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18th March 2003, 01:01 AM
<i><b>Are you well connected?
BY SALEH AL-SHAIBANY
14 March 2003
WHEN you live in a society where "who you know" is more important than "what you know", it can be very difficult. Having a connection in high places can make a big difference.
We often see brilliant young graduates seeking jobs and being rejected because they 'are not connected.' And then company bosses wonder why they continue to make losses!
The 'short list of applicants' hoping to join professionals should now be called 'short list of relatives and friends ready to work with their relations and buddies.' In the Gulf, if you don't belong to the inner circle then you are left to fend for yourself.
So how, asked one young man, does one join an elite club. He looked like a nice young man to me and I did not want him messed up. So, I advised him to keep away from the club. His eyes widened in surprise and there was a look of accusation as he stared at me as if I had just closed the door on his future.
Recently, I saw a job ad which asked for a 'dynamic and independent' graduate for a large office in Muscat. I learned later that it had been filled up by a friend of the personnel manager. Take the example of the 30 job applicants who were told that the position was already taken up before their papers were processed. What happened? The company chairman had his nephew squeezed in. How could the management dare to refuse.
If young men have problems, so do young women. A bright, fresh graduate who was very enthusiastic about her future career, had something shocking to say. A human resource manager had welcomed her with great interest and kept her in his office for a lengthy interview. She should've noticed that his interest was elsewhere, but this was her first interview. Her lack of experience meant she was open to a bigger abuse later on. The HR manager informed her that the chairman would like interview her at his top floor office. Somebody should have informed her that chairmen do not interview applicants. Anyway, clutching her papers, she rode the lift to the company supremo's office. His out of place compliments alarmed her. The man had no interest in her papers and made his demands very clear. She was close to tears as she made her way down.
One wonders how many such like-minded executives are there in our business houses? Executives who take in young men of their own corrupt choice and stalk on unsuspecting young women. What's the use of going through four-years of hard work and earning a piece of paper that's going to be viewed as just that - a piece of paper?
I explained my grievances to a retired old guy who simply shook his head and said, 'would you hire a secretary who resembles the back of a bus?'
That explained it then. The man had been the chief executive of a large financial business... and you know the rest. As I made my way to the office of a bank manager in a corporate office, one thing was very clear to me. I would've mistaken it for a fashion agency going by the number of pretty faces that looked back at me. You guessed right, all the top executives in that bank were men.
In Oman, we had to wait for over 30 years to have a woman heading a bank. Two weeks ago, we had a woman appointed in the rank of a minister. Perhaps more women should occupy higher positions.</i></b>
Just want to share with you for those who missed out this page last week. Personally, I think being connected could be a good thing but not the way we use here in Oman and Gulf in general. It has been one source of all corruption in our community.
Care to hear your views
BY SALEH AL-SHAIBANY
14 March 2003
WHEN you live in a society where "who you know" is more important than "what you know", it can be very difficult. Having a connection in high places can make a big difference.
We often see brilliant young graduates seeking jobs and being rejected because they 'are not connected.' And then company bosses wonder why they continue to make losses!
The 'short list of applicants' hoping to join professionals should now be called 'short list of relatives and friends ready to work with their relations and buddies.' In the Gulf, if you don't belong to the inner circle then you are left to fend for yourself.
So how, asked one young man, does one join an elite club. He looked like a nice young man to me and I did not want him messed up. So, I advised him to keep away from the club. His eyes widened in surprise and there was a look of accusation as he stared at me as if I had just closed the door on his future.
Recently, I saw a job ad which asked for a 'dynamic and independent' graduate for a large office in Muscat. I learned later that it had been filled up by a friend of the personnel manager. Take the example of the 30 job applicants who were told that the position was already taken up before their papers were processed. What happened? The company chairman had his nephew squeezed in. How could the management dare to refuse.
If young men have problems, so do young women. A bright, fresh graduate who was very enthusiastic about her future career, had something shocking to say. A human resource manager had welcomed her with great interest and kept her in his office for a lengthy interview. She should've noticed that his interest was elsewhere, but this was her first interview. Her lack of experience meant she was open to a bigger abuse later on. The HR manager informed her that the chairman would like interview her at his top floor office. Somebody should have informed her that chairmen do not interview applicants. Anyway, clutching her papers, she rode the lift to the company supremo's office. His out of place compliments alarmed her. The man had no interest in her papers and made his demands very clear. She was close to tears as she made her way down.
One wonders how many such like-minded executives are there in our business houses? Executives who take in young men of their own corrupt choice and stalk on unsuspecting young women. What's the use of going through four-years of hard work and earning a piece of paper that's going to be viewed as just that - a piece of paper?
I explained my grievances to a retired old guy who simply shook his head and said, 'would you hire a secretary who resembles the back of a bus?'
That explained it then. The man had been the chief executive of a large financial business... and you know the rest. As I made my way to the office of a bank manager in a corporate office, one thing was very clear to me. I would've mistaken it for a fashion agency going by the number of pretty faces that looked back at me. You guessed right, all the top executives in that bank were men.
In Oman, we had to wait for over 30 years to have a woman heading a bank. Two weeks ago, we had a woman appointed in the rank of a minister. Perhaps more women should occupy higher positions.</i></b>
Just want to share with you for those who missed out this page last week. Personally, I think being connected could be a good thing but not the way we use here in Oman and Gulf in general. It has been one source of all corruption in our community.
Care to hear your views