Islam Blog

On the heels of my previous post on Job Hunting, I’ve thought of adding a few additional points that should be helpful when looking for a job. Here they are in no particular order.

1. Build your resume: Nothing beats a good resume. Think of your resume as your newspaper ad. This is your first opportunity to impress your interviewer. Make the most of it. A well written resume should have the following.

• Objective
• Educational background
• Work experience, if any (this can also include college projects)
• Other skill sets, like programming languages, Microsoft office etc
• Some personal information

If you can’t make your own resume, then take help from a friend who’s already in to a job and may know something about this. However, do yourself a favor and don’t copy complete resumes. The worst thing you could do is have the exact same job objective as your friend, only he’s in to medicine and you’re an engineer. Alternatively, if you have money to spare, then consider contacting an agency for professional resume writing services. This won’t be a bad investment if you go to the right people.

2. Look Presentable: I shouldn’t have to tell any Muslim, that wearing good clean clothes is important. Sadly, this isn’t the case. We cut a really sorry figure sometimes when it comes to hygiene. the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said

“He who has, in his heart, an ant’s weight of arrogance will not enter Jannah.” Someone said: “A man likes to wear beautiful clothes and shoes?” the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Allah is Beautiful, He loves beauty. Arrogance means ridiculing and rejecting the Truth and despising people.”
[Muslim].

So wearing nice clothes is encouraged. Please follow this at your interview and dress appropriately. Also don’t forget to comb your hair. If you think this isn’t really important, read this:

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam that Ata ibn Yasar told him that the Messenger of Allah was in the mosque when a man came in with dishevelled hair and beard. The Messenger of Allah motioned with his hand that he should be sent out to groom his hair and beard. The man did so and then returned. The Messenger of Allah said, “Isn’t this better than that one of you should come with his head dishevelled, as if he were a shaytan?” Hadith - Muwatta

3. Use Job sites to your advantage: Don’t underestimate the power of job sites. This is the greatest bit of self help that you can do. Create a profile on the most popular websites in your country or city. If Allah wills it, you might just land an interview opportunity without having to run around much. Also, each job site should have a good help section. Read through it so you know how to gain the maximum visibility for your profile.

4. Follow up: If your interviewer says they’ll contact you, try and get some timetable or some contact information that can help you call back. In case you are rejected, it’s always a nice habit to ask for feedback on how you can improve your performance and to know where you went wrong. They may not provide the exact reason, but they will have to tell you something.

Taking the four points from my previous post and adding these, you have eight points that you can go by when looking for a job. I pray that Allah opens the doors to halal sustenance for you. Ameen!