On November 24, 2020, Lebanon Support hosted the webinar “How to make yourself more competitive in the job market”.

This webinar aimed at providing job hunting tips specifically in the civil society sector, as well as skills and tips necessary to complete online job applications, in order to make sure to be chosen for the right job especially during challenging times.

The guest speaker of this webinar was Rita Kamel (Certified Résumé, Employment, and Interview Strategist | Founder of DossierPro | Member of Career Professionals of Canada).

Dr. Marie-Noëlle AbiYaghi (Director at Lebanon Support) and Léa Yammine (Deputy Director at Lebanon Support) started by giving an overview of Daleel Madani, the civil society network, clarifying its main objective of promoting accessible information about civil society. In addition, the Lebanon Support team focused on the most visited feature of the website; the “jobs” section.
This feature allows job hunters to explore professional opportunities in the civil society sector with the ability to use filters to refine their search depending on the nature of the job, qualifications required, and period of employment, among others.

Rita Kamel highlighted some of the greatest challenges in the job market nowadays such as the decrease of job offers due to the Covid19 pandemic, resulting in an increase in the competition in the job market, among other obstacles. She then proposed some practical tips on how to adapt and overcome these challenges, by, for example learning new skills to close market gaps, creating content such as portfolios for graphic designers, and exploring different channels.
Afterwards, Rita Kamel invited the participants to reflect on their skills and targeted job offers as a first step in the online application process, before starting to write their resumé, and referred to it as the “marketing component”. She stated that “a resume may be a Marketing tool, a screening tool or a sales tool”.

She also emphasized on the importance of the “online execution steps” of job hunting, with for instance:

1. Having a good resume, cover letter and LinkedIn profile.
2. Searching for a job posting using the Daleel Madani website, and reading the job description carefully before applying.
3. Having an excel log to track the applications status along the way.
4. Preparing for the interview.

Afterwards, Rita Kamel explained that social media can be an important tool for job hunters as it allows applicants to communicate their personal career brand, and connect with people of professional interest to them.
Our speaker wrapped up her presentation with some tips on how to avoid the most common resume mistakes, such as sending in a resumé that is not suitable or adapted to the job, or the usage of acronyms and abbreviations for technical terms.

Throughout the session, participants asked questions about some challenges they have been facing, notably on how to apply for a job after a career shift. Rita Kamel answered the participant’s concern by highlighting the importance of the cover letter, and advised them to have relevant cover letters adapted to the skills required. 

Daleel Madani programme is considered the main civil society reference in Lebanon, and gathers over 1 million and a half pageviews per month from users around the world, with more than 1300 organisations registered.

By visiting the Daleel Madani website, the Daleel Madani users can stay informed about civil society and public action, as well as search for suitable opportunities in which they can, in turn, benefit society.
In addition, individuals experts can sign up to the Experts Roster, and make their expertise available for civil society actors, provided they receive 3 endorsements from actors registered on Daleel Madani. The Experts Roster is an online directory of identified and verified experts, tailored to facilitate civil society actors’ search for relevant and suitable talents with specific skill sets. Read more here.