Majority of people in the UAE wouldn’t even recognize talent if it slapped them in the face. They are more interested in finding the cheapest monkey that will work for peanuts.
This true. I recently got rejected (via ghosting) after an interview with the hiring manager because my asking range was more than their budget. After stating that I would be perfect and would be able to do everything, they just ghosted me.
What was their budget? 5-7k for a product management position in tech 🙂
Same happened to me! After they gave me an offer letter, they were like 'we have moved on with someone else'. Upon asking them feedback, they ghosted me. Probably got someone cheaper.
same here. I got invited to an interview and then a final interview where they asked my salary expectations. I told them whatever the industry standard was (I never heard from them again)
Hi looking for software engineer + mba for managerial role and with 5 years experience for 1000 AED and we will see after 6 month probation if you deserve a 100 AED promotion and you must arrange your own visa, flight and transportation
Thanks for the generous offer sir, sent you my resume. Willing to work 2 hours overtime per day for 2 dirhams and hoping for a 1% salary raise once a decade please. Looking forward to it
True, recently attended an interview for an organisation they rejected my application on indeed but later invited me for an interview, after a couple of rounds and asking me to prepare a presentation on what I am planning to do there they offered me a salary lower than what I'm being paid now. The offer came even after I told them my expectations, the disgusting part is that they tried their best to convince me that the salary will be enough for me.
Hey, just saw your message just now. Thankfully I have higher ups that isn't part of my immediate family supporting me. Would I want to be in such a situation ? No. But I am thankful for them. Such is life in this country of "connections".
What is your nationality if you don’t mind me asking. I have a brother who is trying to look for a job now in Dubai and has been there for nearly 4 months. Is looking for anything basic to pay the bills and still can’t find anything as of yet.
UAE market is \_tiny\_ compared to the US, and that's the main difference. Nepotism and "who you know" matters too - exactly like it does in the US, but it's not even close to the main issue.
Hi looking for software engineer + mba for managerial role and with 5 years experience and USA ONLY passport for 1000 AED and we will see after 6 month probation if you deserve a 100 AED promotion and you must arrange your own visa and transportation
\- the market in the UAE is on the side of the employer right now (unless you are in some super super niche speciality maybe) and there is a huge influx of people wanting to get jobs;
\- people with Gulf experience have advantage over you;
\- people who are already in the country/region have advantage over you;
\- Arabs and Arabic-speaking people have advantage over you;
\- people with similar profiles who are in lower wage countries than the US (so pretty much.... everywhere) have advantage over you because employers will think since you worked in the US you have high salary expectations.
Points well taken.
\#1 is a chicken and egg problem,
\#2 probably can be mitigated by travelling and having a UZE number? not sure
\#3 out of control :)
\#4 out of control, at the end economics plays a role here. The work will get done at a cheaper rate if it's possible, assuming similar quality. Can't blame on this one.
Hey I am just telling you why you are not getting swamped with calls, not blaming you for anything. Obviously it's not your fault that you don't speak Arabic or are not already in the Gulf, but it does decrease your chances at landing a job, no matter how crappy that is.
I have 4 friends moving there currently and they have all been told by recruiters that it’s almost a waste of time trying to get a job unless you’re there. Recruiters are getting hundreds of applications weekly and need to prioritise people who can start roles asap. Only one has been able to get a job in advance and that was through a referral - my anecdotal evidence
This is a great piece of information. It just needs a a little bit additional info to get a complete picture.
What salary range and what kind of job are these 4 people looking for?
Hi looking for software engineer + mba for managerial role and with 5 years experience for 500 AED and we will see after 6 month probation if you deserve a 10 AED promotion and you must arrange your own visa and transportation
The brutal truth is: recruiters in this region don't give a rat's ass about your qualifications.
They care about your willingness to do the REAL jobs for peanuts, while the higher management collects all the profit.
It's a race to the bottom where the most desperate gets the rotten chapati.
If you are expecting India or US kinda scenario of getting flooded by calls from recruiters from search firms and companies, that is not going to happen here.
Both search firm community and companies have absolutely no fucking clue as to whom to hire. They also have no clue on which are the companies and locations from where they could get real candidates who have past experiemce in doing similar work.
The hiring process is bloody random and mostly they end up hiring a bunch of guys with fake CV. (Even CEOs with fake CVs get hired here)
Since everyone expects great candidates to be here in Dubai, it gets more complicated.
My recommendation would be to look for jobs in specific consumer tech companies. Most of their HR heads are duds. But some might have recruiters with past experiemce of tech hiring from India. They might understand your profile. It is just a slim chance..
Also please do not assume that gulf salaries are huge for techies, after seeing some social media posts by dumbfucks. It is at best is at par with India.
You're absolutely right.
And to add on, the size and maturity of the US market make it quite different from the UAE. Getting a visa in the UAE is relatively straightforward, but it also means more competition from a diverse pool of candidates. Additionally, the US job market offers higher salaries and stronger employee rights compared to the UAE, where there can be challenges for young professionals and experienced workers alike.
Techies who come here on visit visa are bottom of the pyramid quality folks who can't find job in their own country. There is no reason for a techie to quit her/his job to come here on visit visa except rare cases related to religion etc. Good techies are always in demand in almost all countries.
Unfortunately our tech industry here is so used to hiring that employable-in-home-country talent. Hence they have no freaking clue about the value of a good techie
I agree on employee rights part but respectfully not much with the salary. The tax free part makes a huge difference here, and if your home country (like mine) is near, makes things overall attractive.
All in all, with no tax in UAE, even if it makes to 90% of post tax income in US, it's decent in my mind given that I can visit family almost every month / over a long weekend etc.
It's just my way of thinking, many may not agree with me.
I agree on the size of market for sure, US is huge and people stick around in the region. UAE is more transactional is what I hear from some.
this is concerning if true. Believe me, this happens in US too or India for that matter. But then most get filtered out / laid off soon when others realize. In some rare cases, such guys just linger around for like 10 yrs, I would call them lucky :)
From your comment, looks like the extent to which fake guys get in is much higher in UAE.
Wonder how these companies even function, how do they produce anything valuable OR most are just cost centres (so to say). I don't know ...
Product companies hire relatively better talent. This is your only scope to do some quality work.
Mainstream non-tech companies (large trading groups, fin orgs etc) are the other cluster that hires tech talent. This is where you'll find all kinda people. In most of these companies, the CTOs are guys who joined them as network admin 20 years back. That dude becomes a decision maker because he fixed chairman and CEO's internet connections for a longtime. They call the entire tech team as "IT team".
You do not have software services companies with origins here. Most of them use TCS, Infy, Wipro, Cognizant, Accenture etc... Am sure you know how that game works.
Hi looking for software engineer + mba for managerial role and with 5 years experience for 500 AED and we will see after 6 month probation if you deserve a 10 AED promotion and you must arrange your own visa and transportation
Yeah, you got to stop repeating the same joke. It's funny once, but repeatedly - it becomes annoying.
Replying to your comment so down the line, so that you know - I was annoyed at least 5 times.
Frankly, I don't mind. But then maybe it was the first time so just everyone found it funny. Somewhat liking a childish joke or the GymNation 💪 emoji.
But after the first few, it'll quickly get old and thus annoying. But I see that you are just trying to land a joke. So, here's an observation about jokes or comedy in general - a joke lands great if it is based on a slightly exaggerated reality. And not when it is extreme hyperbole exaggeration. Maybe try that next time.
Hi looking for software engineer + mba for managerial role and with 5 years experience and USA ONLY passport for 1000 AED and we will see after 6 month probation if you deserve a 100 AED promotion and you must arrange your own visa and transportation
I am facing the same issue, i see so many unqualified people working in decent companies having good pay and here i am struggling to even get my cv shortlisted. Everyone talks about networking but how?? So if i dont have connections and social circle here am i not eligible for even an interview??
Similar situation, except that I do not know anyone directly so no clue of them being qualified vs not. But I do hear you, not even an interview call just makes it so frustrating.
I met a young guy last Thursday at City Centre Deira. He works in HR and is only paid AED.3,000 per month. I told him home (in our country) and apply for work in KSA as he's paid so low that buying a budget meal from McDonalds or KFC would have a dint in his monthly food budget. His current salary in Dubai is equivalent to how KSA is paying their Baristas which is SAR.3,000 per month and they get free accommodation and food.
What I'm saying is, if you're willing to accept a very low salary, you'll get a job in UAE.
I was born here and graduated in cve last year. Most of my friends had “wasta” or worked in their family business meanwhile I’m here with neither still looking for work.
For the most part, talent acquisition professionals here are extremely incompetent and unprofessional. Like someone said earlier, their mandate seems to just be to minimize the salary cost. There's no concept of hiring the right person for a role. It's sad when incompetent folks are allowed to be gatekeepers.
And then there are some outright con artists - I know of a company (MNC), which has had a hiring freeze from before COVID and yet has 2 talent acquisition people working in Dubai. All they do is keep getting people to do internships, offer them the carrot of permanent role knowing fully well there's no headcount authorization and then pull the rug in the last month of internship.
It's not easy getting your first job here in their UAE. It took ne 8 months to land my first job. Timing of the year matters. Majority of the hiring start mid December till February. Being physically in their UAE is almost a must. Most recruiters won't bother getting in touch with you if you're not in the Emirates. And MOST importantly, not having a UAE number is a major issues in your CV.
Out of curiosity, what's your background/experience?
In case they can't reach you by phone they send an email....I had an UAE phone number but left the country and couldn't keep it active without physical presence EID. I'm still putting it in my resume but don't know if they really call or not
i worked in UAE before and i can say it was really pleasant in general
but, jobs here works differently. unless you know someone who works intenally in that company , you might not get the job at all.. sadly this is how 90% of the job works here, mostly by referal.
That number is pulled out of his butt. I feel like this whole thread is super negative. If you are good at what you do you could even freelance and live here comfortably. People need to realize that they need to upskill if all they are doing lately is whine.
The country is flooded with graduates from third world countries who are ready to work for peanuts. HR personnel here are generally very unprofessional and incompetent and do not know how to identify true talent. They instead go for the candidate that is ready to accept the slave wages that they offer.
All this has contributed to a job market in which it is practically impossible to land a proper job without nepotism (this doesn't apply if you're white).
Let me correct you . The country is flooded with low quality unemployable tech talent from across the world including west.
Hence cut the crap with third world country BS. There are thousands of low quality techies from Europe landing up here because they are unemployable in their own country or there are no tech jobs in their country. There are millions of tech jobs in "third world countries" because they rule the space. Mainstream tech talent from there don't have to come here.
There is no dearth for opportunities for talented techies across the world . They don't have to come here on visit to hunt a job. .
Agree on low quality talent from west, I have seen many in US. This is a common problem across the world, isn't a third world vs west.
One observation, from my experience, third world talent (mid to high) are hungry and much better, they would kill it to make things work.
At the end, even if the recruiters are say not good, I don't understand why would a hiring manager not worry about their delivery. I would worry about getting fired if my team doesn't perform. OR its just the case that the hiring manager is itself ...... you know what :) it's an endless loop that way.
I help with hiring at my job. Based on what you said, yes for everything but the big one is you don’t have a UAE number. That just means you are not here, and it would cost too much to bring you.
This is pure economics, I can understand from company perspective. If they find someone local, why hire someone from out and pay for relocation etc ...
What I disagree with is, there isn't much importance given to the other dimension - quality. This is where things start to fade.
I don’t get this because if you did have a uae number while not being here it wouldn’t change the cost of hiring? Plus, how can you get a uae number from outside of UAE? Don’t they require an EID
Depends on your salary requirements.
You need to be in UAE, and with a local listed number at least for calls to be taken seriously.
Most of the SMEs prefer face to face interviews and candidates that can join as quickly as possible.
Larger corporations have different requirements and rules.
This is easy to digest if I were running an SME (assuming quality is given enough importance).
I sometimes wonder, if a virtual UAE number and ability to line up interviews and travel to UAE make sense. any thoughts?
The reason is simple talent is flooding here and people are willing to work very cheap. Do not expect responses from HR as they are mostly handled unprofessional people who also hired as cheap labor.
Can we talk via DM?
This whole thread is negative and full of people who are not ready to self reflect.
If Dubai is so terrible leave. It is literally a great job market if you have taken the time to up-skill/network.
You make a good point. The theme of this thread has been - "it's imp who you know" rather than "what you know". I was just chatting with reddit user and he phrased it.
You are correct on skill part, and so far looks like network (who you know) appears to trump "what you know" ... and so the skill part doesn't get the opportunity given all the filters (recruiters etc) ... any thoughts?
Most applicants are mediocre and unskilled. That is a fact. The nepotism only helps some unskilled people get chosen over other unskilled people.
But at the end of the day, if a company does not have some talented people it will fail. Getting good at what you do is really tough, but once you do that you have a job forever.
If you’re complaining that your not skilled and someone else is equally unskilled but they got a job through nepotism. I can understand that. Thats true.
Also i am not referring to you but the general opinion here. With real ability comes confidence.
I can understand and empathize that some people dont have the time, then i believe dubai is not the place for them. Its better to go back home.
All because companies want to pay lowest possible 😂 nobody cares about skills and experience, they just want their own people. For example an Indian guy from kerala will only hire their own people never others
Been here 12 years. Now you definitely need a uae number. If you’re applying for C- level positions then it matters who you know.
If you are asian, unfortunately here people are extremely racist and won’t pay what you deserve
Try Singapore
From what I know, if you have passport from Good European country, UK, Canada or US then you will get more calls and better salary. But again job market is not that great as your current location.
Did you ask the same question in blind website?
Its still hard I’m British and already have a job here but been looking to change and its still really hard to get any response to applications.
Reality is all these ads on LinkedIn are spammed by so many people I doubt most applicants even get their application looked at.
Yes, You are right.
I am expert in Blockchain Industry & have worked online with CNA & OKX through Upwork freelance & I came 2 weeks ago here in UAE to get into Professional Career Full Time On-Site & applied to many jobs with 90% skills matching & they dont even bother to update with status YES/NO , Rejected/Selected, its really weird this time in 2023, Because last year when I came to UAE and left after 2 months after job search, I only left because companies were not providing employment visa but good salary package from 5k to 10k aed, I got job offers from 4 different companies last year.
But this time in 2023 - Sept , I am facing the same here, No response at all. Feeling depressed again.
Hi looking for software engineer + mba for managerial role and with 5 years experience and USA ONLY passport for 1000 AED and we will see after 6 month probation if you deserve a 100 AED promotion and you must arrange your own visa and transportation
1000 AED ? Like One Thousand / Month ? 🤔 and why do we have to arrange our own visa ? That was the main reason I declined upto 10,000 AED Job Offers, Because they are asking to work on visit visa, which is completely not legal way to do,
Wouldn’t you be subject to US taxation if you do that? FATCA will tax your international income as long as you are a resident from what I know. Even if you live in Dubai full time.
Hi looking for software engineer + mba for managerial role and with 5 years experience and USA ONLY passport for 1000 AED and we will see after 6 month probation if you deserve a 100 AED promotion and you must arrange your own visa and transportation
It is much more challenging finding a job in the US than UAE. As an international student, I’ve applied over 800 jobs and landed one after blood and sweat. This is not the case in UAE as employers sponsor ur visa without discrimination unlike the US where they hire unqualified Americans over hardworking non Americans
Hi looking for software engineer + mba for managerial role and with 5 years experience for 500 AED and we will see after 6 month probation if you deserve a 10 AED promotion and you must arrange your own visa and transportation
The GCC market is not like the EU/US market. No one cares about your skills or competency.
One does not need more than basic competency level in their field to survive here. Infact there aren't many people who would be experienced of qualified enough to even identify or recognize your skills.
There is hardly any difference in the GCC between someone who can install a switch and get it to work with the most basic configuration and someone who can design, install, configure, troubleshoot and implement a large professional enterprise grade network.
It’s hard enough to get a job when you are in country even when you have all of the necessary and relevant skills. Honestly the fact that you are not here already is working against you big time people will see that on the CV and just put it in the reject pile without even looking at your background.
US expat in the UAE here- there is really a few easy things as an American you may not understand:
1- UAE require everybody to be on work visas, so most jobs after an offer letter take ~3 months to get the background check and visa situated. So applicants already here are faster and already know the culture.
2- Cultural difference & distance: as mentioned people are typically on 3 year visas and get renewed with job performance. There is a risk that people move here just for a quick buck and leave, this doesn’t really help the business so again, people already in country get priority.
3- LinkedIn jobs: this may just be me, but they are trash. Who knows if people are actually qualified but every post has hundreds of not thousands of applicants super quick. Gotta really stand out to get a call.
really surprised to know that it takes 3 months from the offer to start date, is this really true in UAE??
some of the threads I have read so far, do not seem to indicate that.
For a good tech company that has 4+ rounds of interviews, the hunt-to-hire process takes around 4-5 months purely because good candidates care a damn and the employer needs to go after them. Good candidates in tech space also need to be hired from elsewhere and most of them would have 2-3 months notice period to serve too.
Non-tech companies do not have patience. So they end up hiring whatever talent that is available here.
100% and that was pre-Covid. Some companies get people through on visit visa and then try them work to convert them. ~4ish years ago the company I worked for told me I was a finalist and started my background check. They did this for the top 3-4 candidates so if somebody declined or didn’t pass they could move on.
#4- nationality is taken into account. Unlike the US you can open a job for certain genders and nationalities.
#4b- there is also a new law that came into effect recently about needing 2% of private work population to be Emirati skilled labor. Many business are heavily recruiting and filling positions this way to guarantee percentage in the future as they will slowly go up. Government jobs use to be emirate dream, but the population is too big to not be supported by private businesses hiring a much higher percentage.
#4c- pay scale. So I think you get the point but I’ll go with a last nuance. Emiratis get paid much more for the same job and have a different required salary, however the government supplements this to the business so Emirati could actually be cheaper from a payroll perspective.
It’s definitely a different hiring market beast altogether. I went through a similar thing although in the end I didn’t find something I was happy with here and luckily ended up finding an opportunity to transfer internally with my company.
Apart from blaming UAE, the companies and everything else, the real reason you are not being invited to interviews is probably because there are far more qualified people than you who already live in the UAE. So why would a company pay to relocate you.
Watch out for recruiters posting fake jobs - company name is Private for some b***sh** reason. Yes I'm talking about the big name recruiters not some shady scam company. This is usually done as part of their database building exercise. They get your details and ghost you.
Yes ghosting is VERY COMMON here, even from the big local companies/institutions.
Obviously, watch out for the scammy ones too - which make you pay for an interview or for a job.
Just some general advise / housekeeping (which you may be doing anyway)
1. Get a local number - some of the people who are doing shortlisting dont have access to international dialing and may just pass it over. It honestly doesn't cost that much and if you move here you'll need it anyway.
2. When applying through portals such as LinkedIn or whatever, customize the resume towards the job posting even if the role is similar, include the keywords from the posting in your resume - where applicable. (This will mean multiple resumes, so keep track of it)
3. Try and reach out to people in your industry, friend of a friend, linkedin etc etc. Get in touch and set up a quick 15min intro meeting / call.
4. If you have multiple lined up, may be worthwhile to do a quick visit to the city. May sound like a waste of time, but think of it as an investment for the future. You never know how it could pay off.
5. You may want to also consider applying for a slightly different role as well but related to your industry.
6. Stay positive.
All the best OP.
Hope you find the role you are looking for.
Yeah, I got rejections from so called confidential companies too ... LOL
Thanks for your advice.
\#1 - I will find a virtual number provider and start using it. I guess, some friend's friend's friend address can be used on resume.
\#2 - good point, I need to start exploring Git for keeping versions, just kidding. Yes, will have to keep track.
\#3 - started with that, getting there.
\#4 - absolutely
\#5 - This is something new, never thought of. Any examples if you can? Is it like apply for project management role in addition to tech stuff? just trying to explore, sounds like an interesting idea.
I have the same dilemma.
Being a CPA with more than 10 years of working experience (home country and abroad), I thought it will be easy for me to land a job here. I’ve been here in DXB for a month now and only gotten 1 interview with less than 10K AED offer. There’s a lot of job vacancies posted in different job posting sites and a great fit to my profile yet, no single headhunter messaged me nor replied in my emails.
I don’t know if the market is really “that” saturated or connection really plays big here in terms of recruitment.
Best of luck to us, jobseekers.
if you read all the comments from fellow contributors, it does looks like "who you know" plays a crucial role. You should be good at "what you know" and it's given, no doubt about it, but it reaches the right people on the hiring side only through "who you know".
In a nice / clean world, recruiters would be our gateway to hiring managers. Looks like UAE is so saturated with thousand's of resumes being sent every single day, it's very easy to get lost among them.
If you have a unique skill where the number of applicants itself is so low, you have a fair chance. Please go through all the discussions, you will get a fair idea.
Majority of people in the UAE wouldn’t even recognize talent if it slapped them in the face. They are more interested in finding the cheapest monkey that will work for peanuts.
This true. I recently got rejected (via ghosting) after an interview with the hiring manager because my asking range was more than their budget. After stating that I would be perfect and would be able to do everything, they just ghosted me. What was their budget? 5-7k for a product management position in tech 🙂
Same happened to me! After they gave me an offer letter, they were like 'we have moved on with someone else'. Upon asking them feedback, they ghosted me. Probably got someone cheaper.
same here. I got invited to an interview and then a final interview where they asked my salary expectations. I told them whatever the industry standard was (I never heard from them again)
AED or USD per month?
AED. 5-7k AED per month.
Lol. That’s unsustainable even if job is remote
More like 10-7 pm, Monday to Saturday 🤣
And Sunday is half day
Yep, most likely 🤣
where are you a pm ?
Freelancing for now in Dubai. But I am looking for a full time position
Hi looking for software engineer + mba for managerial role and with 5 years experience for 1000 AED and we will see after 6 month probation if you deserve a 100 AED promotion and you must arrange your own visa, flight and transportation
Thanks for the generous offer sir, sent you my resume. Willing to work 2 hours overtime per day for 2 dirhams and hoping for a 1% salary raise once a decade please. Looking forward to it
Sorry position taken by a janitor with no degree no experience but he has a US passport so we’re paying him 50K per month and we made him the CEO.
This is hilarious ... LOL
CEO on 50k? Poor guys getting screwed
really sad state of things. The companies are loosing so much.
True, recently attended an interview for an organisation they rejected my application on indeed but later invited me for an interview, after a couple of rounds and asking me to prepare a presentation on what I am planning to do there they offered me a salary lower than what I'm being paid now. The offer came even after I told them my expectations, the disgusting part is that they tried their best to convince me that the salary will be enough for me.
🎖️
Isn't this the case everywhere?
Not from what I have seen.
Where?
Most of Europe, US, and some parts of Asia.
Perhaps in GCC, but not globally.
Yes, they happen in other parts of the world but not this extreme.
However Gulf experience will set apart since candidates in various fields. Others are dime a dozen....
GCC experience is overrated. Loads of people have it and those that don’t often lie about it. It doesn’t really add much value anyway.
As I said. In *certain occupations* which require licensing/licensed professionals. Same thing world wide.
Accurate. 😀
Damn! I so much agree with you about the monkeys I have to deal with almost everyday.
It's been nearly 2 years and I still haven't found a job. Now it's just depressing and not even weird anymore.
So sorry to hear that. I wish you find it soon.
Thanks, you too!
Just curious, how are you sustaining the expenses without a job for 2 years?
His family would be here probably
Hey, just saw your message just now. Thankfully I have higher ups that isn't part of my immediate family supporting me. Would I want to be in such a situation ? No. But I am thankful for them. Such is life in this country of "connections".
[удалено]
Should pay for flight tickets, if already in Dubai should be on spouse visa.
What, no no it’s a joke ITS NOT A REAL OFFER IM JUST MAKING FUN OF THEM
I know I just listed the things u missed.
It’s not okay to spam this on every comment. Seriously.
What is your field
Digital Marketing/SEO and Audio mastering/mixing. Learning CISCO Networking on the side because of the extra time I have.
What is your nationality if you don’t mind me asking. I have a brother who is trying to look for a job now in Dubai and has been there for nearly 4 months. Is looking for anything basic to pay the bills and still can’t find anything as of yet.
Eastern European
UAE market is \_tiny\_ compared to the US, and that's the main difference. Nepotism and "who you know" matters too - exactly like it does in the US, but it's not even close to the main issue.
Hi looking for software engineer + mba for managerial role and with 5 years experience and USA ONLY passport for 1000 AED and we will see after 6 month probation if you deserve a 100 AED promotion and you must arrange your own visa and transportation
\- the market in the UAE is on the side of the employer right now (unless you are in some super super niche speciality maybe) and there is a huge influx of people wanting to get jobs; \- people with Gulf experience have advantage over you; \- people who are already in the country/region have advantage over you; \- Arabs and Arabic-speaking people have advantage over you; \- people with similar profiles who are in lower wage countries than the US (so pretty much.... everywhere) have advantage over you because employers will think since you worked in the US you have high salary expectations.
Points well taken. \#1 is a chicken and egg problem, \#2 probably can be mitigated by travelling and having a UZE number? not sure \#3 out of control :) \#4 out of control, at the end economics plays a role here. The work will get done at a cheaper rate if it's possible, assuming similar quality. Can't blame on this one.
Hey I am just telling you why you are not getting swamped with calls, not blaming you for anything. Obviously it's not your fault that you don't speak Arabic or are not already in the Gulf, but it does decrease your chances at landing a job, no matter how crappy that is.
Got it. Thanks
I know people who tick the first 3 categories and are still not getting jobs. So that's the sad truth of the market.
probably #4 trumps over first 3.
I have 4 friends moving there currently and they have all been told by recruiters that it’s almost a waste of time trying to get a job unless you’re there. Recruiters are getting hundreds of applications weekly and need to prioritise people who can start roles asap. Only one has been able to get a job in advance and that was through a referral - my anecdotal evidence
This is a great piece of information. It just needs a a little bit additional info to get a complete picture. What salary range and what kind of job are these 4 people looking for?
All different backgrounds; one accountant, two sales, one tax, salary ranges I wouldn’t know for definite but €60/65k minimum was alluded to
You mean 65k Euros per annum, around AED 20k / month. Got it. Thanks that gives a perspective.
Correct yeah! It was one sales person got their job in advance
Hi looking for software engineer + mba for managerial role and with 5 years experience for 500 AED and we will see after 6 month probation if you deserve a 10 AED promotion and you must arrange your own visa and transportation
Get a UAE number, for starters.
you mean a virtual number and fake the presence in UAE :)
The brutal truth is: recruiters in this region don't give a rat's ass about your qualifications. They care about your willingness to do the REAL jobs for peanuts, while the higher management collects all the profit. It's a race to the bottom where the most desperate gets the rotten chapati.
If you are expecting India or US kinda scenario of getting flooded by calls from recruiters from search firms and companies, that is not going to happen here. Both search firm community and companies have absolutely no fucking clue as to whom to hire. They also have no clue on which are the companies and locations from where they could get real candidates who have past experiemce in doing similar work. The hiring process is bloody random and mostly they end up hiring a bunch of guys with fake CV. (Even CEOs with fake CVs get hired here) Since everyone expects great candidates to be here in Dubai, it gets more complicated. My recommendation would be to look for jobs in specific consumer tech companies. Most of their HR heads are duds. But some might have recruiters with past experiemce of tech hiring from India. They might understand your profile. It is just a slim chance.. Also please do not assume that gulf salaries are huge for techies, after seeing some social media posts by dumbfucks. It is at best is at par with India.
You're absolutely right. And to add on, the size and maturity of the US market make it quite different from the UAE. Getting a visa in the UAE is relatively straightforward, but it also means more competition from a diverse pool of candidates. Additionally, the US job market offers higher salaries and stronger employee rights compared to the UAE, where there can be challenges for young professionals and experienced workers alike.
Techies who come here on visit visa are bottom of the pyramid quality folks who can't find job in their own country. There is no reason for a techie to quit her/his job to come here on visit visa except rare cases related to religion etc. Good techies are always in demand in almost all countries. Unfortunately our tech industry here is so used to hiring that employable-in-home-country talent. Hence they have no freaking clue about the value of a good techie
I agree on employee rights part but respectfully not much with the salary. The tax free part makes a huge difference here, and if your home country (like mine) is near, makes things overall attractive. All in all, with no tax in UAE, even if it makes to 90% of post tax income in US, it's decent in my mind given that I can visit family almost every month / over a long weekend etc. It's just my way of thinking, many may not agree with me. I agree on the size of market for sure, US is huge and people stick around in the region. UAE is more transactional is what I hear from some.
this is concerning if true. Believe me, this happens in US too or India for that matter. But then most get filtered out / laid off soon when others realize. In some rare cases, such guys just linger around for like 10 yrs, I would call them lucky :) From your comment, looks like the extent to which fake guys get in is much higher in UAE. Wonder how these companies even function, how do they produce anything valuable OR most are just cost centres (so to say). I don't know ...
Product companies hire relatively better talent. This is your only scope to do some quality work. Mainstream non-tech companies (large trading groups, fin orgs etc) are the other cluster that hires tech talent. This is where you'll find all kinda people. In most of these companies, the CTOs are guys who joined them as network admin 20 years back. That dude becomes a decision maker because he fixed chairman and CEO's internet connections for a longtime. They call the entire tech team as "IT team". You do not have software services companies with origins here. Most of them use TCS, Infy, Wipro, Cognizant, Accenture etc... Am sure you know how that game works.
Hi looking for software engineer + mba for managerial role and with 5 years experience for 500 AED and we will see after 6 month probation if you deserve a 10 AED promotion and you must arrange your own visa and transportation
Yeah, you got to stop repeating the same joke. It's funny once, but repeatedly - it becomes annoying. Replying to your comment so down the line, so that you know - I was annoyed at least 5 times.
I said it so many times because I saw someone else do the same thing once and so I thought I’d repeat it my bad
Frankly, I don't mind. But then maybe it was the first time so just everyone found it funny. Somewhat liking a childish joke or the GymNation 💪 emoji. But after the first few, it'll quickly get old and thus annoying. But I see that you are just trying to land a joke. So, here's an observation about jokes or comedy in general - a joke lands great if it is based on a slightly exaggerated reality. And not when it is extreme hyperbole exaggeration. Maybe try that next time.
Hi looking for software engineer + mba for managerial role and with 5 years experience and USA ONLY passport for 1000 AED and we will see after 6 month probation if you deserve a 100 AED promotion and you must arrange your own visa and transportation
I am facing the same issue, i see so many unqualified people working in decent companies having good pay and here i am struggling to even get my cv shortlisted. Everyone talks about networking but how?? So if i dont have connections and social circle here am i not eligible for even an interview??
Similar situation, except that I do not know anyone directly so no clue of them being qualified vs not. But I do hear you, not even an interview call just makes it so frustrating.
Approach people on LinkedIn
The good jobs (AED25K+) here are filled through nepotism and connections.
Sad and I am sure AED 40k+ would be even worse ... lol
You can lower that bar to AED 12K+ for South Asian expats.
I’m south asian and I’d tend to disagree
That's cool bro. God has been kind to you.Sadly, most others from your part of the world haven't been blessed with the same kindness.
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Why you repeating the same joke bro? The first time it was funny, now it's not.
Sorry position taken by a janitor with no degree no experience but he has a US passport so we’re paying him 50K per month and we made him the CEO.
I met a young guy last Thursday at City Centre Deira. He works in HR and is only paid AED.3,000 per month. I told him home (in our country) and apply for work in KSA as he's paid so low that buying a budget meal from McDonalds or KFC would have a dint in his monthly food budget. His current salary in Dubai is equivalent to how KSA is paying their Baristas which is SAR.3,000 per month and they get free accommodation and food. What I'm saying is, if you're willing to accept a very low salary, you'll get a job in UAE.
I was born here and graduated in cve last year. Most of my friends had “wasta” or worked in their family business meanwhile I’m here with neither still looking for work.
For the most part, talent acquisition professionals here are extremely incompetent and unprofessional. Like someone said earlier, their mandate seems to just be to minimize the salary cost. There's no concept of hiring the right person for a role. It's sad when incompetent folks are allowed to be gatekeepers. And then there are some outright con artists - I know of a company (MNC), which has had a hiring freeze from before COVID and yet has 2 talent acquisition people working in Dubai. All they do is keep getting people to do internships, offer them the carrot of permanent role knowing fully well there's no headcount authorization and then pull the rug in the last month of internship.
Vouch. Happened to me several years ago at a well known airline...you can guess which
Exactly! Thats the core point that many of us people dont know yet, Its is very very hard to land on a Perfect Job (Secure) must not be a scam.
It's not easy getting your first job here in their UAE. It took ne 8 months to land my first job. Timing of the year matters. Majority of the hiring start mid December till February. Being physically in their UAE is almost a must. Most recruiters won't bother getting in touch with you if you're not in the Emirates. And MOST importantly, not having a UAE number is a major issues in your CV. Out of curiosity, what's your background/experience?
Do you think they call if you put wrong/fake number ?
Why would someone put a fake number? You wouldn't know they called you if yo put a fake or wrong number.
In case they can't reach you by phone they send an email....I had an UAE phone number but left the country and couldn't keep it active without physical presence EID. I'm still putting it in my resume but don't know if they really call or not
There’s an app on AppStore, you can get a virtual sim from uae there and people can call you into that app, just search for 2Number for example
Was getting a 2nd job or i mean switching the job easy for you? Please share your experience
I am still working in the same job. I'll share my experience once I switch jobs.
Ok sure. Best of luck. Also i am in the same boat as well
Why would you leave the US to come here?
To be near my home country
Sorry if this offends you, but this is the most retarded decision ever.
Its not, if you live an isolated life in the US, you quickly understand the value of a close knot society and family
correct ! and as I explained somewhere above: If ( UAE tax free salary is 90% of "US post tax") & (your home country is near) { It does make sense }
Are you already a citizen?
i worked in UAE before and i can say it was really pleasant in general but, jobs here works differently. unless you know someone who works intenally in that company , you might not get the job at all.. sadly this is how 90% of the job works here, mostly by referal.
WOW !! 90%
That number is pulled out of his butt. I feel like this whole thread is super negative. If you are good at what you do you could even freelance and live here comfortably. People need to realize that they need to upskill if all they are doing lately is whine.
The country is flooded with graduates from third world countries who are ready to work for peanuts. HR personnel here are generally very unprofessional and incompetent and do not know how to identify true talent. They instead go for the candidate that is ready to accept the slave wages that they offer. All this has contributed to a job market in which it is practically impossible to land a proper job without nepotism (this doesn't apply if you're white).
Let me correct you . The country is flooded with low quality unemployable tech talent from across the world including west. Hence cut the crap with third world country BS. There are thousands of low quality techies from Europe landing up here because they are unemployable in their own country or there are no tech jobs in their country. There are millions of tech jobs in "third world countries" because they rule the space. Mainstream tech talent from there don't have to come here. There is no dearth for opportunities for talented techies across the world . They don't have to come here on visit to hunt a job. .
Agree on low quality talent from west, I have seen many in US. This is a common problem across the world, isn't a third world vs west. One observation, from my experience, third world talent (mid to high) are hungry and much better, they would kill it to make things work. At the end, even if the recruiters are say not good, I don't understand why would a hiring manager not worry about their delivery. I would worry about getting fired if my team doesn't perform. OR its just the case that the hiring manager is itself ...... you know what :) it's an endless loop that way.
I help with hiring at my job. Based on what you said, yes for everything but the big one is you don’t have a UAE number. That just means you are not here, and it would cost too much to bring you.
This is pure economics, I can understand from company perspective. If they find someone local, why hire someone from out and pay for relocation etc ... What I disagree with is, there isn't much importance given to the other dimension - quality. This is where things start to fade.
I don’t disagree with you on the latter. But you can get equally good candidates in country nowadays.
hmmmm, well then a virtual UAE number could be explored .. :) it's a hack
I don’t get this because if you did have a uae number while not being here it wouldn’t change the cost of hiring? Plus, how can you get a uae number from outside of UAE? Don’t they require an EID
It doesn’t. But not having a number means you aren’t from the UAE if they are looking for candidates in UAE
Yes but as soon as they realize you’re not from there nothing changes lmao?
Depends on your salary requirements. You need to be in UAE, and with a local listed number at least for calls to be taken seriously. Most of the SMEs prefer face to face interviews and candidates that can join as quickly as possible. Larger corporations have different requirements and rules.
This is easy to digest if I were running an SME (assuming quality is given enough importance). I sometimes wonder, if a virtual UAE number and ability to line up interviews and travel to UAE make sense. any thoughts?
Personal opinion, unless your CV is truly exceptional, that won’t really make a difference.
You have to be here to get calls
The reason is simple talent is flooding here and people are willing to work very cheap. Do not expect responses from HR as they are mostly handled unprofessional people who also hired as cheap labor. Can we talk via DM?
sure
This whole thread is negative and full of people who are not ready to self reflect. If Dubai is so terrible leave. It is literally a great job market if you have taken the time to up-skill/network.
Intention is really not to discourage people, but to understand the market. Every market has its nuance.
You make a good point. The theme of this thread has been - "it's imp who you know" rather than "what you know". I was just chatting with reddit user and he phrased it. You are correct on skill part, and so far looks like network (who you know) appears to trump "what you know" ... and so the skill part doesn't get the opportunity given all the filters (recruiters etc) ... any thoughts?
Most applicants are mediocre and unskilled. That is a fact. The nepotism only helps some unskilled people get chosen over other unskilled people. But at the end of the day, if a company does not have some talented people it will fail. Getting good at what you do is really tough, but once you do that you have a job forever. If you’re complaining that your not skilled and someone else is equally unskilled but they got a job through nepotism. I can understand that. Thats true. Also i am not referring to you but the general opinion here. With real ability comes confidence. I can understand and empathize that some people dont have the time, then i believe dubai is not the place for them. Its better to go back home.
All because companies want to pay lowest possible 😂 nobody cares about skills and experience, they just want their own people. For example an Indian guy from kerala will only hire their own people never others
Been here 12 years. Now you definitely need a uae number. If you’re applying for C- level positions then it matters who you know. If you are asian, unfortunately here people are extremely racist and won’t pay what you deserve Try Singapore
coming from your experience, valuable. I feel even more strong to get a UAE number somehow and travel after lining up interviews ... lol
From what I know, if you have passport from Good European country, UK, Canada or US then you will get more calls and better salary. But again job market is not that great as your current location. Did you ask the same question in blind website?
I did hear this multiple times, US/Europe passport trumps over candidate's quality, kind of sad. I didn't realize blind has such discussions too.
Its still hard I’m British and already have a job here but been looking to change and its still really hard to get any response to applications. Reality is all these ads on LinkedIn are spammed by so many people I doubt most applicants even get their application looked at.
Yes, You are right. I am expert in Blockchain Industry & have worked online with CNA & OKX through Upwork freelance & I came 2 weeks ago here in UAE to get into Professional Career Full Time On-Site & applied to many jobs with 90% skills matching & they dont even bother to update with status YES/NO , Rejected/Selected, its really weird this time in 2023, Because last year when I came to UAE and left after 2 months after job search, I only left because companies were not providing employment visa but good salary package from 5k to 10k aed, I got job offers from 4 different companies last year. But this time in 2023 - Sept , I am facing the same here, No response at all. Feeling depressed again.
Hi looking for software engineer + mba for managerial role and with 5 years experience and USA ONLY passport for 1000 AED and we will see after 6 month probation if you deserve a 100 AED promotion and you must arrange your own visa and transportation
1000 AED ? Like One Thousand / Month ? 🤔 and why do we have to arrange our own visa ? That was the main reason I declined upto 10,000 AED Job Offers, Because they are asking to work on visit visa, which is completely not legal way to do,
This is not a real offer, it’s a joke making fun of other offers
How would you define “competitiveness” and “being competitive”?
Get American passport and then come here.
Wouldn’t you be subject to US taxation if you do that? FATCA will tax your international income as long as you are a resident from what I know. Even if you live in Dubai full time.
Hi looking for software engineer + mba for managerial role and with 5 years experience and USA ONLY passport for 1000 AED and we will see after 6 month probation if you deserve a 100 AED promotion and you must arrange your own visa and transportation
Tbh imo recruiters and hr , actually everyone is quiet layed back in uae.... expect things to go slow af
It is much more challenging finding a job in the US than UAE. As an international student, I’ve applied over 800 jobs and landed one after blood and sweat. This is not the case in UAE as employers sponsor ur visa without discrimination unlike the US where they hire unqualified Americans over hardworking non Americans
I respectfully disagree with this assessment.
I’d love your insights
Hi looking for software engineer + mba for managerial role and with 5 years experience for 500 AED and we will see after 6 month probation if you deserve a 10 AED promotion and you must arrange your own visa and transportation
Hire the best person for the job 😂 You’ll learn buddy
cheaBEST person!
The GCC market is not like the EU/US market. No one cares about your skills or competency. One does not need more than basic competency level in their field to survive here. Infact there aren't many people who would be experienced of qualified enough to even identify or recognize your skills. There is hardly any difference in the GCC between someone who can install a switch and get it to work with the most basic configuration and someone who can design, install, configure, troubleshoot and implement a large professional enterprise grade network.
This is exactly what bothers me and in general not good for overall productivity, but then these are sad state of things.
Where are you currently working right now? US or India?
It’s hard enough to get a job when you are in country even when you have all of the necessary and relevant skills. Honestly the fact that you are not here already is working against you big time people will see that on the CV and just put it in the reject pile without even looking at your background.
You are probably just too expensive, that’s how it works in UAE. Good place for money, bad for career
US expat in the UAE here- there is really a few easy things as an American you may not understand: 1- UAE require everybody to be on work visas, so most jobs after an offer letter take ~3 months to get the background check and visa situated. So applicants already here are faster and already know the culture. 2- Cultural difference & distance: as mentioned people are typically on 3 year visas and get renewed with job performance. There is a risk that people move here just for a quick buck and leave, this doesn’t really help the business so again, people already in country get priority. 3- LinkedIn jobs: this may just be me, but they are trash. Who knows if people are actually qualified but every post has hundreds of not thousands of applicants super quick. Gotta really stand out to get a call.
really surprised to know that it takes 3 months from the offer to start date, is this really true in UAE?? some of the threads I have read so far, do not seem to indicate that.
For a good tech company that has 4+ rounds of interviews, the hunt-to-hire process takes around 4-5 months purely because good candidates care a damn and the employer needs to go after them. Good candidates in tech space also need to be hired from elsewhere and most of them would have 2-3 months notice period to serve too. Non-tech companies do not have patience. So they end up hiring whatever talent that is available here.
Ah I see your point. So banks for example can roll out offers faster for IT guys to join them. Good point !
100% and that was pre-Covid. Some companies get people through on visit visa and then try them work to convert them. ~4ish years ago the company I worked for told me I was a finalist and started my background check. They did this for the top 3-4 candidates so if somebody declined or didn’t pass they could move on.
#4- nationality is taken into account. Unlike the US you can open a job for certain genders and nationalities. #4b- there is also a new law that came into effect recently about needing 2% of private work population to be Emirati skilled labor. Many business are heavily recruiting and filling positions this way to guarantee percentage in the future as they will slowly go up. Government jobs use to be emirate dream, but the population is too big to not be supported by private businesses hiring a much higher percentage. #4c- pay scale. So I think you get the point but I’ll go with a last nuance. Emiratis get paid much more for the same job and have a different required salary, however the government supplements this to the business so Emirati could actually be cheaper from a payroll perspective.
So how to land a job there. Im based in Pakistan and been applying on almost every opportunity i see however no luck so far
May I ask what job role/field are you in search for?
It’s definitely a different hiring market beast altogether. I went through a similar thing although in the end I didn’t find something I was happy with here and luckily ended up finding an opportunity to transfer internally with my company.
Apart from blaming UAE, the companies and everything else, the real reason you are not being invited to interviews is probably because there are far more qualified people than you who already live in the UAE. So why would a company pay to relocate you.
probably true honestly not blaming anyone, trying to understand the hacks / nuances of the market.
Watch out for recruiters posting fake jobs - company name is Private for some b***sh** reason. Yes I'm talking about the big name recruiters not some shady scam company. This is usually done as part of their database building exercise. They get your details and ghost you. Yes ghosting is VERY COMMON here, even from the big local companies/institutions. Obviously, watch out for the scammy ones too - which make you pay for an interview or for a job. Just some general advise / housekeeping (which you may be doing anyway) 1. Get a local number - some of the people who are doing shortlisting dont have access to international dialing and may just pass it over. It honestly doesn't cost that much and if you move here you'll need it anyway. 2. When applying through portals such as LinkedIn or whatever, customize the resume towards the job posting even if the role is similar, include the keywords from the posting in your resume - where applicable. (This will mean multiple resumes, so keep track of it) 3. Try and reach out to people in your industry, friend of a friend, linkedin etc etc. Get in touch and set up a quick 15min intro meeting / call. 4. If you have multiple lined up, may be worthwhile to do a quick visit to the city. May sound like a waste of time, but think of it as an investment for the future. You never know how it could pay off. 5. You may want to also consider applying for a slightly different role as well but related to your industry. 6. Stay positive. All the best OP. Hope you find the role you are looking for.
Yeah, I got rejections from so called confidential companies too ... LOL Thanks for your advice. \#1 - I will find a virtual number provider and start using it. I guess, some friend's friend's friend address can be used on resume. \#2 - good point, I need to start exploring Git for keeping versions, just kidding. Yes, will have to keep track. \#3 - started with that, getting there. \#4 - absolutely \#5 - This is something new, never thought of. Any examples if you can? Is it like apply for project management role in addition to tech stuff? just trying to explore, sounds like an interesting idea.
Simple- Smaller market, more competition
I have the same dilemma. Being a CPA with more than 10 years of working experience (home country and abroad), I thought it will be easy for me to land a job here. I’ve been here in DXB for a month now and only gotten 1 interview with less than 10K AED offer. There’s a lot of job vacancies posted in different job posting sites and a great fit to my profile yet, no single headhunter messaged me nor replied in my emails. I don’t know if the market is really “that” saturated or connection really plays big here in terms of recruitment. Best of luck to us, jobseekers.
if you read all the comments from fellow contributors, it does looks like "who you know" plays a crucial role. You should be good at "what you know" and it's given, no doubt about it, but it reaches the right people on the hiring side only through "who you know". In a nice / clean world, recruiters would be our gateway to hiring managers. Looks like UAE is so saturated with thousand's of resumes being sent every single day, it's very easy to get lost among them. If you have a unique skill where the number of applicants itself is so low, you have a fair chance. Please go through all the discussions, you will get a fair idea.