A reader of this blog is Jacob Share, who runs JOBMOB in Israel. Since he is the same industry as we are, I thought it would be interesting for my readers to hear a foreign perspective on the recruitment process. Jacob wrote this post exclusively for us.

While the job hunt is universal, every country and culture attaches its own issues and considerations to the resume- and interview-filled recruitment process. Let’s look at what happens in Israel.
This is a guest post by Jacob Share of JobMob.


Some background about Israel
• A tiny country of almost 7.5 million people, most Israelis are first- to fourth-generation immigrants.
• Having brought their different customs with them, most citizens and their children speak at least 3 languages like my kids do; Hebrew, English and something else.
• In a perpetual state of war since being founded 60 years ago in 1948, the vast majority of Israel’s teenagers are conscripted at age 18 for multi-year military service. Many men and some women will then continue to serve up to one month annually in the military reserve.
• With lots of couples meeting while in the “army” (although called that way in Israel, it unifies the Air Force and Navy too), Israelis usually marry and get pregnant while still in their twenties.
How do these facts impact Israel’s job search culture?
1. Can be networking-heavy
As a soldier you’ll meet hundreds of people from every corner of the country, many of whom will later come to your wedding. Often enough, one of them will also be able to connect you with a new boss.
2. Army experience
It used to be that you couldn’t get a job unless you’d been to the army. That Israeli job myth now debunked, army experience can still be important. For example, it’s not rare for defense-related or IT job descriptions to require that you served in a specific army “unit” (sub-division) and those are two of the biggest industries in the country.
3. English or Hebrew resume?
Israeli entrepreneurs stereotypically turn to international markets – usually focusing on the USA first – in considering the local market too small. With that, many Israeli companies use Hebrew internally but English the rest of the time. Many local job seekers used to wonder in which language they should submit their resumes but there’s an easy language rule of thumb for that: use the same language as the job listing. That said, many aspiring professionals will prepare resumes in both languages.
4. Specific resume elements
Every Israeli has a national ID card with a personal number that you’ll use when banking, creating an account on a website, etc., and on your resume. Also, as you can imagine from #2 above, alongside the classic resume sections like Work Experience and Education will usually be an Army Service section mentioning the period of time served, unit, rank, title and a short description of achievements while in service.
5. Less formality
The physical smallness of Israel and the national army service – among other things – combine to give Israelis an “everyone knows everyone” familiarity. As a result, people can be very open with their thoughts, not hesitating to yell at you over the phone when you follow up too soon. Or, dressing casual most if not all the time. To give you an idea- when the Internet Bubble began in Israel at roughly the same moment as in Silicon Valley, the dressing-down of programmers and engineers was a non-issue compared to what people were saying about it in North America.
6. Personal questions during the recruitment process
 Like in the USA, Israel also has laws about which questions can’t be asked in a job interview. Unlike in the USA, those laws don’t prevent many of those questions from being asked. In all fairness however, there are often good intentions behind some of those questions. Like when a woman is asked how many kids she has, the reason may very well be that the hiring company has daycare facilities to offer. Good personal judgement is really important in these situations.
7. Salary negotiation or lack thereof
Many Israeli employers are old enough to remember a time when Israel was less prosperous and the unemployment rate was double the current 6-7%. In those days, getting a job offer was a cause for celebration. An unfortunate consequence is the still widely-used “take it or leave it” salary proposition. Thankfully, the newer generation of entrepreneurs is more appreciative of how quickly employees can jump ship and are softening their negotiating stances.
What do you think?
Is it harder or easier where you are?
About the author
Jacob Share created JobMob to bring together job seekers and jobfinders to find jobs in Israel and all over the world. The blog is filled with straight-talking advice based on real world experience and lots of humor thrown in, so you should subscribe now to JobMob via RSS or email if you’re looking for a better job or just want to laugh about it. When that’s done, enjoy the 150 Funniest Resume Mistakes, Bloopers and Blunders Ever.