The report makes it sound as if Jordan is awash with jobs that there aren’t enough candidates to fill all of those vacancies. In fact the reality speaks other wise, to put it plainly; there aren’t any vacant jobs in Jordan. I’m willing to put my nick on the line and estimate roughly that there are at least between 500 to 1000 candidates qualified available for each job opening. What would be the point of posting your resume on a website if the chance of having your resume reviewed by a hiring recruiter is close to zero or even in the negative? In my opinion these kinds of websites are good for countries like the Gulf states and Saudi Arabia, but as far as Jordan is concerned all the jobs gets filled long before they even get advertised in any newspaper or websites. The demand exceeds the supplies by about 300000 jobs short.

The report makes it sound as if Jordan is awash with jobs that there aren’t enough candidates to fill all of those vacancies. In fact the reality speaks other wise, to put it plainly; there aren’t any vacant jobs in Jordan. I’m willing to put my nick on the line and estimate roughly that there are at least between 500 to 1000 candidates qualified available for each job opening. What would be the point of posting your resume on a website if the chance of having your resume reviewed by a hiring recruiter is close to zero or even in the negative? In my opinion these kinds of websites are good for countries like the Gulf states and Saudi Arabia, but as far as Jordan is concerned all the jobs gets filled long before they even get advertised in any newspaper or websites. The demand exceeds the supplies by about 300000 jobs short.

Hatem,

I have to disagree with you, rather strongly actually.

The papers are full of vacancy ads.

As an owner of a business that employs around 20 people, I can tell you that finding qualified people in our field (Design, media, technology) is HARD. Sometimes VERY HARD.

Finding qualified people is my No.1 problem.

When we post a job ad, we indeed get a lot of CVs. But most of the people we receive CV’s from (and also meet) simply are not up to the challenge.

You can blame the educational system and the prevailing work culture for that. It is amazing how many young people we meet, who are already without ambition or interests the day the graduate.

The architectural sector is also struggling with the people issue. Of course that’s easily explainable: the construction boom.

There is big unemployment in Jordan. No doubt about that. Yet we have to admit that the problem is often lack of qualification, or simply refusal to accept jobs for social reasons.

Ahmad,
First of call congratulation on being an employer, I’m still on the sending end while you are on the receiving end, that is why we may be are having varying views about searching and locating the appropriate place for the person’s niche. In my opinion other than vocational degrees there are no any other university degrees that would qualify the individual for any job. There is a huge difference between the the theoretical stuff that people learn in schools and the applications that they have to do once they become officially employed by a given business firm.Theory is one thing and practice is another.

Ahmad,
First of call congratulation on being an employer, I’m still on the sending end while you are on the receiving end, that is why we may be are having varying views about searching and locating the appropriate place for the person’s niche. In my opinion other than vocational degrees there are no any other university degrees that would qualify the individual for any job. There is a huge difference between the the theoretical stuff that people learn in schools and the applications that they have to do once they become officially employed by a given business firm.Theory is one thing and practice is another.

Hatem: having researched this problem quite a bit these past few months, I’ve discovered that everyone, from NGO’s to students to CEO’s to the Minister of Education himself, are in consensus about one thing: university does not prepare these people for a real job. It isn’t merely about the difference between theory and practice, but a whole lot of other things.

Students are not allowed to think for themselves, to think creatively and independently. Many of them have never done a presentation or lead a class discussion. Hardly any of them have ever debated. Thus its not merely the degree that becomes useless, but the characteristics of the person.

Ahmad is right. There are tons of vacancies in the papers, which is something I was surprised to find when I first got here. But now I see how hard it is for employers to hire. None of these students are qualified.

Having used sites like Monster (arguably the largest job site in the world) while living in the US, and Bayt.com (the # 1 mideast job site according to them) while living in Jordan, my experience with both was quite poor. Now I’m working in the UK and had to send out hundreds of job applications this year, I came to one conclusion:
The only job-seeker tools that are of real value to users are the ones associated with big daily newspapers. The Guardian, for example, has by far the most useful “non-specialized” jobs website in the entire UK.
As for diversity of service, Akhtaboot and Bayt, are (or will be) offering market surveys, advice, networking opportunities and other things that are fun to read and take part in. But at the end of the day it is the quality and the “validity” of the job posts that the portal’s future will depend on. And sometimes it’s the market’s fault for being to weak, not the jobs websites.
But like Haj-Hassan & Shamoun said, they’re not going for the money only, Akhtaboot will stand out as an innovative and ground breaking Arab website, sort of like a big fish in a small pond.

Having used sites like Monster (arguably the largest job site in the world) while living in the US, and Bayt.com (the # 1 mideast job site according to them) while living in Jordan, my experience with both was quite poor. Now I’m working in the UK and had to send out hundreds of job applications this year, I came to one conclusion:
The only job-seeker tools that are of real value to users are the ones associated with big daily newspapers. The Guardian, for example, has by far the most useful “non-specialized” jobs website in the entire UK.
As for diversity of service, Akhtaboot and Bayt, are (or will be) offering market surveys, advice, networking opportunities and other things that are fun to read and take part in. But at the end of the day it is the quality and the “validity” of the job posts that the portal’s future will depend on. And sometimes it’s the market’s fault for being to weak, not the jobs websites.
But like Haj-Hassan & Shamoun said, they’re not going for the money only, Akhtaboot will stand out as an innovative and ground breaking Arab website, sort of like a big fish in a small pond.

Thank you Imad, very informative analysis above.

Nas : I know what you mean about college kids not being ready for presentations, I was one of them.

I agree with Naseem and Ahmad, talent is becoming razor-thin in Jordan, and it’s even becoming more scarce all around the globe (The Economist dedicated 4 issues in the span of 3 months to talk about it – that’s big news).

But also, Imad, when it comes to Jordan, there’s a higher chance for creative firms to find talents through websites like Akhtaboot and Bayt, because in Jordan, there’s this idea for jobseekers that if he/she sends out proposals to every firm (regardless of relevancy to their field of study), then that would increase their chances at getting a job.

While a creative firm would need a more narrowed and structured search engine, and Akhtaboot really provides that. See, a user joins a certain amount of communities (3 actually), and by joining these communities, you are obliged to stick to posting your CV to companies within these communities. Meaning that if you own let’s say a dental office, you won’t be getting CVs from a graphic designer (which is by far, the biggest problem that HR managers face today in Jordan).

I agree with Naseem and Ahmad, talent is becoming razor-thin in Jordan, and it’s even becoming more scarce all around the globe (The Economist dedicated 4 issues in the span of 3 months to talk about it – that’s big news).

But also, Imad, when it comes to Jordan, there’s a higher chance for creative firms to find talents through websites like Akhtaboot and Bayt, because in Jordan, there’s this idea for jobseekers that if he/she sends out proposals to every firm (regardless of relevancy to their field of study), then that would increase their chances at getting a job.

While a creative firm would need a more narrowed and structured search engine, and Akhtaboot really provides that. See, a user joins a certain amount of communities (3 actually), and by joining these communities, you are obliged to stick to posting your CV to companies within these communities. Meaning that if you own let’s say a dental office, you won’t be getting CVs from a graphic designer (which is by far, the biggest problem that HR managers face today in Jordan).

Pheras,

I concur with the last part of your reply alluding to the fact that if you display your portrait in an industry specific you elevate the ante of your chances for being reviewed by a head hunter, notwithstanding; this testimony wasn’t highlighted in your main article. I do support the idea of being niche specific meaning that one should manifest one’s skills in one/s own industry publications, be that a network, career building sites, or classified section of some sort. One should never display his curriculum vita and hope for the best. Job seekers must utilize various other traditional and non traditional ways and means to reach the decision makers in business firms. Marketing individual skills is just as intricate as selling fully researched, developed, manufactured, and packaged goods.

Hatem, thanks for your feedback. That’s what I really like about online space: You get to obtain direct feedback from the readers, and you start looking more at things from a reader’s perspective (which is vital in journalism).

But see, that’s where I beg to differ: The purpose of my article wasn’t really to discuss how Akhtaboot employs relatively new technology to the region, which enables it to fine-tune search results upon displaying your CV as a job seeker, or as an employer browsing through submitted CVs. The idea was to shed light on Akhtaboot, as an online start-up, how it employed clever branding to emerge as a force to be reckoned with in the online realm. The reason I did not get into specifics on how Akhtaboot is different or similar to other online recruitment tools and websites, is that I like to give more chance for the reader to discover things on their own: You read the article, you’re either interested in learning about Akhtaboot furthermore or you’re not. If yes, you head to Akhtaboot.com and start learning more about the website, and discover its pleasant surprises.

I believe that reading is a two-way street: A writer writes, and the reader reads, then acts upon what they read. In this case, it is going to Akhtaboot, and trying to figure out on your own, what makes it really special. I picked out two things that make the website special, and the rest is up to the readers. Plus let’s be honest, I had to set a word limit too…:-)

Hatem, thanks for your feedback. That’s what I really like about online space: You get to obtain direct feedback from the readers, and you start looking more at things from a reader’s perspective (which is vital in journalism).

But see, that’s where I beg to differ: The purpose of my article wasn’t really to discuss how Akhtaboot employs relatively new technology to the region, which enables it to fine-tune search results upon displaying your CV as a job seeker, or as an employer browsing through submitted CVs. The idea was to shed light on Akhtaboot, as an online start-up, how it employed clever branding to emerge as a force to be reckoned with in the online realm. The reason I did not get into specifics on how Akhtaboot is different or similar to other online recruitment tools and websites, is that I like to give more chance for the reader to discover things on their own: You read the article, you’re either interested in learning about Akhtaboot furthermore or you’re not. If yes, you head to Akhtaboot.com and start learning more about the website, and discover its pleasant surprises.

I believe that reading is a two-way street: A writer writes, and the reader reads, then acts upon what they read. In this case, it is going to Akhtaboot, and trying to figure out on your own, what makes it really special. I picked out two things that make the website special, and the rest is up to the readers. Plus let’s be honest, I had to set a word limit too…:-)

Pheras,
Please note that I have no qualms about your esteemed presentation, you did a very good job by showing what is Aktaboot all about, I’m sure that some people will benefit from their services, I was only reflecting my very own personal experience with places like Aktaboot. I have never benefited from services similar to Aktaboot. I did visit their page as well as your page and I liked what I saw in there.Thank you for replying and for your continued interest.

Thanks Hatem, I appreciate it. You see, that’s what’s different about Akhtaboot, it has this social networking element: Assume that you know a friend that works in let’s say Intel Middle East. This friend keeps a strong relationship with the HR department in Intel, and once Intel posts a job, this friend would recommend you because well, he knows your capabilities and strengths and weaknesses. Akhtaboot basically brings the element that is truly the strongest factor that could secure you a job, which is a recommendation or a referral.

This works well in the Middle East, because from what I’ve noticed, most companies hire people through other people, and not through newspapers or classifieds.

Thanks Hatem, I appreciate it. You see, that’s what’s different about Akhtaboot, it has this social networking element: Assume that you know a friend that works in let’s say Intel Middle East. This friend keeps a strong relationship with the HR department in Intel, and once Intel posts a job, this friend would recommend you because well, he knows your capabilities and strengths and weaknesses. Akhtaboot basically brings the element that is truly the strongest factor that could secure you a job, which is a recommendation or a referral.

This works well in the Middle East, because from what I’ve noticed, most companies hire people through other people, and not through newspapers or classifieds.

I hope you are success in your project
best regards