The Middle East: Be Diplomatic
Saturday, May 31st, 2008The past four years have been quite interesting in my life. I have been working in the Middle Eastern Region, specifically Saudi Arabia, for the past 4 to 5 years. I started off working as a Software Developer, moved on to being an IT Consultant, and now I am a Business Consultant. While I am happy with the success I have achieved, it has not been easy and there are some tricks to “the game” I picked up over the years.
I started off my career back in end of 2004 in a local company as a Software Developer and I was quite naive. My primary focus was on gaining the most possible experience. I left my job in early 2006 because of differences with management and moved on to a multi-national company (MNC). While I was happy joining an MNC, I was under the impression that I could build myself and grow from the inside. I was wrong here.
I did stay with the company for around 2.5 years until it was time to move on. The following points summarize what I learned during my time in the company:
1) Don’t let any personal differences interfere with the way you deal with people of different origins. If you have some personal difference with a certain nationality, don’t bring in your work environment. It will negatively impact you.
2) Never see yourself as more knowledgeable over other. Even if it might be true, don’t make it apparent. BE SMART in the way you deal with people.
3) Never backbite. If you do it will come back and haunt you throughout your career (Read my previous post for more information about this).
4) Be Diplomatic: Work on building contacts and maintaining even after you leave. Let the company know that even after you leave it was a pleasure working with them and that they played a major role in building your career.
5) Don’t be politically incorrect. Don’t speak negatively about a client, a vendor, or a representative from any of the both.
6) Finally, be positive in the way you talk, the way you answer questions, the way you conduct your work to build a positive image in the workplace. This will be a major plus for your career and your mentality in the future.
Luckily, I didn’t fall into the trap of any of the points mentioned above. But, I will need to work on those because they are critical to my success!!!
