Ramadan month is about to commence. Vacation resorts will fill up with businesspeople stepping away for a breather, and many take extra time to connect with their spiritual roots. Job searches still happen in the Gulf during Ramadan month. How to search for a job during Ramadan is on the mind of executives and workers throughout the region.
Luckily, executive search consultants don’t take the month off and can assist in the process. Healthcare recruiters and pharmaceutical headhunters will work throughout Ramadan and ensure the job search progresses even during a time when many shift their focus largely away from work.
The number of job openings may temporarily decrease. This is a good thing!
Fewer job openings certainly don’t sound promising at first. But look at it this way: the jobs that are posted and available during Ramadan are the ones employers are actively looking to fill. While many are away on holiday or using personal time, these are the most urgent and important positions that you should capitalise on now to get ahead.
On the other hand, fewer openings allow a chance to fully prepare for any jobs that become available immediately after Ramadan ends. Prepare incredible cover letters. Spend extra time researching recent hires at top companies to learn what they did to get hired. Spice up your LinkedIn profile and keep any other social media accounts clean and professional.
Be thorough in your search
This is where executive search firms such as Kinetic are most useful. During Ramadan, job openings wouldn’t appear out of nowhere. Good jobs are out there, but it can take an insider to bring them to light.
Depending on the area, attending in-person events (or having headhunters attend them) keeps job seekers in the loop with potential leads before they are posted to the web. This is a key way to get in the hat before everyone else. Particularly during times when many in a firm’s upper management are on vacation or otherwise distracted, face to face meetings can be the most productive way to source job leads.
Additionally, pharmaceutical headhunters and life science recruiters have the inside scoop on jobs during Ramadan month. Working with them during this time can put executives at an advantage over typical job seekers because they are trusted by the firms posting the jobs.
Use the time period to your advantage
Many job searchers are under the impression that Ramadan is a terrible time to look for a job, particularly in the field of life science recruitment.
The best thing you can do is use this lag time to your advantage! Fewer job searchers mean fewer applicants for open positions. Fewer applicants mean that your resume will stand out more and maybe even get extra attention. It is important to really polish the resume up and go over with your headhunter exactly what is desired by any firm that will receive it. Use strong keywords, highlight accomplishments and specifics relating to the job post, and emphasise your willingness to be flexible.
Your executive search assistant may be able to get extra face time or a personal phone call with a firm during Ramadan. Be ready to interview, but don’t be surprised if any personal meetings don’t happen until after Eid.
As a job candidate, you may also be able to use this month to build personal relationships with potential employers. Happy hours and other meetups will be less crowded. The email inboxes of bigwigs will be more accessible. Get out there (or have your headhunter get out there) and put your name top of mind at the top firms.
Plan a series of follow-ups with your headhunter
Immediately after Ramadan, is a strong time to follow up on your executive job search queries. Have your pharmaceutical headhunter send follow-up emails to any firms that were contacted during Ramadan.
As business gets back to normal, hiring will do the same. Because your initial contact was made during a sluggish time, hiring managers are more likely to remember anything that stood out about your resume or name during a follow-up. The executive search process began during the slow period, putting you at an advantage over everyone that is just now getting on the ball. Now is the time to be fully prepared for in-person meetings and interviews.
Stay ahead of the game
August is when the job market will really pick up steam again. The best thing job hunters can do to optimise their chances of landing the perfect job in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, or elsewhere in the Gulf region, is to build momentum during Ramadan and keep it going through the rest of the slow period and into late summer and fall.
When started early and planned meticulously, the executive search process can be very successful during Ramadan month. Pharmaceutical headhunters, life science recruiters, and other job placement facilitators are here to ensure that their clients get in the door at the right moment. You’ll be surprised at the level of response attainable by being active when others are not.
Professionalism is what really matters
During Ramadan month, one key factor is to really ‘wow’ potential employers. Their minds may be distracted by happenings outside of work. It is important to always be conscious of how you are being perceived by an executive search consultant and by the employer. Demonstrate your ability to be professional, responsible, and engaged at all times.
Persistence is the key
Ramadan month can be tough for job seekers. With persistence and careful dedication, however, it can also be a great time to get ahead of everyone that is taking time off. Anything that happens likely won’t happen quickly.
But ground laid during Ramadan can set the stage for successful job hunting and a promising new stage in your career. Even if it takes time, the getting the process of job hunting underway during Ramadan can be the catalyst for landing interviews throughout the summer.
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