The Job Search System That Never Fails

How To Get Your Next Job In Islamic Finance

By : Shane Phillips
Job Search Which Never Fails
This presentation will cover:
• The Resume
• Interview & Post-interview strategies
• Salary negotiation
Resume Basics
• Make sure your contact information is on the resume
• Should be able to clearly see where you have worked, for
how long and what your title was
• If you don’t have a business worthy picture don’t put one
on your CV
• The two most important things on your resume are…
Resume
The two most important things on your resume are Brand
strength and Results. What did you accomplish and where
did you accomplish it
• Always state brand names, even if it is clients. A project
you executed for Procter & Gamble or Goldman Sachs is
more valuable than a project you did for John Smith Inc.
• We live in a branded society, don’t be a no name brand
Resume
Mr. John Smith
TEL: +971 50 944 7557
E-Mail: john.smith@hotmail.com

OBJECTIVE: Seeking a challenging career in a progressive financial

institution to utilize knowledge and skill professionally and to provide
opportunities for career advancement

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
May 2002 – Present

Bank XXX Head of Islamic Banking Department

Implementation and setup of the Islamic Banking Department.
Tasks and responsibilities as mentioned below with XYZ Bank
Resume
Profile
Chief Investment Officer, Portfolio and Funds Manager with 17+ years of
experience and a track record of success in market analysis and investing for a
leading global asset management firm and a large bank. Delivered consistently
strong performance in equities and commodities investments while meeting the
particular objectives, theme and risk tolerance of each portfolio or fund.

Exceptional analytical skills with a talent for synthesizing substantial amounts of

data into useable information to support sound portfolio strategies, both short-
and long-term.

Skilled in conducting comprehensive fundamental analysis of companies,

industries and sectors, particularly in U.S. and Asian markets. Proven ability to
identify Macroeconomic drivers early on and devise investment strategies to
capitalize on changes. Broad knowledge of investment houses and FoF
management.
Resume
Jan 2010 to Present:
Company XXXX – Part of XXX Group (www.XYZ.com)
Head of Wholesale Banking

Accomplishments
• Successfully secured two new public sector accounts resulting in 10% net new top line
growth
• Took over and led the successful turnaround of 3 declining business units to hit
profitability in 24 months
• Graduated Sloan MBA Program

Responsibilities
• Managing a team of 14 people responsible for $50 million net revenue
• Managing 300 client insurance companies
• Responsible for global reporting and MIS dashboard across 5 geographies, KSA, Qatar,
Bahrain, UAE, Egypt and Malaysia
• Responsible for Training & Development of all new and existing staff
• Responsible for day to day operations of Wholesale Bank
Resume – Take Aways
• Clearly state top brand names of employers and
clients (where possible)
• Use a Profile statement over an Objective statement,
or don’t use anything at all
• Clearly state date, company name, title
• Demonstrate Focus, Expertise, Vision and Passion
Getting That Job – Dubai Islamic Bank
Getting That Job – Dubai Islamic Bank
Name Position
Abdullah Ali Obaid Al Hamli Chief Executive Officer

Dr Adnan Abdus Shakoor Chilwan Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief of
Consumer and Wholesale Banking

Mohammed Abdullah Amer Al Nahdi Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief
Operating Officer

Ahmed Fathy Al Gebali Chief Financial Officer

Abbas Bou Bhujwlal Chief of Risk Management

Mohammed Saleem Chief of Treasury

Sayed Naveed Ali Chief of Corporate Banking

Obaid Al Shamsi Chief of Human Resources

Getting That Job – Dubai Islamic Bank
Mr. Abdullah Al Hamli
• BSc in Economics & Math from Al Ain University & a MSc in
Economics & Math from Dubai University

• 10 years + as Director of Information Systems at Dubai Ports

Authority and Jebel Ali Free Zone

• Approx 1999 started at DIB in IT Department and was COO and

CTO before being promoted to CEO in 2008

• On Board of DIB as Exec Dr of IT and HR

• On Board of Deyaar Development, Injazat Technology Fund,

and Gulf Finance House
Getting That Job – Dubai Islamic Bank
Dr. Adnan Chilwan
• PhD and Masters in Marketing. Certified Islamic Banker

• On board of SmartCity, Tamweel, Chairman of Dubai Islamic

Financial Services, DIB Capital, Deyaar Development, Liquidity
Management Center, Dar Al Shari’a, Millennium Private Equity

• Previously worked at Dubai Islamic Bank (UAE), Dubai Bank

(UAE),Commercial Bank of Qatar (Qatar), Mashreq Bank (UAE),
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (UAE)and HSBC (UAE)
Getting That Job – Dubai Islamic Bank
Mr. Mohamed Al Nahdi
• Al Nahdi holds a BA in Accounts and Administration, and is a
veteran in the area of banking operations, project management,
corporate banking and personal banking, with over 26 years of
diverse experience

• He started his career at HSBC where he worked for 24 years

and held many senior roles there before moving on to Dubai
Bank, where he was the Chief Retail Banking Officer

• Board Member of Deyaar Development, Tamweel, Bank Islami

Pakistan
Getting That Job – Dubai Islamic Bank
Mr. Ahmed Fathy Al-Gebali
• Al Gebali holds BSc. From Ain Shams University (Chief Group
Internal Audit also from Ain Shams University Mostafa
Mahmoud), Diploma in Computer Science from AUC, and an
MBA from Amercian University in London
• Prior experience at Boubyan Bank in Kuwait, Global Investment
House, Gulf Investment House, Kuwait Financial Center and
International Financial Advisors
• Ahmed started his own consultancy which he ran for 1yr 9mths
called First Consulting Company
• Acquaintences at Boubyan Bank include Subhi Faraj Head of
Consumer, Khaled Omran, Kurien V. as per LinkedIn
Getting That Job – The Search
• Send follow up email
• Send follow up hand written note
• Give a follow up call with a value added approach
• Think like a business consultant
• Focus in a particular sector and get to know everyone in
that sector
• Demonstrate Focus, Vision, Direction and Passion
The Interview
• Dress appropriately
• Do proper research
• STAR or CAR method; a framework for answering any
question
• The value added approach
• Think like a business consultant
• Focus in a particular sector and get to know everyone in
that sector
• Demonstrate Focus, Vision, Direction and Passion
The Interview – The Dress
• Traditional and Conservative
The Interview
Do your homework, who are you meeting? Look them up,
studied their backgrounds, know the company history,
present status, and forward looking vision. (Dr. – look up
thesis, Google, Linked In, MBA Alumni, use your network)
• Check your notes, who else do you know in the company?
• Prepare smart questions
• Understand the market, both local and global
• Prepare scripts which package your experience into the
STAR or CAR method
The Interview
• Situation or Circumstance
• Action
• Result
The Interview – Situation or Circumstance
• Cleary state constraints which made the event significant
• Common constraints Budget, Time, Manpower, Culture,
Political, Strategy
• Make it clear to the interviewer why this was a significant
task, allow them to visualize themselves in your shoes
• Deliver emotional impact
• No more that 4 to 6 sentences
The Interview – Action
Action has two sections: Strategic Development and
Implementation
Strategic Development
• Rather than what strategy did work, more importantly
what strategy did not work. This demonstrates your
knowledge more than simply stating what you did.
• Wal-Mart – went for small towns first, then for the cities.
Why?
The Interview – Action
Implementation
• Demonstrate your team and leadership skills here
• How did you get the company to collaborate across
organizational and geographical boundaries
• Did you utilize Formal and Informal influencers?
• How did you create influence up the ladder, down the
ladder?
• How did you over come resistance, structural inertia?
The Interview – Results
• Always end with results
• Results are always better with numbers. Punchy and to
the point. Growth, cost reduction, margin increase, market
share in crease, market penetration, etc.
• E.g. In the end we grew market share significantly, or In
the end we grew market share by 42% becoming the
number one supplier by volume in the nation and 3rd
largest in the world
• Benchmark your results on three levels, internal, external
local and external global. E.g. I was the top performing
MD internally, I had secured the largest deals in the
Country and Globally I ranked in the top 5%
The Interview
Why use the STAR / CAR Method
• So you can focus on how you say it not what you are
saying
• To focus on the interviewer, their body language, their
level of interest, and what they are focusing on
• To deliver succinct punchy answers with impact
• You will appear organized in your thinking and prepared
• Prepare Leadership, strategy, growth of business and
growth of organization examples of your work experience
Tough Questions
Why do you want to work here?

• You must have researched the company and know the industry,
culture and strategic direction of the company to get this right

What would you like to be doing five years from now?

• Your vision should echo the vision of the company. I.e.

Standard Chartered Bank is a British bank with only one branch
in London, saying I would like to take a leadership position in
the UK will knock you out of the job where as at HSBC it would
make sense
Tough Questions
Biggest strength?

• Play to key competency for position complimented by

personality profile that is most relevant

Biggest weakness? (What skills would you like to improve?)

• Should be a competency or skill which is the polar opposite of

the job requirement. For example Controller can say he is not
very sociable and prefers to spend time alone than with others.
Or Chief Investment Officer can say I have a very low appetite
for risk. You can also describe a skill which you simply have not
had exposure to yet, such as Treasury as I have not gotten
enough time working with sophisticated hedging products yet
Tough Questions
Can we check your references?

• Say yes but maintain need for confidentiality. Offer based on

positive references
Tough Questions
Do you have any questions?

• Find out why the job is open

• Why did the interviewer join the company? What keeps them
there?

• What would your first assignment be?

• Know the global issues which will affect the business locally,
how are they dealing with them?

• Who is their major competitor, how do they stack up, what are
they doing to compete against them over the next five years?
Negotiating Your Salary
• Creating a BATNA
• Knowing your market value
• Handling the tough questions
BATNA
• Best Alternative To The Negotiated Agreement
• What is your alternative to this offer? Perhaps the
alternative is more attractive than the offer perhaps it is
not
• Stay in current role, Start your own company, Join a
competitor, Switch Industries
• No BATNA, No Negotiation
Knowing Your Market Value
• Volunteer to help with hiring in your department
• Go to interview with companies you would never work for.
Get an offer in hand
• Go to lunch, dinner and events with the competition and
ask them what there salary bands are like
• Know your salary band range, low, mid and top and pick
your floor and anchor on the high end
Negotiating Your Salary
• In order to negotiate you must know your market value,
be clear where your floor is, and then come up with your
realistic dream figure (min, mid-point and dream)
• Never say a number, you will always lose unless you know
the market intimately and what the employer will pay
• Answer every question with a question
Negotiating Your Salary
What is your salary history?

• Answer: I am fairly well paid in relation to the market. I am

sure a company such as Middle East Islamic Corporation has a
salary band that is competitive for this role, I am comfortable in
the upper end of that band because I feel I bring x experience
to the table. Would you agree?

What are you currently making?

• Answer: I am compensated at industry standard for my

position, Salaries for this position vary in the market from
$150,000 to $200,000 depending on scope of responsibility.
Where do you feel your company falls on that band?
Negotiating Your Salary
I want to make you an offer, as a base line, what are you making
right now?

• Answer: What I am currently making is not as relevant as what

I would move for. Given the scope of responsibility and
experience required in this role I believe the market is $XXXX
(dream salary). Does that sound correct to you? (don’t speak
after this, wait for them to reply)

Try to get a sign on bonus:

• Currently my bonus is paid in June, I will be walking away from

a substantial sum, which I don’t mind for the right position but
is it possible to compensate me for this loss of revenue?
Negotiating Your Salary
Sign on Bonus
• The Middle East is a volatile market, ask for a sign on
bonus to secure the job for both yourself and the
company. Half now, half when you show up for the first
day of work
• Ask to be compensated for stock or equity you have in the
business which will be lost when you resign
Negotiating Your Salary
Sign on Bonus
• Perhaps you have been given a furniture allowance,
education allowance or other that will have to be paid
before you can leave your current employer, ask to be
compensated for this
• Negotiate things you don’t care about, such as your title,
number of annual salary reviews or performance reviews,
training budget, office location, home office budget or set
up, vacation days, company car, insurance health/ dental,
utilities, phone allowance, pension, expense account, gym
membership, etc.
Negotiating Your Salary
Keep the pressure on:
• Get more than one offer at once if possible, even if the
other offer is from a company you would never work for.
Then you can ask:

“I am sorry but I have another offer in hand which I would

like to decline as you are my first choice by far, can you
give me an indication of where we are in the process so I
can gauge my options?”
You Lost The Job – What Now?
Ask for feedback and never give up:
• Ask for honest feedback, acknowledge the feedback and
then launch counter attack. Request another meeting.
Perception is Reality
• You must simply over come the “perceived negatives” to
get the job. Don’t take no for an answer
Take Aways
• Always follow up with hand written, email and phone call.
Use a value added approach
• Be prepared know the company, the person you are
meeting and have your background prepared in the Star
or Car method
• Never give up, be passionate and chase your dream with
everything you have
Contacts

Shane Phillips
MENA Regional Practice Leader
Financial & Professional Services
s.phillips@stantonchase.com

Sameer Hasan
Business Director
www.EthicaInstitute.com
contact@EthicaInstitute.com
Questions
& Answers