“Your Career Advisor” is responding this week to:

• A tough career decision: should I accept this offer?
• What  are a company's obligations in case of an employee's death?
• I have  an interview for an HR position, what will they ask me?

All reasonable questions related to careers, skill development or employment related issues – sent to advisor@skill-link.com - would be addressed in this section every week.

Q1: A tough career decision: should I accept this offer?

I am in the middle of a cross road , I have to decide quickly which career I have to pursue.

I graduated with a BSc in Electrical Engineering from an Egyptian university, I then worked for 3 months in a consulting engineering firm designing and installing electricity wires in buildings. My one year mandatory military service then followed that period.

During the above time, I decided to enroll in IT courses in networks which I really enjoyed studying. However I don't have any working experience in this IT field . On the other hand I have been offered a job in the petroleum sector, with one of the best international companies (name withheld) to join them as an offshore electrical engineer. It requires that I complete two years of training offshore in different locations around the world before I am allowed to quit (leave the company) . The idea of committing myself to specific job for such a duration makes me nervous, despite the company's generous salary. I am also not happy that I will have to quit my IT studies in networking. It should be noted that this job is basically to be an oil electrician on rigs, thus responsible for installing new electrical devices and performing maintenance; it is all hand job experience , you don't need a university degree to do it !

I tell myself that IT is not a guaranteed field to find good opportunities especially that I did not graduate with an IT / Computer university degree. I always say that the secret of success is to work in what you love to do !

So tell me , is a bird in hand better than a hundred on a tree !? or should I stick to what I like and love to be working in; even though no job was yet offered to me in that field.

What is your advice ?

K. G. (Egypt)

Replying:

Dear Mr. G.

Not an easy problem ! However let us start with a few facts:

Short of holding an IT related university degree, electrical engineering is one of the closest to the field. Several years ago in Egypt, most of the entrants to the IT profession were electrical engineers. So an Engineering degree combined with further IT training and certifications is definitely a good thing.

With regards to what jobs are more in demand, actually all sort of jobs are available, for a qualified person. Some may be more available then others, but that is another story.

We are not sure if you are exaggerating or not with regards to the duties of an electrical engineer on an offshore rig, companies are also smart, they would not higher more expensive resources if more junior electricians could do the job. However, you should know more about that.

Now it is really a personal choice driven by your feelings and preferences. If we leave aside the feelings, we would advise you accept the offer in the Petroleum sector. Why ? because it will provide you with:

1. Good income and allow you to make some savings, while you are still young and single.
2. Will provide you with some good training in a recognized field. Also, will give you a competitive advantage, if later in your career you seek international postings.
3. It will add a good corporate name on your CV.

Two years are not a very long period to commit to, consider it an extended military service or a masters degree. So unless you think this job will make you really miserable, go for it. Who knows what sort of promotion opportunities may come within that company to do more interesting tasks ? Once the two years are over, if you still feel like resigning you will be young enough to pursue IT training and switch if you like to an IT role. You may also find an opportunity to work in IT for the Oil & Gas, and thus you will have a competitive advantage. The beauty of working for Oil & Gas (Petroleum sector) is that even in recessions, the sector is less affected.

We hope the above was of some use to you.
Good Luck

Q2: What are a company's obligations in case of an employee's death?

I am the Administration & Personnel Manager of a small professional services firm in Cairo. We recently had one of our colleagues pass away due to heart problems. Since this is the first time we face such a situation, as an employer, what are the financial obligations towards an employee who dies while employed by the firm ?

A. L. (Egypt)

Replying:

Dear Mr. L.

We are sorry to hear about the sad news.

Regarding your first question, the Egyptian Labor Law (Law 137 issued in 1981) in article 73 stipulates that: "in case of a worker's (employee) death while employed, he/she is entitled to a payment equivalent to 2 months salary as funeral expenses. The worker (employee) is also entitled to the salary of the month during which he died, in addition to the two following months".

As per the above, the employee's family is entitled to a total of 5 months. Of course if there were bonuses or other payments entitled to the employee, the sums should be added. Also, in case there were loans or other amounts due to the employer, these should be deducted from the overall sum.

We hope the above was informative.

Thank you.

Q3: I have an interview for an HR position, what will they ask me?

I am a professional in my early fifties, over the years I have held a number of administration and human resources soon for the position of Human Resource coordinator. This is a diversified Group of companies operating in Hospital/Medical services, Travel/Tourism, Investments etc…

My interview will be with the Director Human Resource Development (a westerner); what possible questions are to be asked, and what will be the response in brief.

A. K. (Dubai)

Replying:

Dear Mr. K.

There is no way to predict how an interview would go unless of course we have monitored previous interviews conducted by the same interviewer.... however from looking at your CV, you portray a mature and professional person, who has been working in a number of Arab Gulf countries (may be not the UAE) .... and you have done the job before, or at least several aspects of it.

Therefore we would imagine the interview would be more around your character and the way you do things... in some cases, specially if the interviewer is of a different age bracket (could be younger) he would want to assess how energetic you are and active... which are things you would like to indirectly communicate throughout the interview... ie. you have the wisdom of a person in his mid fifties, and the energy / work stamina of someone much younger.

During the interview, play it by ear; allow the interviewer to start and set the tone... however never fail to ask some questions (non trivial) about the business, their direction, what challenges - if any - they have with their human resources..... how is the work organized within the HR function in the company etc.. Also, you may want to ask him (the interviewer) about his background, what he did before etc... as you know... it is not a one way thing... if they were not interested in you,,, they would not have invited you for an interview... therefore each party is there to know the other and sell something.

Again, it is difficult to predict what sort of questions will be asked... you are an experienced person with a diversified exposure. Do as much information collection about the Group as you can...

Good Luck, and please let us know the outcome.

Note from the editor: 
Employer names and inquiry sender names were withheld for confidentiality

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