How to write a cover letter

​Ramadan is a time of spiritual renewal and self-discipline and is often associated with a sense of community and shared purpose. But for many Muslims, whilst Ramadan is immensely rewarding, it can also be quite difficult from a physical and mental health perspective in the workplace.

Fasting can affect energy levels, focus, and concentration, making it more challenging to complete their day-to-day duties. Managers play an important part in supporting their Muslim team members during this time, both in terms of practical support and emotional understanding.

Understanding the significance of Ramadan

The first step in supporting your Muslim colleagues during Ramadan is to understand the significance of this month. Ramadan is not just about fasting, but also about spiritual reflection, increased devotion, and a sense of community. By understanding the deeper meaning of Ramadan, you can better appreciate the challenges your Muslim employees may be facing and offer meaningful support.

What can managers do to support their team members?

1. Amend work schedules, where possible

One of the biggest challenges for Muslims during Ramadan is balancing work and religious obligations. Where possible, managers should aim to be flexible with work schedules, allowing their employees to attend evening prayers or adjust their work hours to accommodate their fast. You could also consider allowing your team members to work from home or take time off if needed.

2. Provide support in the workplace

In addition to flexing work schedules, managers can also provide practical support in the workplace. This might include providing a quiet space for prayer, allowing employees to take short breaks to rest during the day, giving those who work in the evening time to break their fast and pray, and avoiding late afternoon meetings that require high concentration. The most impactful thing you can do is to ask them if they need any support and if so, what? It will likely vary from person to person, so you should take an open-minded and consultative approach.

3. Encourage communication

It's important for managers to encourage open communication with their Muslim employees during Ramadan. Encourage your team to share how they're feeling, what their needs are, and how you can support them. This can help build a more inclusive and supportive workplace culture and ensure that everyone is comfortable and able to perform at their best.

While encouraging communication is key, if you see someone fasting some days and not others (or not at all), avoid asking them why they are not fasting. There are many reasons why Muslims do not fast during the month of Ramadan, some examples include those with chronic health conditions or disabilities, age, travellers, and pregnant/breastfeeding mothers.

4. Recognise cultural difference

It's important to recognise and respect cultural differences during Ramadan. This might involve understanding that some Muslim employees may be more reserved or quiet during this time. Ramadan is a time for self-reflection and spiritual development, so you may find that some may decide not to partake in team recreational activities outside of work to allow them to focus on prayer, recitation of the Quran, giving to charity and spending time with family and friends to end the daily fast.

5. Promote team unity

Ramadan is often associated with a sense of community and shared purpose, and we all can help promote this sense of unity in the workplace. This might involve organising or amending team-building activities that support the fasting period or to engage in other communal activities.

Celebrating the end of Ramadan

The end of Ramadan is marked by celebrating Eid Ul Fitr (festival of breaking the fast), where Muslims around the world will come together and celebrate. This is the first day in 30 days where Muslims will eat and drink in the daytime. It is a time to celebrate, exchange gifts and get together with members of extended families and friends. Managers can support their team members by having discissions around annual leave dates so that they can partake in the Eid celebrations, if they wish.

And even better - celebrate the end of Ramadan with your colleagues. This could involve organising a special meal or celebration, or simply acknowledging the end of the fasting period. By celebrating the end of Ramadan, you can show your appreciation for their efforts by saying “Eid Mubarak” (have a blessed Eid).

In conclusion

Managers play a critical role in their employee’s experience of Ramadan in the workplace. By understanding the significance of the holy month, accommodating work schedules, providing practical support, encouraging communication, showing empathy and understanding, recognising cultural differences, promoting team unity, offering resources and support, and celebrating the end of Ramadan, you can help to create a more inclusive and supportive workplace environment.

If you are looking for a talented professional to join your team, or seeking a new employment opportunity yourself, get in touch with one of our specialist consultants today.

​They may not be everyone's cup of tea, but telephone interviews have a lot of advantages. They are fast, easy to arrange and arm you with just the right level of information to begin whittling down your applicants.

Of course phone interviews present challenges too. Mostly arising from the fact that you can't see the person you are talking to. Here's a primer on the kind of questions you should ask to get the best out of your phone interviews.

Keep things simple...

It's important not to get carried away with telephone interviews. Remember they are intended as a screening measure to decide who to invite for a face-face interview. You don't need your candidate's entire life story. Simple questions are the best policy.

Candidates can often be nervous, which can make for an uncomfortable conversation where you fail to get the insight you need on your candidate. Put interviewees at ease by introducing yourself, explaining how long the interview will last and telling them how it will be structured.

What type of questions should you ask?

Remember to keep things simple. The lack of visual interaction means that phone interviews are not suited to complex questions that require lengthy answers. Of course, you want your candidates to be thorough with their answers - but don't attempt to ask anything too brow-furrowing.

Questions should be geared to find out more about the applicant - expanding on the information supplied on a CV and cover letter and assessing whether their professional experience is suited to the role. Here are our tips for the best phone interview questions to ask candidates.

1. What made you apply for this position?

Does your candidate sound like they want the job? Look for a passionate answer. You want a candidate who really cares about getting hired by you, rather than someone who sounds indifferent and apathetic. Genuine enthusiasm shows that your candidate believes they have what it takes to succeed in the role.

2. Screening questions

Screening questions allow you to gauge whether an applicant has the essential minimum experience or skills required for the role - such as expertise with a certain piece of software or a key qualification. Example screening questions might be:

• Are you willing to travel?

• Do you have a clear driving license?

• Do you have PRINCE2 certification?

Screening questions will always be determined by the type of role you are recruiting for - and should be led by the job description. They are a simple way to make sure no unsuitable applicants make it through to an in-person interview and can be as simple as yes/no questions.

3. What experience do you have that will help you succeed in this role?

Look for evidence that the applicant has studied the job description. They should provide concrete examples that prove they have the experience required. Ideally their answers will also show how they have applied their knowledge/experience to provide tangible, measurable results.

4. Why are you leaving your current job/Why did you leave your previous job?

If your candidate launches a full scale diatribe about how much they dislike their current employer, it should probably set your alarm bells ringing. Seek out candidates who are hungry for a fresh challenge or who have been waiting for an opening in this particular field or - even better - with this organisation.

5. What challenges are you looking for in a post?

6. What is important to you from a job?

7. How would you describe your approach to work?

This set of questions is great for finding out more about the professional mindset of your applicant. How ambitious are they? Are they looking for professional development? What's their self-discipline like? Listen carefully to how they structure their answers and look for similarities with the person specification document.

8. What motivates you?

9. What type of work environment do you perform best in?

These questions allow you to assess how well the candidate will fit with your organisation's environment. Do they need a lot of assistance or are they self-starters? Do they prefer working alone or are they great collaborators? Sometimes individuals simply aren't suited to certain working environments, no matter how talented they are.

10. What are your hobbies outside of work?

It can be easy to forget that your candidate is a person first and a professional second. Look for signs that the person on the end of the line will click with other members of the team.

11. Do you have any questions?

It's important to field any queries your candidate may have, whether about the job or the recruitment process. Once you have answered any questions, close the interview by thanking the candidate for their time and giving them your contact details - they will appreciate being able to get in touch should they think of any further questions.

Getting the information you need from telephone interviews is about keeping things simple and looking for evidence that your candidates have the essentials required for the role. Come the face to face interviews you will have saved a lot of time by filtering out unsuitable applicants, meaning less time asking basic questions and more time deep-diving into the people behind the CVs. Just the way it should be.

​​It takes just seven seconds for an employer to save or reject a job applicant’s CV. This seven-second rule inspired James Reed’s book on how to optimise your CV to land an interview.

This webinar was the first instalment of a two-part series, in which James shares insight from his 25 years in recruitment, and two of his books:​​

• The 7 Second CV: How to Land the Interview​

• Why You? 101 Interview Questions You’ll Never Fear Again​

James presented his ideas and advice on creating a CV to impress. This was followed by a 30-minute Q&A session in which the audience put their CV questions to the expert himself and got his invaluable advice first hand.​

Speaker profile​

James Reed, CEO and Chairman, Reed​

James Reed has worked in recruitment and careers for more than 25 years. Reed receives forty million job applications a year and has delivered over one hundred programmes to help more than 200,000 people who had been long-term unemployed back into work.​

The Reed Group currently employs more than 3,800 people across the globe helping to improve lives through work. James Reed was voted Top CEO by employee-ratings platform Glassdoor in both 2018 and 2019, and Reed won a coveted Best Places to Work Award from the same company in 2019 and 2020. This means it is the top-ranked recruiter on the list of all organisations voted as excellent workplaces by employees on Glassdoor.​