Creating a Career Mission Statement

“Limitless global opportunities and opportunities for development.” These are the benefits which graduate, Maher Al Bayaty, said attracted him to Shell’s Graduate Programme. With his strong background in IT plus his degree from Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Maher saw Shell as opening up possibilities for his future career.

Over the past 14 months Maher has been working in Shell’s Human Resources (HR) function where he is currently HR Account Manager for Projects and Technologies. He is based at Majnoon in Southern Iraq.

“HR is a function which is transitioning across all industries in response to digital developments. My IT knowledge and background helps as Shell is currently migrating most of the HR transactional activities to the service centers. I’ve been assigned to support this from a country perspective.”

Maher’s mentor is Raoul Bollen who is Shell’s Vice President HR, Middle East, North Africa, Russia & Caspian. Raoul supports Maher’s view of how the HR function is responding to change. “I look back at my earlier time at Shell and am surprised at how many things were done differently across countries and companies within Shell. Now we are increasingly improving and standardising our processes globally. This allows HR to spend more time on value-adding talent management activities, improving efficiency,” Raoul said.

Concerning Raoul’s role as mentor, Maher notes: “Since mid-2015 Raoul has been my mentor. Within minutes of meeting him I felt comfortable. He motivates me and helps me develop my thinking about my career and other work related topics (issues) we discuss.

“You should think about a mission statement for your career’, is memorable advice which my mentor has passed on to me.”

“Raoul’s experience working for Shell has been helpful to HR here at Majnoon. From an HR perspective, we’ve been embedding Shell’s new global structures. This means we are much more efficient at covering off all the legal and policy requirements while also staying true to Shell’s core values.

“He’s also helped to better clarify and shape my own aspirations for my career in Shell. It gives me the strategies to achieve where I want to go.”

Their mentoring partnership also has dual benefits, Raoul said: “Maher has also helped me a lot in gaining realistic insights about working at Shell in Majnoon, when it comes to dealing with the challenges on the ground in Iraq.”

“I see myself continuing with my passion for both IT and HR and, ideally, taking up a role in Shell as HR Process and Systems Manager. More time in Shell’s Graduate Programme will help sort my thinking out I’m sure,” Maher said.

For graduates who may be interested in Shell, Maher’s advice is to see Shell as a great opportunity to exceed your limits. “If you believe you are curious, open minded, humble and trustworthy and never miss a learning opportunity, then consider applying for Shell’s Graduate Programme.”