Molouk Y. Ba-Isa Saudi Gazette Times are changing in Saudi Arabia and many Human Resource (HR) Departments are now staffed by women. A good number of companies come to me for assistance when they are searching for engineers with high-end qualifications. I regularly work with all female HR teams. Frequently, well into the recruitment process, employment candidates will be contacted only by female representatives of the Saudi company. Resume reviews, early email queries, first interviews – in fact throughout the entire recruitment process until perhaps the final interview, it will be Saudi women who are working to select the best engineer for the position. We frequently hear how due to local prejudices, Saudi women struggle in the Kingdom's workplace. But now Saudi women in HR are facing new issues – with Muslim men. Over the last few months while assisting in job candidate selection, I have seen how Muslim engineers, some living in the USA or Canada, behave abusively with Saudi female corporate recruitment specialists. Consider this ugly example. Recently the hunt was on for an ITIL specialist with expert certification. Such a specialization is unusual in Saudi Arabia, so the search was being conducted through international resources. One engineer applied from Canada where he claimed to be working for HP. His degrees were from Pakistan and the USA. When asked to provide his ITIL certificates he couldn't. Soon it came out that he didn't have any certifications although he was insistent that he could do the job. That was unacceptable and when he was told he couldn't be shortlisted, he replied: “Over there in the Gulf, more concentration is done on the paper as compare to the caliber. And trust me, I am not writing you all this to convince you for me. I know my caliber…Please go ahead and seek someone that has plenty of certifications, but zero caliber. I am sure you will get a lot like these. Anyways, long story short, I am not interested in talking to a clerical hiring rep who thinks she is a (expletive withheld).” Engineers contacted in Jordan and Egypt are particularly problematic. From the beginning, some demand to speak to a “real manager.” It is typical for them to ask, “Are you an employee or from a recruitment company?” It is very common that although the HR representative will always address the prospective candidate as “Engineer,” the men instantly take liberties, addressing the HR representatives by their first names and asking them personal questions, which are not appreciated. Verifying resumes is one of the important tasks that HR representatives handle. There is particular sensitivity to fraud and misrepresentation in employment applications. During a project manager search, one engineer claimed to be holding an undergraduate degree from King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals and a Master's degree from an organization known to be an unaccredited educational institution. Thinking that there must be some mistake, the candidate was telephoned. Unfortunately it turned out that the engineer had combined a good first degree with garbage. Immediately informed that his application would be taken out of consideration, he called the HR representative a “certification bxxxh.” It's unlikely he would have used such an expletive with a man. Just for the record, the degrees and certificates are not demanded by the HR specialists, but by the managers who provide details of the requirements for the positions. Despite the abuse, there will be no retreat. So expatriate engineers, if you want to work in Saudi firms, please cooperate with the HR specialists. Don't tell the HR rep that you have a “free visa.” There is no such thing. Diplomas must be authenticated. There is no way around this requirement. Professional certifications must be maintained. Just because you once passed the exam for the CISSP or CISM doesn't mean that you are certified, and certainly not for life. The HR representatives running the selection process are often as highly educated as the candidates they are screening. Hundreds of candidates apply for every advertised engineering position and the competition is fierce. HR staff are always looking for the professionals who will be the best “fit” for their organizations. In August, while scouring the globe for a project manager to handle a high end installation, we came across Abdelrahman. He had good qualifications and an excellent personality. In the end, he didn't get the job. When he was told that the position wouldn't be his, even then he was polite. “It wasn't meant to be,” he replied. “Keep me in mind if anything else opens up.” Two months later, unexpectedly another position became available. The HR team had never forgotten Abdelrahman. In their opinion he was perfect for the job and they lobbied to hire him. One week later an offer was sent to him by email. His residence visa was issued yesterday.
