Business
IBBL Dhaka South, Dhaka East, Chattogram South hold business development conference
Dhaka South, Dhaka East and Chattogram South Zone of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) organised a business development conference Wednesday on a virtual platform.
Mohammed Monirul Moula, managing director and CEO of the bank, addressed the programme as chief guest.
Muhammad Qaisar Ali and Md Omar Faruk Khan, additional managing directors of the bank, addressed the conference as special guests.
Also read: IBBL Dhaka North Zone holds seminar on Shariah compliance
IBBL deputy managing directors Abu Reza Md Yeahia, JQM Habibullah, Taher Ahmed Chowdhury and Md Mostafizur Rahman Siddiquee; and Chief Risk Officer Mohammad Ali spoke at the event.
The bank's senior executive vice-presidents Md Siddiqur Rahman, Md Altaf Hossain, Mohammad Jamal Uddin Mazumder, Abul Faiz Muhammad Kamaluddin, Mohammed Shabbir, Md Mahboob Alam, Mohammad Ullah, Abu Naser Mohammed Nazmul Bari, Salim Anwar, Md. Sayeed Ullah and GM Mohd Gias Uddin Quader; and executive vice-presidents were also present at the programme.
Also read: IBBL Mymensingh, Rangpur zones host agent banking conference
Also, branch heads and officials of Dhaka South, Dhaka East and Chattogram South zones attended the conference.
How to Restart Your Career after a Break?
Getting back to work or restarting your career after a break is not an easy task. People might take career break for numerous reasons. For instance, many women put a long gap in career after giving birth. During the pandemic many people fell sick for months and were obliged to take career breaks. It's not impossible to get back where you left off. There are a lot of factors to consider restarting your career. You need to have a specific strategy based on your industry. However, some general rules apply to everyone. Let's have a look.
10 Strategies to Get Hired after a Career Break
Understand your situation
Situational awareness is an important aspect. You shouldn’t jump right off to the first job you get. Many people jump to the first offer they get without assessing its suitability and growth opportunities. It's better not to conform yourself to a role you might not be sure about. Instead, you should take your time and search for jobs that are relevant to your expertise and industry. That way you won't have to compromise your choice as well as growth prospects.
Include the break in your CV
Many people look at breaks as a career drawback. As a result, there’s a strong urge to hide the break from potential employers. We don’t recommend this at all. You should include the break in your CV. Rather than considering it as an issue, think of it as a step back and re-evaluation prospect. You might have genuine reasons like raising a kid or personal shortcomings. You might have even picked up new skills during the break. The key point is, show your break with appropriate reasoning. It will not hamper your career prospect going forward.
Read:Perfect Resume: 12 Effective Tips for writing professional CV
Networking
This is another aspect that many people don’t utilize enough. Realistically speaking, there aren’t jobs lined up for you to take right away after a break. Therefore, you need to utilize the existing connections that you might have. Try to reach out to your old friends, colleagues, and/or relatives, who are working in the same industry. Look for opportunities for new opening. Many companies do internal recruitments based on recommendations. Try and generate leads from your connections. You can also use your network as a reference for potential positions.
Prepare for the Interview
You should prepare an impeccable answer regarding your career break. It is quite unavoidable that you will be asked about it. You should highlight the genuine reason and explain how it helped you to improve yourself as a person and a professional. If you are a working mom, you have a valid enough reason to take a break as it is. The key here is to portray the break as an essential part of your development process. If you can successfully convince them, then there’s nothing standing between you and that job.
Read How to ace a Job Interview?
Perform a skill audit
This is a self-evaluation aspect that you should focus on. While you were on break, the world had moved on. There might be new and improved skills on-demand in your industry. You need to find out where you stuck among the rest. Try to evaluate, whether or not you know the in-demand skills. If you are confident in your skills, then there’s nothing to worry about. If not, we suggest you try and develop the lacking skills first. It's better to dive into job hunting being prepared. This will increase your chance of getting hired.
Read Some advanced tech skills for a sustainable career in 2021
Brand yourself
Self-branding can be an important key to get hired right after a career break. You need to put yourself in social networking sites to get noticed. Have you been doing productive things during your break? If so, highlight them on your work-related social media like LinkedIn. You might have even done community service or social work. These might look irrelevant at first. But the key here is to showcase that you haven’t been sitting lazy. The point is, whatever you did, showcase them for the potential employer to see.
However, when you took break for sickness or personal issues it is a different matter. Don’t worry! Try out the other strategies.
Audit your industry
People tend to make the mistake of not auditing their industry enough. As a result, several scenarios might occur. First of all, you might not get any job offer. Secondly, there might be offers that aren’t relevant to your skillset or are far below your expected level. So, what should you do then?
You should perform an industry audit to get insight into the latest development. Basically, you need to catch up with the happenings around you to stay up to date with your industry. This will give you a comparative advantage regarding when to apply and what to consider before applying.
Read:Effective tips for hunting jobs during pandemic
Find some part-time or voluntary work
What if, you have a long gap in your career? The transition to a full-time job from a break isn’t easy. Potential employers are always skeptical about hiring candidates with a long employment gap. However, that shouldn’t deter you in any way. The curve might be a bit steep, but it's not something that you can’t climb. We suggest you to get involved in some sort of part-time jobs and/or voluntary works when you are struggling to hunt your desired job. This will make a good impression on your CV.
Change your track
You can always consider a fresh start coming back from your break. If you are someone who’s not happy with the industry you’ve worked in previously, now is the time to make the switch. Going on a break gives you the time to reflect and reassess your priorities. You can always reconsider making the switch given you have a separate skill set. If not, you can always start acquiring them before you get into job hunting.
Read:Considering a Career Change? 10 Questions to Ask Yourself
Don’t give up
This is the final step. Don’t give up no matter what. Things are going to be challenging to say the least. But you should stay strong in the face of adverse situations. Sooner or later, you will find yourself back on track. Just trust yourself.
Final Thoughts
So far, we have discussed some effective ways to re-launch your career after a break. Coming back from a break and finding an instant footing is no simple task. However, it's not unattainable as well. As long as you follow the steps above, you should be able to find a relevant job without much worry.
Read:Traits of the Smartest and Most Efficient Employees
Traits of the Smartest and Most Efficient Employees
If you’ve ever come across a job advertisement, chances are you’ve seen some interesting traits outlined for the prospective employee. Every employer wants to hire an individual who will bring value to their company. In a more business-oriented sense, an employee that will contribute to the strategic goals and overall growth of the company. So, who are these types of employees? What traits do they have that sets them apart from the rest? Let's have a look at 11 traits that are found in the smartest and most efficient employees.
Read:Considering a Career Change? 10 Questions to Ask Yourself
Qualities of an Ideal Employee
They Take initiative
The ability to take initiative is a crucial aspect of leadership quality. A business might not have the ability or the resources to spoon-feed every aspect to its employees. Smart and efficient employees don’t wait to be taught. They take charge themselves and get going from the start. An effective employee finds and devises ways to bring organizational growth instead of being complacent.
They are ambitious
Work is just a 9 to 5 routine for most employees. But an efficient and smart employee doesn’t limit his goals to the usual routine. While most employees might not have a long-term goal for the future, an efficient employee will always eye for advancement. Ambition defines the strength of character of the employee as well as their perseverance to achieve excellence. It might not look much initial, but an ambitious employee will be greatly motivated by his desire to climb the ladder.
Read Bad Habits Successful People Never Waste Time With
They show Leadership
An efficient employee manifests leadership attributes in everything they do. We mentioned taking initiatives before. In reality, taking initiative is just one of the attributes associated with leadership qualities. Their ability to quick thinking and tackling tough situations easily makes them an important asset for any organization. When it comes to the management of an organization, it's important to focus on the qualities that will increase organizational proficiency. And leadership qualities are one of its important pillars.
They can fit in
An employee is also a colleague. So naturally, they need to be a team player. An ideal employee shares the same vision and motivation as their colleagues to work for the betterment of the organization. Since this is a person you will be working with day in day out, they have to be a cultural fit to your organization. A smart and efficient employee would easily blend in with his or her environment and create an amicable atmosphere for their employees.
Read:Effective tips for hunting jobs during pandemic
They show a positive aura
A person's demeanor says a lot about them. Joyful and upbeat people are not only good at their work, but they also promote a positive aura among their peers. It's normal to have burnout from work. However, an efficient employee would show easy recovery from burnout and deal with each failure positively. The ability to be persistent even in the face of failure translates to better output in the future. Needless to say, these employees are an asset and their traits are something that an organization can greatly benefit from.
They are honest
Regardless of whether the employee is efficient or not, one thing that is a must in every employee is their honesty. An honest person would naturally be inclined to give their all for the organization. Beyond anything, an organization needs honest employees who will be unfazed in every situation. Whether or not they can contribute much to the organizational growth, they will at least keep the organizational integrity intact.
Read Perfect Resume: 12 Effective Tips for writing professional CV
They are detail-oriented
Attention to detail is another important aspect. Not just for employees, rather every human should try to cultivate this trait. An employee is expected to be tasked with a lot of work. That is how a normal job works. But does that provide room to make errors? As much as it doesn’t, in the end, employees are still people. But as long as they are detail-oriented and are willing to focus better, it's always better for the company. Attention to detail ensures that there are no unwarranted issues that might slouch the progress.
They are good listeners
We would like to classify this trait within the leadership quality as well. An efficient employee will always focus on what others have to say. Listening to others not only gives them a wider perspective on a matter but also helps to build up relations which are important in an organization. It also helps to avoid any sort of miscommunication within the organization.
Read:How to be a Confident English Speaker?
They influence others
This might seem ominous at first but rest assured, it's also an effective trait of an efficient employee. Ensuring personal growth alone won't ensure the growth of the organization. An employee might be highly smart and efficient but if that doesn’t resonate through the organization, the growth won't be significant. The ability to influence others helps the employee to bring out the inner best of others as well.
They are critical thinkers
An effective employee always thinks critically. They give every aspect a rundown before concluding. Decisions made in haste or with insufficient perspective often cause the downfall of an organization. An efficient employee doesn’t leave anything to chance and holds sufficient data or information to back up their call.
Read Spending Money for Happiness: 10 Effective Ways
They are Marketable
We are talking about an employee who is eloquent and knows how to grab the attention of the client. Marketing is obviously one of the key aspects of any organization. A marketable employee is a good presenter. An employee should be able to present themselves as well as the vision of the company to the clients in a persuasive manner. This trait goes a long way to ensure the growth and marketability of the company.
Bottom Line
There are a lot of traits that define an efficient, valuable, and talented employee. It's not easy to list them all here. However, we tried to highlight the most significant ones that catch the eye at first glance. If you are an employee looking for your next break, try and focus on these qualities to stand out from the crowd.
Read:How to ace a Job Interview?
Online shopping: Up to 25% cashback on bKash payment
Customers can now enjoy up to 25% instant cashback on bKash payment till July 20 while shopping online from popular brands and shops.
They can also avail of up to 10% instant cashback on bKash payment while purchasing groceries and essential products from online and physical outlets of various superstore brands.
The cashback offer, which started on July 1, will be available at reputed brands of accessories, clothing, electronics, food and restaurants, footwear, online shops and superstores.
Also read: Online Healthcare: Up to 50% discount on payment by bKash
A customer can enjoy up to Tk300 instant cashback daily and up to Tk500 during the campaign period.
While shopping at superstores, customers will get up to Tk200 cashback on bKash payment of more than Tk500.
Also read: bKash app locates nearby agents, merchants, ATMs, customer cares
Users can avail of the instant cashback offer from around 92 popular brands like Aarong, Kay Kraft, Deshal, Le Reve, O2, Pride, Raw Nation, SaRa Lifestyle, Trendz, Bata, Apex, Leatherina, Ajkerdeal, Daraz, PriyosShop, Pickaboo, Bdshop and others.
Also, they can enjoy instant cashback offers at 422 physical outlets and online of 70 superstore brands including Agora, Shwapno, Daily Shopping, Meena Bazar, Almas, Family Bazar, Mehedi Mart, One Stop and others.
Read Fintech MFS: Best Mobile Financial Services in Bangladesh
Considering a Career Change? 10 Questions to Ask Yourself
Considering a new career is no easy task. It's essentially like a mid-life crisis that gets you no matter how you look at it. The decision of career move is more critical during the pandemic when there’s already an acute job shortage. The multifarious effect of pandemic has limited the scopes of jobs in diverse industries across the country. As a result, there are a lot of things that should be considered before giving job switch a shot. Here are some essential career change questions to ask yourself.
Things to Consider before Career Change
What motivates you in your job?
To be realistic, most people work for the money. However, money may not be the only motivation for many. For instance, some people might build career to gain social status and prestige. For others, it might be about climbing the ladder to the top of the chain. Among the job-holders, not many people love doing what they do for living.
What you need to do is ask yourself, what motivates you to do what you are doing now? That way you will find your true calling and purpose of working.
Read Perfect Resume: 12 Effective Tips for writing professional CV
Why do you want to change the job?
This is a straightforward question. However, the answer might not be so simple. A lot of factors might trigger the want for a job change. The current job is something that you don’t enjoy doing, work is monotonous, there's a lack of growth opportunity and many more. Try and understand why you want to make the switch.
Some people tend to switch jobs one after another within short intervals, which waste their career potentials. Certainly, you don’t want to end up in a similar situation. So, it's better to understand what didn’t work in the first place.
What holds value to you?
This is more in line with the previous point except here you should think about what you want from the future. Understanding why you want to switch might give you an idea about the past constraints. But avoiding those constraints alone shouldn’t be your priority.
Ask yourself that what is the 'thing' that you are missing in your current job. Are you are trying to move out from a dead-end job? If yes, then surely you are looking for a job with a better career growth opportunity. Understand your own desires before you are looking for a new workplace.
Read Effective tips for hunting jobs during pandemic
What brings happiness to you?
“Find the job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a single day in your life” – this famous quote from Mark Twain defines the importance of finding happiness in what you are doing. Sure enough in this day and age and our economy, it's not easy to incorporate happiness and career prospects. But if you do plan on switching jobs, you might as well ask yourself, what can you do next that might bring happiness to you? The constant demand for monetary needs will always be there, but the idea is to make the most out of the opportunities at hand.
What is the scope of the new career?
If you are considering changing your profession, chances are you already have a new job or position in mind. What you need to do is assess what are the prospect and scope of this new job? Is it something that will provide a better opportunity for you? The answer to previous questions should better guide you here. Depending on your preference for a career change, you will be able to decide whether the offerings of this new job are worth it or not.
Read How to ace a Job Interview?
Where do you see yourself in 20 years?
This is probably the most important long-term question that you need to ask yourself. What are your career plans? Where do you see yourself in 20 years? Is it some high-flying career or a simple yet happy life? It doesn’t matter what your goal is as long as you’re aiming it right. Having a concrete plan and vision for the future is important as it is the ultimate determinant of how you go about in your life.
Is there a need for additional qualifications?
When we generally see people considering a career change, it is one of two things. Either the person isn’t happy with their current job, or is looking for a better opportunity. If it's the latter, chances are there will be additional requirements for the position. You might need additional skills or educational certification to make the switch. The right thing to do in such a scenario would be to scout out the skills and qualifications required and focus on attaining them first.
Read Visa’s Fintech Initiative for Bangladesh: New Opportunities for Start-ups?
How will be the transition from the current job?
Switching jobs aren’t as simple as moving from point A to point B. There are a lot of aspects involved with the process and if you’re not careful, you might find yourself at a crossroads. It might be related to your location, prior commitment, and organizational regulation. A good number of things might act as a constraint as you make the transition. It's better to stay prepared for them.
What will the new career give you?
Previously we talked about where do you see yourself in 20 years and what brings happiness to you. However, those are aspects that are strictly related to your desires. It's not necessary that you what you expect would transpire in real life. The correct approach would be to assess what this new job is offering you and whether they are in line with your expectation from the job.
Read 8 Mistakes to Avoid in a New Ecommerce Startup in Bangladesh in 2021
Are you being realistic?
One fine morning, you might feel like leaving your job to become the CEO of Apple. Sure enough, you can dream of it, and with an excellent resume to back you up in the industry that might even be possible someday. But the drastic plan is not realistic. To consider a career change, you need to take a step back and analyze what is the cost and what are the benefits of this transition. Only then you’ll be able to assess whether the transition of career would be realistic or not.
Final Thoughts
Changing a career isn’t as simple as it might look. With all things said, it ultimately comes down to personal choice, preference, and happiness. We hope these questions will be able to guide you in the right direction and help you find your true calling in terms of career choices.
Read Free Online Content Writing Courses in 2021
Payoneer to begin trading under ticker symbol PAYO
Payoneer Inc. ("Payoneer"), the commerce technology company powering payments and growth for the new global economy, and FTAC Olympus Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: FTOC) ("FTOC"), a special purpose acquisition company, announced on Friday that they have completed their business combination. The business combination was approved by FTOC's shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting held on June 23, 2021.
As a result of the completion of this business combination, a new public entity under the name Payoneer Global Inc. ("the Company"), and its common stock and warrants, will begin trading today on the Nasdaq stock market under the ticker symbol "PAYO" and "PAYOW", respectively.
Read Visa’s Fintech Initiative for Bangladesh: New Opportunities for Start-ups?
Payoneer's global management team, led by Scott Galit, Chief Executive Officer, Michael Levine, Chief Financial Officer, and Keren Levy, Chief Operating Officer, will continue to lead the Company.
The transaction includes a $300 million PIPE investment from investors including existing investor Wellington Management, as well as Dragoneer Investment Group, Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, Franklin Templeton, certain funds managed by Millennium Management, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., and Winslow Capital Management, LLC.
"We are thrilled to be a public company and join forces with Betsy and the entire FTOC team," said Scott Galit, Chief Executive Officer of Payoneer.
Read Renowned online payment gateways in Bangladesh for domestic, international transactions
"Through our 15 years, we have built a global platform that is trusted by millions of customers worldwide, from aspiring entrepreneurs to the world's leading digital brands and are now the go-to partner for digital commerce, everywhere. We are just scratching the surface of the enormous opportunity ahead to help businesses grow and scale in the new global economy. This move
into the public markets is an important step on our journey to provide any business, in any market, the technology, connections and confidence to realize their potential."
Betsy Cohen, Chairman of the Board of Directors of FTAC Olympus Acquisition Corp., stated, "The Payoneer team has positioned the company incredibly well to capitalize on the expansion of global commerce, and we are proud to be their partner during this next phase of growth. Payoneer has a strong balance sheet with ample capital to expand its already broad suite of services, both organically, by deepening existing merchant relationships and continuing to build new ones, and through strategic acquisitions."
Read Spending Money for Happiness: 10 Effective Ways
Financial Technology Partners served as exclusive financial and capital markets advisor to Payoneer. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP served as legal counsel to Payoneer and Paul Hastings served as regulatory counsel to Payoneer. PwC served as Payoneer's auditors. EY served as Payoneer's tax and public markets advisor.
Citi and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as financial and capital markets advisors to FTOC. Cantor Fitzgerald also served as capital markets advisor to FTOC, and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP served as legal counsel to FTOC.
Read Fintech MFS: Best Mobile Financial Services in Bangladesh
About Payoneer
Payoneer (NASDAQ: PAYO) is the world's go-to partner for digital commerce, everywhere. From borderless payments to boundless growth, Payoneer promises any business, in any market, the technology, connections and confidence to participate and flourish in the new global economy.
Since 2005, Payoneer has been imagining and engineering a truly global ecosystem so the entire world can realize its potential. Powering growth for customers ranging from aspiring entrepreneurs in emerging markets to the world's leading digital brands like Airbnb, Amazon, Google, Upwork, and Walmart, Payoneer offers a universe of opportunities, open to you.
Read Shammi Quddus: A Talented Bangladeshi Woman in Google, Global Fintech Industry
About FTAC Olympus Acquisition Corp.
FTAC Olympus Acquisition Corp. is a blank-check company led by Betsy Z. Cohen as Chairman of the Board and Ryan M. Gilbert as President and Chief Executive Officer formed for the purpose of acquiring or merging with one or more technology and financial services technology companies.
Perfect Resume: 12 Effective Tips for writing professional CV
Resume are like the first screening for any job. This is the first step that you take as a prospective candidate for any position. Needless to say, a resume and its contents may make or break your chance of getting a job. Regardless of how skilled or passionate you may be, if your resume isn’t articulated properly and sequentially, you have narrow possibility of success. Here are some useful tips that you should follow to write a persuasive resume.
How to write a professional CV
Don’t Write Everything
One of the common mistakes of writing a resume is that people tend to make it as elaborate work history. It can confuse the selectors. You may have worked as a content writer back in your college days but that has nothing to do if you are applying for the position of saying a software engineer. In your CV, mention your job experiences that are relevant to the industry you’re applying to and in line with the position.
Read:Effective tips for hunting jobs during pandemic
Highlight the Highlights of Your Career
There is a marketing term called ‘keeping things above the fold.’ It refers to highlight the important stuff so that it gets noticed easily. Among all your educational and work experiences, you should highlight the best ones. The key here is to showcase your achievement better for express consideration into the position.
Add a Supplementary Link
It's alright to curtail a little information and keeping things above the fold. But in some cases, the job may require you to state detail information regarding your past experiences about the job, cultural activities or social work. To prepare resume for such jobs, it would be better if you can have some ideas about that industry.
In such cases, we suggest you to build a portfolio website. A portfolio website can showcase all of your achievements as well as give a glimpse of your personal self. More importantly, you can simply add a link to your website in your resume.
Read Free Online Content Writing Courses in 2021
Simplicity is the Key
You will see people knocking some of the fanciest resumes out there in terms of design. But let’s be honest; fancy designs won’t get you the job. It’s always the content of the paper that matters, not the paper itself. We suggest you keep things simple and easy to navigate. Simplicity is the key here as it will not only look professional but will also help the employers to navigate to the important part.
Carefully Include Your Contacts
Gone are the days when we used to see addresses in resumes. There is no need for that anymore. However, you should include a phone number and a professional personal email as your contact in the resume. In addition to that, you should include all the potential places where you can be found on the internet like LinkedIn and Twitter.
Read Top 10 Free Online Video Editing Courses
Make it Easy-to-Skim
When you are applying for a position, keep in mind that you are not the only one who is applying. There will be hundreds and thousands of similar applicants and it's safe to assume that not everything that you write in your CV will be read.
The reality is, your CV will get skimmed and they will try to understand what sets you apart and what relevant skills you have to offer.
Based on that, we suggest you make your CV skimmable. Write concise sentences that can give a broader perspective in a short phase.
Working on the bullet points
This point is in line with our previous point that the content of the resume should be skimmable. You may have worked a long time in a place with a lot of achievements, but that doesn’t mean you should include all of it.
An ideal section in a resume should have about 5 to 6 bullet points. Now it is up to you to curate the contents in a way to fit the ideal standard.
Read:How to be a Confident English Speaker?
Avoid Technical Jargons
Do not use technical jargons to showcase how much you know about our work. You might feel that it will set you apart from the rest and show the depth of your knowledge. But you should understand that the first person to read your CV might not be someone familiar with the technicalities like a recruiter o a high-level official.
We suggest you to avoid using technical jargons while writing a resume. It's better to design the CV in a way that it's understood by all.
Include Numbers
There's nothing like numbers to back up your claims. Whether it is to show how many clients you have served or your contribution to the development of your organization. Numbers and figures turn heads and give a recruiter a concrete idea about the impact that you can have on the company. With that said, don’t overcompensate with numbers. Keep things clean and professional. Remember that the recruiters are looking for a CV, not info-graphics.
Read Some advanced tech skills for a sustainable career in 2021
Education or Experience
One might often think that education is what sets a prospective employee above the rest. It may be true in a certain sense, but it is almost solely limited to entry-level jobs. We suggest you to highlight your experience before your education. Your hands-on experience in a similar setup will go a long way to ascertain your credibility than your GPA.
Include Extra Skills
The pandemic has created a lot of free time for office goers. We hope you used the time wisely to rack up some skills through online courses. Show off your skills and certifications in your resume as they will be added to your skillset, particularly the ones that are directly involved with your industry.
Read:How to ace a Job Interview?
Proofread
One of the common mistakes in resumes is the grammatical errors. Avoid them at any cost. We mean seriously, this point can’t be overemphasized. No matter how good your resume might be, if it has a typo or grammatical mistake, it will only drive down your credibility.
Take a good look for about ten times before you submit your resume anywhere and make sure it's compliant with all the requirements.
Bottom Line
A concrete resume is like getting half the job done in job hunting. So far we have suggested some effective and practical topics to write professional curriculum vitae (CV). We hope these tips will help you to better write your resume and secure that job you’ve been eyeing.
Read Best Job Searching Websites in Bangladesh
Virus outbreak in Fiji batters economy, tests health system
A growing coronavirus outbreak in Fiji is stretching the health system and devastating the economy. It has even prompted the government to offer jobless people tools and cash to become farmers.
The Pacific nation got through the first year of the pandemic without any significant outbreaks and just two virus deaths.
But an outbreak of the highly contagious delta variant two months ago has grown to the point where Fiji is adding about 250 new cases each day.
Read:‘Excruciating:’ Florida collapse search stretches to Day 6
The government has so far resisted calls for a lockdown, in part to try and protect an economy which had already shrunk by 19% last year after international tourism evaporated.
Nearly half of all jobs were connected to tourism in the island nation that’s known for its white-sand beaches, clear water and welcoming people.
“Business-wise, it’s very bad,” said George Bernard, who owns a business servicing fire extinguishers. He fears life will never be the same. “I’m just trying to survive,” he said.
A vaccination campaign is in full swing but has been hindered by misinformation that vaccines are unsafe or even evil. So far, about 29% of the population of just under 1 million have gotten their first dose, while 2% have been fully vaccinated.
Bernard, who has heard some of the rumors, said he is in no rush to get vaccinated. “Sometimes, I have second thoughts,” he said.
Nazia Hussain has been selling vegetables from her roadside stall, and she uses some of the profit to help her family members who lost their jobs at supermarkets and stores in the capital, Suva.
Read:Australia battles several clusters in new pandemic phase
“I have been doing this so I can save some money to do some shopping for my family,” she said. But business had been slow, and people had little money to spend.
Hussain said she’d believed the vaccine was a good thing and had taken the jab herself.
Fiji’s government has delivered nearly 40,000 packages of food rations to people who have been isolating at home or are in targeted lockdown areas. It has also allowed people to spend money early from their retirement savings.
A new program starting next month offers people who have lost their jobs and have access to rural land about $200 worth of tools, planting materials and cash.
“Applicant must be an aspiring crop farmer with an intention to take on full-time farming as a core activity,” the program states.
During the current outbreak, 15 people have died and nearly 7% of those being tested are testing positive, indicating the virus is continuing to spread. Australia and New Zealand have sent vaccines, money and medical teams to help Fiji’s overburdened health system.
Read:As variant rises, vaccine plan targets ‘movable middle’
Fiji’s government has directed people in some areas, including Suva, to stay home and only go out for essential purposes. It has also imposed a nighttime curfew.
James Fong, the country’s permanent secretary for health, told reporters that a complete, nationwide lockdown would spark a socio-economic catastrophe in Fiji.
But many worry that will happen anyway if the outbreak isn’t brought under control.
“Our numbers are going through the roof now. We must unite against this virus,” wrote Fred Wesley, the editor-in-chief of the Fiji Times. “Together Fiji! United we must stand!”
Effective tips for hunting jobs during pandemic
Our approach to normal life has changed since the arrival of Corona virus pandemic. As we get used to the concept of ‘new normal’, there are a lot of things that we need to unlearn and relearn. And one of the important aspects of naturalizing the new normal is job hunting. The Covid situation has forced companies to adopt new working and hiring policies which weren’t prevalent before. And if you want to secure a job in this changing environment, we suggest you check out our tips to better prepare yourself.
Some valuable tips to get a new job during pandemic
Prepare Efficient Resume
A resume can make or break your opportunity to get a job. It is recommended to prepare a professional resume. However, don’t send the same cover letter and resume for all jobs. Consider the requirements of the specific job you are applying for. And, then tone up your job applications accordingly. You can also take help from experts regarding how to write a good resume.
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Organize Your Workplace
In this pandemic, many people have lost their job; while many are being underpaid. And, some people are working as freelancers and staying at home.
The latter might seem to be a scope to reconnect with family and enjoy the coziness of home. If you are going through a similar situation, we suggest that don’t get carried away; rather focus on getting yourself organized with a proper workstation. Get into the zone of working effectively and efficiently. Thus, you can get hired for skill-based jobs on different outsourcing platforms.
However, if you are looking for a full time job, don’t let the lazy rut get to you. Follow our next steps to find a new job during pandemic under a reputed company.
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Stay on the Loop
With the Pandemic in effect, the world is changing at a faster pace than ever and so is the job market. You need to stay up to date with all the new changes that are happening around you and how they might impact the industry you are vying for.
However, you don’t need to keep track of everything. Know the basics like the thoughts of the leaders in your industry. Keep an eye on the companies who are hiring recently. Stay aware about what skills are in demand, and get prepared accordingly.
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Maintain Up-to-date Work Profile
By the term work profile, we basically indicate to your LinkedIn profile. In the recent years, LinkedIn is considered as an established standard when it comes to hiring professionals regardless of industry. This is not only a place where you get job leads, rather get industry insight.
LinkedIn gives you the opportunity to showcase your skill set to the potential employers and industry leads. And even during the pandemic, most employers will be looking at the job seeker’s LinkedIn profile before anything else. With that said, now is probably the best time to create and maintain an updated work profile or portfolio on LinkedIn.
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Increase Your Online Presence
As more and more companies and businesses are getting comfortable with the idea of online work scope, now is the time to build on that online presence. This is something that should go complimentary with your work profile. However, it doesn’t mean that you have to waste time on social media browsing.
Basically, what you need to do is, to visit various social forums – related to your industry – from time to time and showcase your skills. There are lots of hiring posts on different online social networking platforms. You need to scour them and drop your work profile link or CV where applicable.
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Be Accustomed to Virtual Life
The pandemic temporarily halted numerous offices; but not for long. Now-a-days more and companies are getting used to the idea of online conferencing. It's becoming increasingly apparent that a zoom meeting is almost as effective as a physical meeting. People can attain virtual meetings safely while staying at home, without facing the hassle of a physical one.
So naturally, whether you are working at someplace or looking to apply somewhere be prepared for tons of virtual meetings and conferencing. The better you shine in them; the better is your chance of scoring that job.
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Continue Your Networking
In the new normal situation, physical job fairs and lead-generating meetings are not taking place. But should that stop you? How to get your networking game going? As everything regarding the official works is moving to the virtual world, so is your networking. And the most effective way to get the best out of this situation is continuing the process of networking online.
Keep yourself engaged in searching jobs in LinkedIn and other job sites. Try to attain the virtual job fairs. What is more? You can get immense networking opportunities through virtual seminars depending on the industry. Make a list and start attending them.
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Learn New Skills
Let’s be honest, the work-from-home scenario of the pandemic is providing you with a lot of free time. We understand the trouble of having to cope with the changing environment and other stress-related issues.
However, we suggest you to make the most out of your free time. Learn soft and hard skills following your passion and interest. You can prepare some industry-related gigs and/or show hands-on activities to the potential employers. This will not only bolster your work portfolio but also make you stand out from the rest candidates.
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Keep Applying
One of the common misconceptions regarding jobs and companies during the pandemic is that no one is hiring. During the pandemic, many businesses have shrunk across diverse industries. But, still the situation can’t hold all companies back from hiring fresh hands. Therefore why should you sit back?
Try to follow the job posts and leads on different job-searching websites as well as social networking platforms. Prepare efficient resumes and work profile/portfolios. Then, start applying to the positions that better suits to your caliber. The key here is to keep applying until something eventually shows up.
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Patience is the Key
Remember we are all in this pandemic and it’s not like other times. So, a job query might take longer to get addressed or that interview might take more than a few weeks to happen. No matter what, the idea here is to not lose hope and be cordial in your queries. Being patient will ultimately reward you in the long run, not just in the job-hunting space.
Self-Care
This might not be directly related to job hunting itself but all the stress of the pandemic, working from home, and quarantine might induce fatigue and burnout. It’s completely natural to get stressed out in this tough time but what’s not okay is to continue that way. More than anything, you should give priority to your mental health and overall wellbeing. An optimistic mindset and healthy body can go a long way to prepare you better for the journey of job hunting.
Read:Passive Income Ideas in Bangladesh in 2021
Bottom Line
As the world normalizes the new normal, the job landscape is also changing and becoming a new norm for many businesses. The sooner you cope with this changing environment, the better result you get. We hope these tips will help you to get prepared for successful job hunting endeavors during the Covid pandemic.
Read What Is Passive Income? Pros and Cons of Passive Earning
Best Sites to Sell Used Electronics in Bangladesh
We live in an age of tech innovation where every day something new is being invented or introduced. Unlike most household items, electronic items tend to become outdated quite easily, and with that comes the need to replace them. But it’s often difficult to sell the used electronics at a fair price. Sometimes the seller is scammed as well. However, in retrospect, there are several sites where you can easily sell your used electronics without much hassle. Let’s look at the 5 best sites to sell used electronics in Bangladesh.
Top Bangladeshi platforms to sell your used electronics
SWAP
SWAP is one of the most revolutionizing platforms for selling electronic goods online. SWAP allows you to sell your product easily at the best possible rate in the market. Instead of wasting time through haggling with the customers, you can sell your product smartly via SWAP.
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The company was founded in 2020 amid the pandemic. The reputation of SWAP is increasing day by day for its exceptional service and innovative model.
The best aspect of SWAP platform is its exceptional security features. SWAP easily allows you to maintain anonymity and hold direct transactions with the platform itself. This secured platform focuses on electronics and automobile related products for the time being. Therefore, SWAP is one of the best places to sale your used electronic gadgets.
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Bikroy.com
Bikroy.com is one of the oldest buying and selling marketplace of Bangladesh. This platform was founded in 2012. Owned by a Swedish company called Saltside Technologies, the website has steadily built its customer base through a secure C2C platform.
bikroy.com has been organized with more than 80 product-categories for selling different types of goods. Not to mention, this is an exclusive marketplace for buying and selling second-hand goods.
To sell any item, you will be required to sign up with the platform as a user. During the sign up process, you have to provide contact details. After verification, the system will allow you to post a sell order along with your contact and expected price.
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Moreover, bikroy.com offers an option of taking membership that comes with its own unique perks. For instance, you can have a separate verified page of your own with several advertisement opportunities. The advertisements come in different packages and help to highlight your product precisely. Overall, bikroy.com is an amazing marketplace to sell your electronic items safely and at a good rate.
Cellbazaar.com
Cellbazar was one of the first e-commerce platforms in Bangladesh. The platform was founded by Kamal Quadir, a serial tech entrepreneur who also introduced mobile banking in Bangladesh through bKash.
The platform is unique considering that it was one of the first of its kind in Bangladesh. In addition to being a C2C platform, Cellbazar also offers B2C transactions. The site is divided into different categories and you can easily choose the electronics category from the list. Besides being available in all the metropolitan areas of Bangladesh, Cellbazaar is also offering its service in all the divisional cities.
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The sign-up process is somewhat similar to that of bikroy.com. You also get the chance to promote your product through advertisement. They have different plans for direct clients as well as businesses. Cellbazar’s website is also compatible with all the leading payment gateways of Bangladesh. Therefore, transactions are usually secured and hassle-free.
Clickbd
Another well-known e-commerce platform of Bangladesh is clickbd. Often hailed as the first e-commerce platform of Bangladesh, the site popularized the concept of classified advertisements in Bangladesh. In its initial days back in 2005, the company was solely dependent on classified ads, and in 2011, they launched their website. However, over time the company has been able to grab a significant market share and is now one of the largest e-commerce platforms in the country.
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In addition to having classified ads, Clickbd mainly focuses on electronics and gadgets. The site has different classifications for different types of electronics items. You can choose an appropriate category based on the type of product you are trying to sell.
The signing up process of Clickbd is super easy as the system will guide you through the entire process. We may found the website to be quite intuitive. This site provides options to modify and promote the ads. By virtue of its good traffic volume, this platform can be considered as one of the best platforms to sell your used electronics products.
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Fastbikri.com
The last marketplace on our list is Fastbikri. Founded in 2017, this platform has acquired its position among the largest marketplaces for classified ads in Bangladesh. Interestingly, Fastbikri has a separate segment for electronics where you can easily sell your product.
One of the common features of any online marketplace is that the platform tends to charge a percentage from the sales. Sometimes, the marketplaces offer special ads schemes for displaying products on the trending page. If you want to avoid this process go for fastbikri.
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This website came around with a unique concept and provided a platform where clients can really sell their products without any charges. The policy of the site is simple. It aims to provide a platform where people can buy and sell products easily without facing any hassle or monetary inflictions.
The sign-up process is pretty intuitive and you can easily sell any goods here.
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Bottom Line
The concept of building C2C platforms to sell used goods is not new in Bangladesh. As the number of online marketplaces has increased, the options for selling products have extended too. You can consider our discussed platforms to sell your used electronics products through safe and secure transactions.
However, risks are often associated while doing business transactions with a third party and/or exposure of personal information. So, it behooves upon you to review the associated rules properly before choosing any platform to sell products.
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