Bayt.com met with Ghassan Samman, Senior Recruiter for the Southern Gulf region at Halliburton. Ghassan talked to us about his views on talent sourcing and recruitment in the region. More in our interview...
Ghassan Samman is a Senior Recruiter for the Southern Gulf region at Halliburton. With an impressive track record in talent management and recruitment, Ghassan has recruited candidates in Saudi, Kuwait, Yemen, Oman, Pakistan, Iraq, Libya, UAE, and Egypt. Ghassan joined Halliburton in 2010. He is involved in setting recruitment strategies and has partnered with several business units in order to adopt a proactive approach to devising talent acquisition strategies for Halliburton.
UAE is a great country to live in, as social and entertainment locations are everywhere. Aspects such as stability, safety and cultural diversity are causing high demand from candidates to come and live in this country.
I work mainly with hiring managers in the southern gulf area, so I make sure I am in direct contact with them starting from early morning each day. We discuss matters related to their recruiting requirements in order to understand their business needs and challenges they face. I also have my own recruiting team, which consists of in-house recruiters in each country in the MENA region, with whom I discuss progress, achievement, and challenges faced on a daily basis.
At Halliburton, we look for the ability to perform the job. We also look for integrity, which is one of Halliburton’s core values, and one of the main aspects we look at. Strong technical skills and knowledge are other things we look for in a new hire. Behavioral aspects are something we take very seriously; all our selection interviews involve behavioral questions.
We have a very strong recruiting team, who follows a well-structured recruiting process and selection tools. However, there are some positions that might be difficult to source especially when we are targeting candidates with relevant industry experience.
At Halliburton we respect and acknowledge differences. This has resulted in enriching our workforce potential, global communities and competitive edge while sustaining good business results. We have the best people, technologies and solutions – it is something we are known for. Our employees represent over 120 countries, and we do business in approximately 80 countries around the globe. At Halliburton, innovation is not only encouraged, it is expected.
Whether you're a new graduate or an experienced professional, we have fantastic career opportunities across our organization; Global Business Units: Our divisions supply the expertise, advanced technologies and innovative solutions to help our customers drill, evaluate, access, produce, and maintain their oil and natural gas wells in an economical and environmentally friendly way. Support Services: From IT, to marketing, to manufacturing, to finance Halliburton's Support Services groups provide a variety of services that help to enhance and grow our business.
We have our very own Halliburton Newsletter that gives us day-to-day information on our company, competitors and clients. I also read online oil and gas related sites and professional career sites, as well as articles that are related to my industry and profession.
Multinational companies like Halliburton are transferring HR practices to each location they operate in. Also, and in light of globalization, HR policies and practices have evolved from merely supporting operations to liaising as strategic business partners. More and more, we can see changes in the different practices either at Halliburton or other companies in the Middle East.
As a jobseeker, your first step is to read and understand the business. If you want to work for Halliburton, read about the company, understand what we do, visit our career site, try to understand where you can fit. Recruiters cannot help you choose a career; driving your career is your responsibility.
