According to a report in the National, the first guidebook offering students advice on choosing from the region’s plethora of universities has been launched by the American University of Sharjah.

There are 107 universities and colleges in the UAE alone, but it can be hard for students to choose between them because only three – UAE University, AUS and Abu Dhabi University – are featured on any of the world’s international rankings tables.

To address the problem, AUS, as part of its community service remit, has produced an on-line manual offering students guidance in selecting the best university for them.

The free ebook does not refer to specific institutions, but instead identifies seven key areas students should consider when selecting a university: application deadlines, academic accreditation, recruitment history, tuition fees, curriculum, location and global reputation. The guide also urges students to consider an institution’s relationship with employers and graduate recruitment.

Earlier this  year Careerbuilder conducted a study of 2,298 hiring managers in the US and provided real life examples of resumes that stood out for the right and wrong reasons and they also looked at common pitfalls to avoid. The Study took place between May 14th 2012 and June 4th 2012 and revealed six creative resume tactics that actually worked and I have shown them below. Maybe you could use them as creative inspiration to make your own unusual applications to make you stand out from the competition in a good way.

6 Creative Resume Tactics That Worked

1. Candidate sent his resume in the form of an oversized Rubik’s Cube, where you had to push the tiles around to align the resume. He was hired.
2. Candidate who had been a stay-at-home mom listed her skills as nursing, housekeeping, chef, teacher, bio-hazard cleanup, fight referee, taxi driver, secretary, tailor, personal shopping assistant and therapist. She was hired.Continue Reading »

Tejar Dubai, a new initiative to support and encourage the next generation of entrepreneurs, has been launched by Shaikh Majid Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Culture and Arts, and in cooperation with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The initiative is the first in the UAE to offer a specialised programme and platform for youth to help them establish their own small-to-medium-sized business. Tejar Dubai aims to find and train creative and commercially-minded youth to help them turn their business ideas into a reality.

It  will involve a comprehensive programme, include a tough selection process and demand a substantial commitment from those chosen to participate. Those who are chosen will be asked to commit to an extensive tailor-made three-month programme as well as the chance to meet famous entrepreneurs and foreign delegations visiting Dubai Chamber.

This is great opportunity for  Dubai youth to develop their professional skills and business skills and set themselves on a career path as an entrepreneur.

Click here to find out more.

The Gulf has emerged as an unlikely role model for gender diversity in the boardroom, reports the Telegraph.

Almost a third of family-run companies in the Gulf have at least one woman on their board, a survey has revealed. In Britain just 7.8pc of companies have female directors; in America the figure is 11.4pc and in Japan less than 1pc.

The research, conducted by the Pearl Initiative, a body established to promote transparency and accountability to companies in the Gulf, found that 32pc of 100 family-owned companies in the region had female board members. However female representation on the board of listed companies is far lower at 1.5pc.

According to an article in Kipp Report, Emaar Properties said plans to expand its Dubai Mall with high-end fashion stores, hotels and luxury homes had been finalised and work would begin shortly.

Emaar, which also built Burj Khalifa – the world’s largest tower, had said in February it would add one million square feet to Dubai Mall, whose website says it is the world’s largest shopping and entertainment destination.

This should be a clear sign to engineers, builders and labourers that Emaar Properties may soon be looking to hire contractors as it tools up to complete the project. This makes it very good time to be contacting Emaar Properties for possible job opportunities.

Does your CV need an annual check up before 2013? As most of you will be aware, we are approaching  one of the busiest periods  of the Dubai job seeker and recruiting calendar. Yes, the January jobs merry go round is almost upon us. The signs are clear, we have noticed a surge in job related queries from job seekers in Dubai and the UAE as professionals and job seekers ready themselves to take full advantage of the January jobs rush in Dubai.

As a result of this increased demand in job seeking activity in Dubai, we are now focussing in our articles on CV optimization and interview preparation, with a view to ensuring that our readers are among the best prepared job seekers in the UAE, that is, we want our readers to go in to the new year fully primed and ready to land their job of their dreams.

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