Only 7.6 % of region’s respondents attribute career success to good education

About 35.1% of respondents across the Middle East and North Africa said working for a good company is a fundamental factor in getting ahead in their career, according to the latest online poll series ‘Career Advancement in the MENA’, conducted by Middle East job site Bayt.com. However, 35.9% voted the lack of clearly defined career paths in organizations as the biggest impediment that MENA professionals face en route to career advancement.

22.5% of professionals felt having a good attitude is what is most required in order to succeed in one’s career, 16.5% claimed having advanced technical skills as important, 12.3% of respondents said energy and enthusiasm, while only 9.5% felt a good education is essential to achieve success in their career. Along the same lines when partakers were asked what they attributed their own success to, 12.9% said a good attitude; 7.2% attributed it to having advanced technical skills, 7.6% stated a good education; while 8.4% credited energy and enthusiasm as a reason for their prosperous careers. Almost half of the respondents surveyed (43.2%) specified all of the above as factors that helped them lead their careers on the path to success.

“In order for us to provide a better platform for numerous professionals longing for a different and improved professional career, we bring forward remarkable analytical surveying skills to obtain the substantial results. Bayt.com is dedicated to researching and analysing data that is recognised as being beneficial to top employers as well as employees,” said Amer Zureikat, VP Sales, Bayt.com.

The poll went on to ask the respondents ‘what they personally need to get ahead in their own career’, to which a majority (35.1%) quantified that working for a better company was vital for them, followed by 16.4% who felt that better work-life balance was essential and 11.9% of respondents who felt that better work-teams would allow them to get ahead in their career. According to 9.6% of respondents, better communication and social skills were what they considered most vital for their career growth, 8.8% indicated a better education, 8.1% of respondents said better technical skills and 7.3% indicated working for a better boss was most essential.

Poll participants also disclosed some insightful information when they revealed that some of the biggest impediments in career development faced by professionals in the MENA are the lack of adequate professional training for their roles (12.4%), expectations of instant success (6.9%), changing jobs and companies too soon (6.2%), and the absence of the right attitude (3%). 26.6% of the respondents stated all of the above as the biggest impediments faced in career advancement.

Thereafter, when poll takers were asked to what extent they felt personally responsible for reaching the career level they want, a majority (60.9%) said that they were fully accountable – hard work and good decisions pay off; 28.2% claimed they were partially responsible – company and boss and other team members also played a part; and 7.1% stated that they felt slightly responsible – external forces being influential in determining their career success.

According to the survey participants, 25.7% specified that achieving financial independence for their family was highly important when asked what they mostly wanted from their career. 21.2% claimed that being renowned and respected as a true expert in their field was important for them; 14% felt that making a huge amount of money was considered imperative; and 12.3% stated that for them enjoyment and satisfaction on a daily basis was the key factor.

Respondents were also asked if they thought reading relevant literature regularly was important for their career advancement and a good 69.6% stated that it was extremely important with 77.8% revealing they read their industry related literature on a regular basis; 78.3% of respondents felt that regular networking is extremely vital for enhancing career growth.

Furthermore, when partakers were asked what they regarded as the biggest mistake they can make when climbing the career ladder, 28.6% said not improving and updating existing skills, 16.9% stated not learning new skills regularly was an issue, 17.1% said not being nice to others and 10.2% stated not networking regularly as a mistake when it came to career advancement.

“The results of our most recent poll also allowed new insights into what people felt about their lives given their chosen career path. We found out that 44.2% of participants clearly felt that it’s never too late to acquire success in their career, while 31% stated the opposite and 24.8% remained non-committal and said it depended on the situation. These results we have derived from the ‘Career Advancement in the MENA’ poll will benefit the MENA professional community and MENA employers in all industries as they gauge the requirements of the regional talent pool.”

Data for the ‘Career Advancement in the MENA’ poll series was collected online between May 9 and June 13, 2011, with a total of 12,270 respondents from across the MENA region. This and other Middle East research, as well as information on Bayt.com’s classifieds, are available online on www.bayt.com.