For the past decade, the curriculum vitae has been the key for job seekers to show potential employers who they are, their achievements and the skills they can bring to a company.
But things have been changing dramatically over the past few years with the arrival of new social media tools that can prove valuable, provided you know how to use them. You may even use them for purposes other than looking for a job.
You are likely to have heard of all of them: Twitter, Facebook, MyBlogLog, SlideShare, Myspace, and other tools such as YouTube, LinkedIn and Google Reader.
With these new technological marvels in mind, Dan Stuart, 36, a senior business developer for the recruitment site Bayt.com, has one credo: brand yourself.
On his blog, Mr Stuart presents himself as a serial online adventurer specialising in personal branding, social media and e-learning.
"We have sessions in January and February for people who come and get advice for their CV," he says. "I started talking to a lot of people and I realised, looking at their CVs, that they were not doing a very good job at positioning themselves, at marketing themselves.
"They had very much a job-profile kind of CV, like: 'Here is the task that I was supposed to do in that previous job; here is what I have achieved'.
"People will probably look at where else you are online, what are the contributions you are making, things that you have written online. Are you commenting online? Do you have social profiles?
"And if they cannot find you from a professional perspective, it is actually a bad thing because it means that you are not engaged and involved."
For Mr Stuart, socialising online is the key to success. Instead of hiding and fleeing technology and asking people not to comment on your Web activities, he suggests pointing people in the direction you want, making it easier for them to find you. And finally, you should own the conversation.
"Social media, new technologies, is a kind of scary thing," he says. "But if we accept the fact that it is everywhere and you get over the privacy issues, if you just assume that everything you do is online anyway, you can just embrace it and use it for your own sake."
Creating and shaping a personal brand online is crucial for people who are starting out and those who are developing their careers.
"Whether it is 100 years ago or a minute ago, you need to have a personal brand-positioning statement which differentiates you," Mr Stuart says. "You have got to shape the message."
He says you should position yourself in 140 characters. The statement needs to be memorable, motivating and to provide a clear and meaningful picture that differentiates you from the competition. It should also be credible.
So what are the best tools?
"Something like LinkedIn is very static," Mr Stuart says. "People tend to put a profile but they never come back to it. I think Twitter is very interesting. People have blogs but they may only share things on their blogs every three or four days. Twitter is like a microblog, a more instant microsharing of things."
And as people choose to follow you because they think there is some value in your opinions, you end up pushing your brand, Mr Stuart says.
Another website he uses frequently is SlideShare, which he says "is easy to use; it is a great website. I can put my presentations online and link them back to my blog and put the access on Twitter. I also use it as an information resource."
Mr Stuart also recommends using Google Reader. "It is probably the tool I use the most. With Google Reader I can see all the leads of all the sites I have chosen in one space, instead of visiting 25 websites on a daily basis. It is like my information resource."
When reading the thought leaders on a particular topic, it helps to become a thought leader yourself in this particular subject and generate reactions from people around you.
"When I am putting into words the things that I am learning - it becomes a value and a contribution to a discussion," he says. "The beauty is that you can link all these tools together."
So in a nutshell, you should: start a blog, fine-tune your Facebook account, get a Twitter account, check lists on TweetDeck, present yourself on SlideShare, and follow thought leaders by searching Technorati and using Google Reader. Post, comment and engage.
"Don't be the looking-for-a-job person, be the doing-interesting-things person," Mr Stuart concludes.
@Email:ngillet@thenational.ae
Community Shield info
Where, when and at what time Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday at 5pm (UAE time)
Arsenal line up (3-4-2-1) Petr Cech; Rob Holding, Per Mertesacker, Nacho Monreal; Hector Bellerin, Mohamed Elneny, Granit Xhaka, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain; Alex Iwobi, Danny Welbeck; Alexandre Lacazette
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
Chelsea line up (3-4-2-1) Thibaut Courtois; Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Gary Cahill; Victor Moses, Cesc Fabregas, N'Golo Kante, Marcos Alonso; Willian, Pedro; Michy Batshuayi
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte
Referee Bobby Madley
You Were Never Really Here
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Starring: Joaquim Phoenix, Ekaterina Samsonov
Four stars
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
NBA FINALS SO FAR
(Toronto lead 3-2 in best-of-seven series)
Game 1 Raptors 118 Warriors 109
Game 2 Raptors 104 Warriors 109
Game 3 Warriors 109 Raptors 123
Game 4 Warriors 92 Raptors 105
Game 5 Raptors 105 Warriors 106
Game 6 Thursday, at Oakland
Game 7 Sunday, at Toronto (if needed)
Take Me Apart
Kelela
(Warp)
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Regional Qualifier
Saturday results
Qatar beat Kuwait by 26 runs
Bahrain beat Maldives by six wickets
UAE beat Saudi Arabia by seven wickets
Monday fixtures
Maldives v Qatar
Saudi Arabia v Kuwait
Bahrain v UAE
* The top three teams progress to the Asia Qualifier
Andor
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Tony%20Gilroy%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDiego%20Luna%2C%20Genevieve%20O'Reilly%2C%20Alex%20Ferns%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%205%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Profile
Co-founders of the company: Vilhelm Hedberg and Ravi Bhusari
Launch year: In 2016 ekar launched and signed an agreement with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. In January 2017 ekar launched in Dubai in a partnership with the RTA.
Number of employees: Over 50
Financing stage: Series B currently being finalised
Investors: Series A - Audacia Capital
Sector of operation: Transport
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
The biog
From: Upper Egypt
Age: 78
Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila
Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace
Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace
Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
}Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh234,000 - Dh329,000
On sale: now
Super Rugby play-offs
Quarter-finals
- Hurricanes 35, ACT 16
- Crusaders 17, Highlanders 0
- Lions 23, Sharks 21
- Chiefs 17, Stormers 11
Semi-finals
Saturday, July 29
- Crusaders v Chiefs, 12.35pm (UAE)
- Lions v Hurricanes, 4.30pm
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
'Tell the Machine Goodnight' by Katie Williams
Penguin Randomhouse
more from Janine di Giovanni
Notable Yas events in 2017/18
October 13-14 KartZone (complimentary trials)
December 14-16 The Gulf 12 Hours Endurance race
March 5 Yas Marina Circuit Karting Enduro event
March 8-9 UAE Rotax Max Challenge
Zayed Sustainability Prize
How Sputnik V works
