# Interview and salary questions



## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

I have applied for a Business IT manager job at Emirates Group and have been shortlisted for an interview in Dubai at the end of this month for the following: 

29th Jan 2013 - Assessment 
30th Jan 2013 - Psychometrics Testing 
30th Jan 2013 - Interview 

I would highly appreciate your help if you can enlighten me what exactly happens during these days. I have searched on the Internet but I didn't find any relevant information regarding the IT positions. 

May I also ask you what salary ranges can I expect for that position? 

Thanks once again for your time and energy and sorry for the inconvenience 

-Vildadalen


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## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

I forgot to mention I have 14 years experience.


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## emma2012 (Sep 27, 2012)

vildadalen i was wondering, did the recruitment team call you, before you got the shortlisted email ? 
how long did it take for you from sending that application to the email that you got shortlisted ? 

wish you good luck


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## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

Hi emma2012

I have applied in mid December 14th or 15th. I don't remember the exact date. They have called me for a telephone interview on the 9th of January. Then I got an email on the 10th of January informing I have been short listed for an interview in Dubai and asked for some documents to be filled in( visa entry form, pass photo and a copy of the passport) they specified the interview dates as I mentioned in my first post but they didn't have a detailed agenda!

I really need to know what I can expect on those days as well as a salary expectation, any hints?


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

there is a whole thread on this, but not sure if it is relevant for you http://www.expatforum.com/expats/du...bai/115361-need-info-emirates-dnata-jobs.html

Sorry, no idea otherwise, but good luck


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

I guess they will be assessing your skills and whether you're right for the job. Most companies to psychometric testing - to make sure you're not a serial killer lol - it's just a computer program that asks questions with multiple choice answers - there are no right or wrong answers, but it basically gives an insight into your personality.

A friend of my fathers works in the IT department, who is Canadian - he gets paid pretty well from what I gather - although you will be worked to the bone - but I guess the perks of an airline make up for that.


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## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

@Chocoholic and rsinner: Thank you so much. I hope someone else who recently had such an interview can submit some more details in this regards. 

@Chocoholic: Do you but chance know what salary your father's friend gets?


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## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

rsinner said:


> there is a whole thread on this, but not sure if it is relevant for you
> 
> Sorry, no idea otherwise, but good luck


Thank you so much. I have actually gone through every page on this article but no luck there


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

Sadly I don't and I'm not really in a position to ask. He's been there 10 years though, so I would imagine he's around a grade 10 or so.


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## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

Chocoholic said:


> Sadly I don't and I'm not really in a position to ask. He's been there 10 years though, so I would imagine he's around a grade 10 or so.


I understand, Thank you so much. I just cannot find what each grade include!!


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## imac (Oct 14, 2012)

I've been told by some of my contacts on LinkedIn that an IT manager in Emirates/Mercator makes between 30k-35k per month all inclusive. That's typically someone with around 10-14 years of experience. 

The way their grade structures work is a bit confusing, apparently they tend to take a number of factors in deciding where to position someone, and besides experience and background, education and professional certifications also come into where you get pegged.


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## vantage (May 10, 2012)

vildadalen said:


> I have applied for a Business IT manager job at Emirates Group and have been shortlisted for an interview in Dubai at the end of this month for the following:
> 
> 29th Jan 2013 - Assessment
> 30th Jan 2013 - Psychometrics Testing
> ...



A friend of mine is an Emirates pilot, and the psychometric tests included a question on whether he practised / enjoyed [email protected] sex. 
No, i don't know the 'correct' answer to this!!


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## imac (Oct 14, 2012)

vantage said:


> A friend of mine is an Emirates pilot, and the psychometric tests included a question on whether he practised / enjoyed [email protected] sex.
> No, i don't know the 'correct' answer to this!!


I would venture that since its moving/living in an Islamic country, the *correct* answer to that question would be "no"


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## NjxNA (Jan 13, 2013)

vildadalen said:


> I have applied for a Business IT manager job at Emirates Group and have been shortlisted for an interview in Dubai at the end of this month for the following:
> 
> 29th Jan 2013 - Assessment
> 30th Jan 2013 - Psychometrics Testing
> ...


Before the assessment ask for the grade of the position you applied for. It should be between grade 9 and 10 I guess. Keep in mind that allowances vary A LOT between different grades.


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## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

imac said:


> I've been told by some of my contacts on LinkedIn that an IT manager in Emirates/Mercator makes between 30k-35k per month all inclusive. That's typically someone with around 10-14 years of experience.
> 
> The way their grade structures work is a bit confusing, apparently they tend to take a number of factors in deciding where to position someone, and besides experience and background, education and professional certifications also come into where you get pegged.


Thank you so much for the info. Does all inclusive mean that I got a basic salary which is less than 35? and with all other allowance it will end up with 30-35?


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## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

Hmmm, that's good to know they kan ask these kind of questions! Thank you, I will be prepared. Any other question you can recall?


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## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

vantage said:


> A friend of mine is an Emirates pilot, and the psychometric tests included a question on whether he practised / enjoyed [email protected] sex.
> No, i don't know the 'correct' answer to this!!


Hmmm, that's good to know they kan ask these kind of questions! Thank you, I will be prepared. Any other question you can recall?


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## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

NjxNA said:


> Before the assessment ask for the grade of the position you applied for. It should be between grade 9 and 10 I guess. Keep in mind that allowances vary A LOT between different grades.


Thank you so much for that. I will send an email and ask about what grade the position is! 
I understand the packages may vary a lot but I wonder if you by chance have any matrix which illustrate what each grade primarily include?

Thanks again.


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## NjxNA (Jan 13, 2013)

I guess they are not disclosed in public... in any case you will be briefed about the allowances (which are not negotiable for what I recall) before the interview so no need to look for them online. Only the basic salary will be proposed once the interview process will be finished and the offer will be made.


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## emma2012 (Sep 27, 2012)

Vildadalen thanks for the info regarding your application timeline....
by the way, i found this emirates job salary grade list from some thread here, cant remember which thread now...but i think this was from 2010 so perhaps the salaries might be higher today...little bit...., but worth taking a look at:

Grade-16
38,228-79,680
Grade-15
28,416-49,159
Grade-14
21,581-37,120
Grade-13
18,108-30,965
Grade-12
15,837-26,923
Grade-11
13,724-23,193
Grade-10
11,504-19,328
Grade-9
9,148-15,278
Grade-8
7,802-12,952
Grade-7
6,059-9,998
Grade-6
4,697-7,703
Grade-5
3,510-5,721
Grade-4
2,243-3,634
Grade-3
1,693-2,742
Grade-2
1,301-2,108
Grade-1
1,051-1,703


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## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

emma2012 said:


> Vildadalen thanks for the info regarding your application timeline....
> by the way, i found this emirates job salary grade list from some thread here, cant remember which thread now...but i think this was from 2010 so perhaps the salaries might be higher today...little bit...., but worth taking a look at:
> 
> Grade-16
> ...


Thank you Emma, I think this is a bit low!! We will see if they will mention the salary during the interview. I am so excited and nervous. 

Have you applied for any jobs and still waiting for an interview?

Regards
-Vildadalen


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## emma2012 (Sep 27, 2012)

I totally can understand your excitement and being nervous, but its all worth it at the end...
i have applied for a position in HR with Emirates, waiting for a reply....thats why i was wondering how long it took for you to get a reply...
the wait is so difficult, and so long, but what to do than to have patience,,,
But lucky you that you got shortlisted,,,hope the best for you....fingers crossed....


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

vildadalen said:


> Thank you Emma, I think this is a bit low!! We will see if they will mention the salary during the interview. I am so excited and nervous.
> 
> Have you applied for any jobs and still waiting for an interview?
> 
> ...


If I were to guess, these numbers are just basic pay with (substantial) allowances to go on top of this (but I may be wrong!)


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## NjxNA (Jan 13, 2013)

rsinner said:


> If I were to guess, these numbers are just basic pay with (substantial) allowances to go on top of this (but I may be wrong!)


Definitely


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## Laowei (Nov 29, 2009)

vantage said:


> A friend of mine is an Emirates pilot, and the psychometric tests included a question on whether he practised / enjoyed [email protected] sex.
> No, i don't know the 'correct' answer to this!!


What a bizaare question. Based on previous posters response reference positioning a Male candidate based on their answers, guess in this case a negative answer = pilot; a postive reponse may open other opportunities = flight attendent. Just saying. 

_Disclaimer the inclusion of the word 'May' indicates the possibility only of a percentage of male flight crew answering the above question with an afirmation._


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## imac (Oct 14, 2012)

vildadalen said:


> Thank you so much for the info. Does all inclusive mean that I got a basic salary which is less than 35? and with all other allowance it will end up with 30-35?


Yes...

keep in mind that 35k total is the high end for these positions, I would guess they would position your basic salary at 1/3 of the grade so there is room to move you within the grade over the next 5 years or so... from what I have been told jumping grades in Emirates is pretty hard unless you move roles...


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## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

Laowei said:


> What a bizaare question. Based on previous posters response reference positioning a Male candidate based on their answers, guess in this case a negative answer = pilot; a postive reponse may open other opportunities = flight attendent. Just saying.
> 
> _Disclaimer the inclusion of the word 'May' indicates the possibility only of a percentage of male flight crew answering the above question with an afirmation._


Indeed this is bizarre questions. I would have never imagined they can ask these kind of questions...!


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## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

imac said:


> Yes...
> 
> keep in mind that 35k total is the high end for these positions, I would guess they would position your basic salary at 1/3 of the grade so there is room to move you within the grade over the next 5 years or so... from what I have been told jumping grades in Emirates is pretty hard unless you move roles...


Thank you so much. I appreciate that. We are a family of 2 adults and 3 kids age (9,4 and 1) years. Do you think this salary will be enough to survive and have some savings?

Sorry I am asking too much but the thing is that I have a good job now and it would be a big decision to quit my current job.


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## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

rsinner said:


> If I were to guess, these numbers are just basic pay with (substantial) allowances to go on top of this (but I may be wrong!)



Thank you, I am hoping for grade 10, can one negotiate to the grade maximum amount in this case 19,328?


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## vantage (May 10, 2012)

vildadalen said:


> Indeed this is bizarre questions. I would have never imagined they can ask these kind of questions...!


I think the question needs to be seen in context.
I think it was one of those sessions with 1,000+ questions over a very short period of time. Short, sharp intuitive answers, on very very random topics, to assess you under a bit of stress, jumping from maths to trivia to personal etc. Really gertting under the skin
This was for a pilot. Perhaps not a test for other roles.....


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## imac (Oct 14, 2012)

vildadalen said:


> Thank you so much. I appreciate that. We are a family of 2 adults and 3 kids age (9,4 and 1) years. Do you think this salary will be enough to survive and have some savings?
> 
> Sorry I am asking too much but the thing is that I have a good job now and it would be a big decision to quit my current job.


Everyone's personal situation is different, from what I have seen people do manage to live here and save some money even at 25k but need to restrict themselves to bare necessities... its all about compromises, in your case I would suspect the two largest compromises would be where you live and where you send your kids to school...

My personal situation, I would not be able to make do on 35k per month. For two reasons, first, like you, I have a god job already back home, and I would not be looking at uprooting my family across the world unless I was making atleast 20% more than what I make right now and also have the majority of the larger expenses such as rent and education taken care of, and second, I would not be interested in compromising my lifestyle in order to save some money - I can do that back home too without having to move here...

I am currently in Dubai and looking for work, and have been offered positions which I have turned down because in my opinion it was not a net benefit for me in my personal situation... my situation is different from yours through, I am looking for senior management roles that report to the CFO...

What I have experienced during my visit here talking to other people is that because of the large influx of cheaper (and qualified) labour from the sub continent, for mid level positions (such as the one you are interviewing for) employers here are generally taking the stance that they are not willing to offer someone from the west anything they typically would not have to worry about if they were to employ someone form say India...


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## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

imac said:


> Everyone's personal situation is different, from what I have seen people do manage to live here and save some money even at 25k but need to restrict themselves to bare necessities... its all about compromises, in your case I would suspect the two largest compromises would be where you live and where you send your kids to school...
> 
> My personal situation, I would not be able to make do on 35k per month. For two reasons, first, like you, I have a god job already back home, and I would not be looking at uprooting my family across the world unless I was making atleast 20% more than what I make right now and also have the majority of the larger expenses such as rent and education taken care of, and second, I would not be interested in compromising my lifestyle in order to save some money - I can do that back home too without having to move here...
> 
> ...



Thank you so much for the great advice. I highly appreciate them. 

In fact the accommodation, transportation and utilities fees will be included so I don't think I can do any compromises to this nether to the school. 
I would like to have a good international school for my kids and the company will also pay some of the fees as far as I could understand it. We live just normal lifestyle not partying much but we like to go out doing activities with the kids and a couple of visits to restaurants per month. We were thinking about having a maid if we can afford that so my wife can also work. 

May I ask you a trivial question; Will Emirates fly me in Business class or economy? I have asked the HR but I got no response on that!! I might sound spoiled but I don’t like to travel 6 hours in Economy class!

Thanks once again.


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## imac (Oct 14, 2012)

vildadalen said:


> Thank you so much for the great advice. I highly appreciate them.
> 
> In fact the accommodation, transportation and utilities fees will be included so I don't think I can do any compromises to this nether to the school.
> I would like to have a good international school for my kids and the company will also pay some of the fees as far as I could understand it. We live just normal lifestyle not partying much but we like to go out doing activities with the kids and a couple of visits to restaurants per month. We were thinking about having a maid if we can afford that so my wife can also work.
> ...


Depends on the grade... grade 10 is economy I believe but I could be wrong.

I know for a fact grade 14 is business with upgrade to first if there are seats available, 15 & 16 is first unless the aircraft does not have a first class cabin, then business.


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## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

imac said:


> Depends on the grade... grade 10 is economy I believe but I could be wrong.
> 
> I know for a fact grade 14 is business with upgrade to first if there are seats available, 15 & 16 is first unless the aircraft does not have a first class cabin, then business.


Thank you very much. I hope grade 10 is business


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