Salman Shaukat - Project Engineer at Almarai, Saudi Arabia

Salman Shaukat
Project Engineer at Almarai, Saudi Arabia
B.Sc. Industrial Manufacturing Engineering, UET Lahore (2004-08)
MBA Finance & Marketing, Lahore School of Economics (2010-13)
MS Mechanical Design Engineering, UET Lahore (2010-14)

 Q) How did you join Almarai, what was the process?

• I saw opportunity on Almarai web site plus on LinkedIn and applied online.
• The job was matching my skills set.
• After the interview I asked former colleagues, who had already joined Almarai, to follow-up application and if needed and put up some recommendation on the application if they feel necessary.

Q) In your opinion, which key qualities did you have which enabled you to join Almarai?

• Project Management skills and Technical knowledge of FMCG projects is my Major strength.
• My Profile and Almarai requirements were matching about 95% or more.
• Parents, wife, kids and God’s blessings and support played a great role as well.

Q) What have been some of the key achievements of your professional life & student life so far?           

Professional life >

• I was and still am crazy about project management field and I got the track that I wanted.
• I got promotion in Nestle at very young age and at the initial stage of my career.
• My networking with internal as well as external stake holders and influence on them was a key achievement.

Student Life >

• I stood 1st continuously 40 times; four exams / year (grade 1 to 10) explored 4 schools including private and govt. institutes.
• Later getting admission on open merit in UET Lahore was a good achievement that I feel in student life.

 Q) Did you work at some other company before Almarai? If so, then which was it? What about internships?

Former companies I worked with.

• Nestle, Pakistan
• Descon, Pakistan
• Honda Atlas Cars, Pakistan  

Internships >

• Honda Atlas cars Pvt. ltd. Pakistan
• Packages Pvt.Ltd , Pakistan

Q) What are the best parts & not to good parts that you have experienced in your job?

Best Parts >

• I explored the application of real engineering and pure sciences.
• Experienced working different with nationalities and learning their cultures.
• I got a chance to groom my thoughts, personality and attitude.
• Got international trainings which led to boost up of confidence and strong grip over work.

Not Good Parts >

• Not much bad parts, overall it was quite good working experience and comfortable.

Q) What advice can you give to others who want to join Almarai?

• If you have relevant engineering experience it is easy to get yourself inducted, provided vacancy is available.
• Get yourself referred by someone, if possible by someone from Almarai
• Sell yourself but do not compromise on your Minimum acceptable standards and requirements.
• Being an engineer, do not accept positions below Managerial level.
• Think 10 times about how you would manage your dependents, if such situation is relevant to your situation.
• Do not switch your company just for peanuts, have a handsome jump at least 3 times from current financial status.(It is conditional some times to get a good experience switching can be done but calculated moves should be done)
• While moving to Middle East do not compromise on visa category other than engineer visa. Do not accept technician’s visas etc…category.

Contact Information

Email ID: salmanshaukat@hotmail.com