Nine out of 10 Mena professionals count on networking for job growth

dubai - Risk-taking, hard work, intelligence and luck are among other factors cited in a survey

You can never over-emphasise the importance of networking for career progression. A whopping 95 per cent of professionals surveyed in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) believe that networking is most important to their career success.

More than half (50.2 per cent) of respondents in Mena have a career mentor, revealed a recent poll titled 'The Bayt.com Secrets of Career Success in the Mena' poll.

Data for the poll was collected online from April 20 to May 17. Countries that participated are the UAE, Bahrain, Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Tunisia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and others.

Almost nine out of 10 (88.8 per cent) Mena professionals think that taking risks has been important for their career success; nearly one-third (29.1 per cent) of respondents owe it to hard work while far fewer attribute it to intelligence (5.6 per cent) or luck (3.6 per cent).

When asked about the biggest career mistake that a professional can make, nearly one-fifth (17.9 per cent) of respondents said that poor ethics and integrity are most detrimental to one's career. Other responses included neglecting to network (11.9 per cent), hiring poor performers (7.4 per cent) and not maintaining relationships (5.3 per cent).

"It's great to see that the overwhelming majority of people said that networking and building relationships both have been important to their career success," said Suhail Masri, vice-president of employer solutions at Bayt.com.

Aside from important career skills, other elements of success for Mena professionals have to do with their personal lives. The overwhelming majority (95.6 per cent) of respondents say their family has been important to their career success and nearly the same proportion (93.6 per cent) say that exercise and physical fitness have also been important.

Education and learning, both prior to beginning a career and later, also seem to be important components. Nearly nine in 10 (89.1 per cent) of Mena respondents think their college education has been important to their career success and more than half continue to read books related to their career on either a daily basis (33.2 per cent) or weekly basis (20.3 per cent).

When asked about the best source of learning for career growth, responses were generally comparable. Poll results cited the following sources in order of importance: university courses or professional programmes (16.3 per cent), online courses (10 per cent), books (9.6 per cent), career-specific Internet sites (7.5 per cent), Internet forums and discussion groups (7.1 per cent), industry conferences and forums (4.3 per cent) and business magazines and journals (2.7 per cent). Not surprisingly, the largest proportion of respondents (34.9 per cent) said all these sources are equally important in learning for career growth.

Masri added: "It is interesting to note that nearly half of Mena professionals are driven at work by inspiration over desperation. People are willing to invest in themselves and their knowledge in a myriad of ways. Employers should take advantage of this fact by inspiring their employees through learning and training programmes."

In terms of their end goals, more than one third (34.5 per cent) of respondents say their ultimate vision of success is to be an innovator, creator or pioneer.

­- abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com