self Description" about yourself to add two or three lines about your character, achievements what jobs/roles you are seeking. Thus in addition to your personal hobbies etc.... tell the reader why he should be interested in you.

We hope the above was of some use to you.
Good Luck

Q2: I know it is an odd request, but could you help?

I am an Egyptian currently working in the United States (Eastern coast). My odd request relates to an American friend who manages a web site for 7 to 13 year old kids. After the September 11 events, we opened up a chat room and had literally hundreds and hundreds of comments from US kids, Australians, Afghani, UK etc. We're preparing a pdf for a commemoration with their comments, prayers, poems etc and would like to include a Muslim peace prayer. I don't know whether you would know anyone who could provide one, but it would be great if you did?

G. T. (USA)

Replying:

Dear Miss T

As a rule, "Your Career Advisor", or for that matter the whole "Interest Zone" does not get involved with religion. However, we believe this is more of a peace and human friendship issue and we would be glad to help. The following verses from the holy Quran could be used:

[8:61] If they resort to peace, so shall you, and put your trust in GOD. He is the Hearer, the Omniscient.

[25:63] The worshipers of the Most Gracious are those who tread the earth gently, and when the ignorant speak to them, they only utter peace.

The numbering scheme is easy, the first number is the Sourah and the second is the Ayah.

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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