Howdy, folks! We’ve listened to your feedback and we’re happy to announce the new 3aish Jobs design. We hope that you’ll find it to be an improvement. We simplified the layout so that you can focus on doing what you came here to do; find and post jobs! There’s no change in the features (yet), so don’t let us keep you any longer, go nab that job/employee you’re looking for!

By using 3aish Jobs, you are already leveraging one of the many freely available resources that will aid you in your job hunt. However, before you reply to that job listing, there are a couple of questions you should ask yourself, in order to determine if your resume is ready for its 1 minute of fame.

Do my skills match the job posting?

You want to tailor your resume to the job you’re applying for. This ensures that your resume stands out from the crowd, and grabs the employer’s attention. The key here, is to eliminate any fluff that could distract from the skills you want to showcase. For instance, if you are applying for a position as a web designer, then it is probably unnecessary to bury your experience with Adobe Illustrator under your “passion for knitting” and your “Taekwondo gold medal”.

One easy way to reduce resume bloat, is to scan the job listing for any “required skills”, or specific tasks that the project entails. Then, compare your resume with the key words you have found, and eliminate any skills or details that don’t match. For example. If the job listing states that the employer wants a “documentary edited for a premier”, then you should focus your resume on the skills that would be required to edit video, and eliminate any extras that aren’t relevant to the job position. Listing your experience with Final Cut Pro, for instance, will put you ahead of the guy who instead chose to bog the employer down with his panache for origami.

Am I showcasing my (relevant) experience?

Once you have scanned the job listing for key points of interest, matched those against your resume and removed the unnecessary skills; you are ready to take the next step towards a lean resume. The person reading your resume has only one question in mind: “Are you the person for the job?” Your resume should answer that question with a resounding “Yes!”

In order to reinforce your skill-set, each skill must be supported with a brief description of how you have specifically used it to solve a specific problem, or produce a specific and quantifiable result. Compare these two resume excerpts.

Exhibit “A”:

I am proficient with Final Cut Pro.

Exhibit “B”:

I have used Final Cut Pro to edit a short film entitled “Knittin’ Else Matters”, which was delivered to the client (Acme Knitting Inc.) ahead of the deadline. The short film was broadcasted at major malls, and featured on the company website, and as a result, their sales of knitting needles increased by 15%.

Which job applicant would YOU hire?

In summary, 3aish Jobs is a great free resources to put you in touch with potential employers. However, it is up to you to make sure that it gives you the edge that you need. By trimming the fat off of your resume, and beefing up the relevant skills with supporting examples that prove your expertise, you will be well on your way to landing that job interview.

Do you have any tried and true resume tips to share? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment box, and share the knowledge!

Additional Resources

• 10 Things That Define a Killer Resume
• Recreating Your Resume in 10 Simple Steps
• 10 Boilerplate Phrases That Kill Resumes

A common question that we receive from designers is about places they can upload their portfolios to online. Sending PDF’s to clients and employers is tedious and time consuming. So what is a designer to do? Following are a few of the solutions that are available out there.

Set up a website

This might seem daunting, but is actually easier than it is perceived to set up a portfolio website. WordPress is a great platform for this, and many hosting providers offer 1-Click WordPress installs. Here are some examples of the themes that are out there.

The major benefit of keeping your own website is that it remains your own space, meaning that it is hosted on a server that you “own” so there’s less of a risk of you losing your files if the service provider decided to change their policy or simply went belly up.

Designers can also upload a PDF version of their portfolios as a regular file download so clients and employers can keep the latest portfolio or resume as a reference.

deviantArt Portfolio

The deviantArt portfolio feature is easy to set up, free, and you can also get your own domain through them for a small fee. The drawbacks to this is that it isn’t as flexible as having your own site, but it is easy to update and you can import any files that you have on your regular deviantArt account.

Upload the PDF to Issuu

Issuu is a website that allows you to upload documents for online viewing such as magazine, portfolios, presentations, etc. This is the least flexible of the three options and is not recommended. This lets people view your portfolio in the browser, and they also have an option to download it. You can also embed it into a website of your own. This is probably the quickest of the three options but it’s the least desirable because while it relieves the designer of having to email their portfolios out, it is still tedious to browse and difficult to update.

The deviantArt portfolio is perfect for a “quick and easy” setup without losing the flexibility and the easy updating, and is the recommended option.

Honorable Mentions

The following are great options, and some are better then the ones that were previously mentioned. However we felt that they were more well known than the former options and we wanted to introduce new options.

• Behance
• Carbonmade
• Krop
• Coroflot
• SmugMug

We hope that this was helpful. We will continue to update this with any new findings and more in-depth recommendations.

If you’re looking to hire talent then 3aish Jobs is the right place to post your job opportunity. However, oftentimes you could be offering a great career opportunity, but for some reason your job listing seems to be flying under the radar of creative Jeddawis.

So how do you insure that your job listing reaches its maximum possible audience? Well, you’re at 3aish Jobs, so you’ve already taken the first step. Next you can follow the simple steps below and you will find your talented Jeddawi in no time.

1. Link to your company’s website if available. Your website is often the first source of information a job seeker will try to find. Make it easier for your potential recruits to find you by including your website in the job form. This will provide a shortcut for job seekers looking for their perfect employer match, and thus a quicker application for your job vacancy.
2. Introduce yourself. Whether you represent a company or you are an independent employer, it’s always best to include information about your company, or in the latter case yourself. It helps to include any achievements your company has accomplished and even the kind of corporate culture present in your offices.
3. Include a clear and brief job description. Lists are a great way to give a concise run-down of the requirements of the job. It’s a good idea to clearly state what the job entails;  be it regarding long-term goals or day-to-day tasks.
4. Describe clearly your expectations of potential recruits. This could include required years of experience, type of degree, and skills. Let job seekers know exactly what you’re looking for in an employee. Creatives are usually required to present a portfolio, let them know how you want that portfolio to be presented; on the web, print, etc.
5. Let your applicants know what kind of compensation they should expect. You don’t have to state any hard numbers or even ballpark figures; by using phrases such as “competitive salary” you have already won half the battle. Extra points if you also provide information regarding any benefits or perks you offer.
6. Don’t skimp on the application information. This is the most critical point of your job posting. It must be absolutely clear how the job seeker is to apply for the job, and how they should contact you. Do you require a cover letter? An attached PDF portfolio? Recommendation letters? If you require that they apply using a specific format then this would be the place to describe it, but most importantly you must state the email address/phone number/carrier pigeon you can be reached at.

That’s it, folks. Six simple steps and you’re well on your way to finding your creative match!

Time to get bakin’! 3aish Jobs is now fully operational and serving oven-fresh jobs to the creative community here in Jeddah. Tell your friends, your colleagues, your boss, and your underlings! 3aish Jobs is a great way for employers to advertise job vacancies, and for creatives to find jobs.

Make sure you weigh in on the discussions and join our page on Facebook. If you’re the tweeting type follow us on twitter.

Thanks to all our visitors and subscribers for checking out 3aish Jobs. We had a great soft-launch; be sure to check out the job post from Cubeout if you’re into video editing.

If you have any suggestions complaints or just want to say hi feel free to use our handy-dandy contact form. We’re also on Twitter.

We hope you a have a great and productive time on 3aish.

3aish Jobs Team

The kinks have been ironed out, the cobwebs dusted, and the bugs sprayed. I look forward to receiving everyone’s feedback. You can use the handy-dandy contact form at  http://get3aish.com/about or email us directly at info@get3aish.com.

Feedback, feature suggestions, and most importantly critiques are highly appreciated.

Our awesomest
The 3aish Jobs team