Q. 1. What are, in your view, the basic principles of success in a professional life?

Ms. Sanam Mujeeb Sheikh: That would be honesty with your profession, integrity and quality in work delivery and openness to feedback. It is important that a person remains positive, focused and objective in his/her dealings. This helps one learn and grow.

Q. 2. Tell us about your educational life?

Ms. Sanam Mujeeb Sheikh: I did my O & A Levels (GSCE, London University) from Unity High in 1995 and 1997, respectively. Following that I did my Bachelors from Kinnaird College, Lahore (1997-1999) in Statistics and Economics. Finally, I graduated with a Silver Medal in my Masters degree in Public Administration (major in Human Resource Management) from Institute of Administrative Sciences, Punjab University Lahore in 2001.

Q. 3. What makes your company an attractive employer for the job seekers?

Ms. Sanam Mujeeb Sheikh: There are many things that make this company attractive for the job seekers, some of which are:

  • One of the Oldest Multinational in Pakistan.
  • Market Competitive Salaries.
  • Opportunities for quantum career growth.
  • Healthy Corporate Environment.

Q. 4. What do you look for in a candidate during a hiring interview session? Name 4 key things?

Ms. Sanam Mujeeb Sheikh: During an interview session a lot of things matter, but the most important are:

  • Professional Knowledge & strong credentials
  • Good communication and interpersonal skills
  • Ability to work in a team
  • Positive approach towards problem solving

Q. 5. What is the scope of Human Resource Management in Pakistan?

Ms. Sanam Mujeeb Sheikh: Scope of HR Management in Pakistan is very bright. Operationally HR has become very strong now as almost every organization is following the basic practices of HR Management. However, from a global perspective we are still at the primary stage of HR Management. The HR department of any organization should be a strategic business partner for the company. Human Resource is the bridge between the employer and employee and this makes the role of HR department important.

Q. 6. How would you rate the success and importance of online recruitment firms such as ROZEE.PK?

Ms. Sanam Mujeeb Sheikh: Working with employment agencies is meant to save time. ROZEE.PK has been a pioneer in Pakistan in online recruiting. I think the initiative and drive shown by the growth ROZEE.PK has demonstrated is a result of the importance that the companies attach to the services provided by them. These platforms are important for businesses because they provide are cost effective, time saving and accurate solutions to the most critical need of any organization, i.e., Human Resource.

Q. 7. How has ROZEE.PK helped your firm regarding recruitment i.e. Have you tried any recruitment tools provided by ROZEE.PK e.g. Job Fairs/Job Postings/CV Search?

Ms. Sanam Mujeeb Sheikh: We worked with ROZEE.PK almost two years back by using the tool of CV search engine. We found ROZEE.PK CV databank very good for hiring of managerial staff. I feel a little more effort is required to strengthen the database for finding CVs of core technical nature.

Q. 8. What is your strategy on work-life balance and how do you achieve this balance yourself?

Ms. Sanam Mujeeb Sheikh: One should know when they have made enough effort and must stop at that point. Because beyond that point if you try to improve situations you are only causing frustration for yourself and this eventually leads to a burn out. Also, one must learn to enjoy their work and must take small breaks to provide themselves with the much needed respite at the work place.
I have always found honesty to be a great blessing. Being honest in situations at work and in your personal life usually automatically leads to a balanced approach towards life in general.
Lastly, I think it is important that your support system should be strong both at work and at home. This provides a lot of encouragement, strength and positive energy to you for coping with all types of situations.

Q. 9. Do you believe that Pakistani universities are creating an effective talent pool and what is your company’s strategy to attract the best talent in Pakistan?

Ms. Sanam Mujeeb Sheikh: I have strong faith in our country and its people. We are a hard working nation and can execute under pressure and testing circumstances. Pakistani Universities are playing an important role in unleashing the potential of students and grooming them as better professionals. I have seen a lot of improvement in the way today’s talent pool work from the times we were students. However, we need to work on improving the syllabi for our public universities. Education techniques should be more modern and aligned with global trends. By working on these grey areas we can make a substantial difference in our education sector and society as a whole, which will lead us to make our human capital more effective and productive.

Q. 10. What is your formula of success in life?

Ms. Sanam Mujeeb Sheikh: Success is a relative term. For every individual “success” is measured on a different scale and has a different meaning. Hence, I don’t think my formula would be very helpful for anyone else.

Q. 11. What are the biggest turnoffs in an interview of a job applicant?

Ms. Sanam Mujeeb Sheikh:

  • Non serious attitude
  • Over confidence
  • Lack of preparation for the interview

Q. 12. Due to rough economic situation and soaring price rise, how does your company deal with keeping itself cost effective and attractive for job seekers?

Ms. Sanam Mujeeb Sheikh: We have focused on our people immensely in these hard times. We have started in house training programs for them and informal learning sessions so that the training needs do not go unaddressed. Also we have rolled out internal campaigns focusing on cost effectiveness and employee contribution in making the business more profitable. These efforts have helped us see through these difficult times and luckily we have surfaced from them triumphantly.

Q. 13. Any good advice you want to give for the job seekers who want to enter and prosper in the professional field?

Ms. Sanam Mujeeb Sheikh: Respect and honesty are two things they should bring with them into any profession they enter. During their professional life they should work with dedication focusing on time and quality of output. And towards the end of this professional journey they will definitely take back “success” or some part of it.

Related Articles