Exploitation

In a country where labor laws are passed to exploit workers rather than protect their rights, you would hope that institutions take it upon themselves to support their employees, especially those who have fought tooth and nail for years on end to bring them growth and prosperity.

Unfortunately, the opposite is true.

I have heard of an institution; let’s call it “Bank Cheap” where employees are treated as worthless laborers through out the beginning, middle, and advanced level of their careers.

Below are just some of the cases at Bank Cheap I’ve heard about.

Case 1:

“Employee 70”, who has been working at Bank Cheap for a little over 14 years, has a masters degree from a prestigious French University, has single handedly built the base for one of the Bank’s indispensible control and reporting functions by gathering information from half the departments at Bank Cheap, has been in the same middle management position for the past 6 years with no promotion, and still makes about US$ 10 an hour.

Bullshit

Case 2:

“Employee 86”, who has been working at Bank Cheap for 3 years, spent half those 3 years working double shifts, taking on extra loads, and developing an entirely new program that automates all the monitoring and reporting process of one of the Bank’s key control functions. “Employee 86” still holds the same entry level position, with the same entry level salary of about UD$ 3.8 an hour.

Ridiculous

Case 3:

“Employee 88, who also has been working for Bank Cheap for 3 years, has graduated as an honors student from one of the country’s top universities with a Masters Degree in Business Administration, has an internationally recognized certificate in Valuation Analysis, and is currently working for a certificate in Financial Analysis. “Employee 88” is considered to be a key player in one of the Bank’s control functions, carries on extra loads and sometimes for other departments as well, and still holds the same entry level position, with the same entry level salary of about US$ 4 an hour.

No Comment

Bank Cheap is filled with similar cases of hardworking, well educated, and innovative employees who I consider to be exploited.

Education Junkies

June 27 marks my 3^rd University Graduation Anniversary and already I’m beginning to feel that my degree has gone obsolete.

Every where around my are my fellow AUB graduates enjoying stable jobs, like me, progressing with their careers, like me, getting good mentoring, like me, and pursuing advanced degrees and certificates, not like me.

This matter has been lingering in the back of my mind for a while, but the course I attended last week at Ecole Superieure des Affaires (ESA) on Risk in Financial Services that was arranged by the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI) in London to prepare persons in the financial risk industry for an examination with Banque du Liban got me thinking of how important it is to make a strategic educational move towards acquiring a certification in this domain if not going all out for a Master Degree.

I have come to realize that the Lebanese people, especially those blessed with a sharp mind and an even sharper trust fund have been hitting the books and acquiring MBA’s, EMBA’s, CFA’s, FRM’s, CPA’s, CMA’s… and every other letter in the English alphabet next to their names on their business cards.

Companies, Bank’s, and every other major employer in the country have been on the lookout for candidates to standout due to those qualifications, even if the salary offerings are even less than the minimum wage given to a McDonald’s counter employee in the United States.

It’s not an option or an advantage anymore; being certified is a must if one plans to survive in this increasingly competitive domain.

Vampires in Suits

Vampires are widely known as undead beings who feed in the blood of living creatures. Vampires became popular in the early 18^th century when a superstition broke out in Western Europe, coming from the Balkans and Eastern Europe where Vampire legends and folktales were already popular.

I have come to a firm belief that vampires do exist, and they exist in our modern day corporate world more than any time in history. Being part of the corporate world for about three modest years, I have come across so many vampires that my belief is ever stronger, and I have facts to prove it.

·         Vampires are said to arise from evil and pursue blood; isn’t money the most evil thing in the world today, and isn’t it the blood that keeps everything going?

·         Vampires have no restraint on turning on friends or relatives to satisfy their thirst; isn’t it believed that “Business is Business, and friendship is outside the office”?

·         Vampires are characterized as charismatic figures usually dressed in dark attire; aren’t the people you work with charismatic in their dark suits and blazers?

·         Vampires hunt during the dark hours of the night; aren’t the most destructive corporate decisions that involve back-stabbing and ruin done after working hours?

·          Vampires never come near garlic as it disintegrates them; no corporate vampire would have a chicken shawarma sandwich during work even if his life depended on it.

·         Vampires have a way of bewitching their victims and turning them into vampires; don’t you feel that you or your friends change after being in the corporate world for a while.

Vampires are real, and they are all around, and I can’t help but be lured into the trap…

The Employee Search

Lately, my department has been looking to recruit a couple of new employees for two vacant positions we have. Considering that we rely greatly on team work, each one of the current employees in the department is required to pitch in when it comes to screening CV’s, making calls, and organizing interview outlines and guideline, in order to help our heads make an educated decision.

You can’t imagine how good it felt being on the other side of the desk. Being the one making the calls instead of receiving them and assisting in the decision process instead of being under judgment.

After contacting the HR department for some CV’s we were sent a file that had over a hundred printed out CV’s and a link to the Bank’s “Career” email for some million more.

The disaster!

How on earth do these graduates plan on getting hired if:

1.       They send CV’s from emails such as: 50centtt@..., mumususu@..., angeleyes12@..., and so many weird, childish emails its hilarious!

2.       They send emails with no content or no subject.  What kind of reputable company will hire someone who doesn’t even write “Kindly find my CV attached for a job vacancy at your esteemed company” in the email.  Is it that hard!

3.       They send emails with content that is so rubbish, that it gets the employer to close it and delete it with out even reaching the middle or opening the attached CV.

4.       They put the “career” email on their mailing list and start forwarding jokes, images, and those “if you don’t send this in 10 minutes, you’ll be cursed for life” emails.

5.       Their CV’s are too long, or two short, or don’t convey the key information an employer is looking for.

6.       They put the phrase “meet people and have a social life” in their Career Objective.

Or (excuse my bias for AUB and LAU)

7.       They are a graduate from a mini-market university, that opened yesterday, and isn’t accredited or reputable!

“POP” goes the Career Dream

How many of you ladies go through university thinking that you will be that next Oprah, Carol Bartz, or Indra Nooyi?

I know I did…

I had always thought that as soon as I graduate, I want to get my dream job; something that is interesting, challenging, and rewarding, I wanted to be in on time, do a little over time, and deliver a little extra to set myself apart from the rest. I wanted to wear my heals, pencil skirts and blazers, sit in important meetings, and have my lunch brought to me desk. I wanted to be given the hard tasks because I’m simply the best, get recognition for what I do, and be on my boss’s good side so I can skip that career ladder and use the career elevator.

How things change…

After sending endless CV’s to almost every employer I can get my hands on, going to endless interviews, and waiting patiently for a call back, I found a job (scratch dream). At first it was great! I was finally living the dream! Until interesting became boring, challenging became a routine, and rewarding became pocket money. Then getting out of bed was a drag, doing a little overtime was torture, and delivering a little extra…why should I bother! Then heals gave blisters, skirts were too up-tight, and blazers looked better on Jeans. And the career elevator, more like climbing up Mount Fuji, barefooted, and pulling a wagon of boulders behind you!

Being Optimistic…

I still want to find the dream job, and be all that I can be. However, having a lenient work schedule, moderate work load, dressing casually, and leaving early are much more valued than anything else. No matter how much time and energy we give into work it will never be enough, the job will never be done, and it might save you a year or two on the promotion, but being able to spend extra time with friends, family and soon children is worth much more than having a corner office.

Amazing Ad

Bank Audi s.a.l. – Audi Saradar Group is the number one bank in Lebanon in terms of assets, loans and advances to customers, loans and discounts in foreign currencies, total retail and housing loans, total corporate and SMEs loans, customers’ deposits, shareholders’ equity, total income, total operating expenses, and number of branches; but this isn’t a banking course.

Bank Audi never seems to disappoint when it comes to their ads.

This is not my job! :@

In my previous post, I had mentioned that I graduated with a marketing emphasis, but working in risk management.  I have a friend who studied finance, but is working in marketing, and another one who studied interior architecture, but is working in civil architecture.

Why?

Because there are too many university graduates filling a jobless market, a matter of imbalanced supply and demand.

  

I know that Seth Godin would severely criticize me for this (my Lizard Brain), but there are just not enough marketing or advertising jobs around here.  Lebanon is known, among other Middle Eastern and Arab countries, to be the hub of advertising.  In such a small country, there are a large number of local and international advertising agencies (about 60 according to the Advertising Agencies Association, www.aaa.org.lb)

Not the case at all!  These mentioned agencies form a mafia. Like any other sector in Lebanon, you need to be very well connected to get the desired job.  Education, social background, experience, and extra curricular activities all play a vital role in getting you selected for the job, but not as much as being “connected” does.  Let’s say that two candidates were applying to the same job; both are 22, both graduated from the same university, both have the same GPA, both have interesting experiences, but one of them knows politician “X”, and can get word in.  Naturally, they go with Mr. Connected.

This all feeds into the corruption surrounding us!

In an attempt to break free from the “This is not my job” situation, I have been applying (again) to some of the ad agencies that are hiring.  Optimistic.  I got a call back from one of the top agencies for a copywriter position…let’s just say I have my fingers crossed.