# Looking to get out of here!



## brendanbrady (Jan 5, 2009)

To whom it may concern,


I have been Managing Director of a successfully multi-franchised motor dealership in Ireland for 8 years. Prior to that I was sales manager for a prominent, multi-site, Mercedes Benz, VW, Audi and Mazda dealership for 13 years achieving the accolade of highest performer for many of those years. We also achieved merit for our CSI score. (Customer Satisfaction Index), I am however, bored with the lack of challenge in my job and disillusioned with Ireland overall. The rewards in this country are no recompense for the effort put in. The punitive tax system and soaring cost of living coupled with an economy that is in free-fall stifles any enthusiasm one might have in performing to the best of their abilities. 

With this in mind, I have taken the decision to seek new employment overseas. 

My preference is for the Middle East (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha) HOWEVER, I am open to suggestion for the right position with the right package at any location.

Within reason, I am able to move at the earliest convenience.


Feel free to contact me for referees and CV. They will assure anyone of my merchantable quality.


If you think I might be an asset to your organisation please do not hesitate to contact me for a more detailed description of myself, my achievements and my abilities.


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

I think you will have a lot more response if you contact prospective employers and recruitment agencies specialising in your field directly. They would be in a better position to advise you of what is available at the mo, etc and then you will be in a better position to make an informed decision about moving here. Bear in mind as well that, tax-free doesn't mean that you will end up with more money in your pocket - the cost of accommodation on its own is more than enough to wipe out all the 'tax benefits' that most people think they stand to gain!

Out of curiosity, why do you want to move out here and what do you think the Middle East can offer that Ireland cannot?? Why not move to another company in Ireland or elsewhere for that matter? There has been a downturn in the market across most industries lately, including a lot of redundancies and this will very obviously have a ripple effect across the sales industry - if you're not earning, then you're not spending! I wouldn't be in such a hurry to jump ship in this present climate, especially if your job is very secure. Better to be stuck in a boring job than sitting in a foreign country, unemployed. At least if you find yourself unemployed in Ireland, your country won't let you starve! 

Either way, best of luck!


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## Debian (Jan 3, 2009)

You might want to look at the existing auto dealerships there in Dubai and possibly email/fax/call some of them up and see if they are hiring and what qualifications you might need. Another option is posting your resume online at a global recruitment site and see if anything happens that might help you.


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## brendanbrady (Jan 5, 2009)

Debian said:


> You might want to look at the existing auto dealerships there in Dubai and possibly email/fax/call some of them up and see if they are hiring and what qualifications you might need. Another option is posting your resume online at a global recruitment site and see if anything happens that might help you.


Thanks for your reply,
I have extensively e-mailed many main dealers over the past 4 months. I have entered my CV on circa 90 recruitment web-sites and, as yet, have not had any replies or acknowledgements. I am highly qualified in my field with a proven track record, so I would have imagined someone there would need someone with my experience. As it has been 23 years since I have looked for alternative employment I may be a little rusty at this but I had thought of going out to Dubai for a week or so to put myself about. Anyone got any advise on this or recommend any other websites I should be looking at?

Regards
BB


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## Andy Capp (Oct 5, 2008)

You can't do better than coming here and talking to the relevant people, EMC in Abu Dhabi have just said they're building the worlds biggest merc dealership, have a search under them and get to know who the principles are, then call them directly, you never know...


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## brendanbrady (Jan 5, 2009)

Maz25 said:


> I think you will have a lot more response if you contact prospective employers and recruitment agencies specialising in your field directly. They would be in a better position to advise you of what is available at the mo, etc and then you will be in a better position to make an informed decision about moving here. Bear in mind as well that, tax-free doesn't mean that you will end up with more money in your pocket - the cost of accommodation on its own is more than enough to wipe out all the 'tax benefits' that most people think they stand to gain!
> 
> Out of curiosity, why do you want to move out here and what do you think the Middle East can offer that Ireland cannot?? Why not move to another company in Ireland or elsewhere for that matter? There has been a downturn in the market across most industries lately, including a lot of redundancies and this will very obviously have a ripple effect across the sales industry - if you're not earning, then you're not spending! I wouldn't be in such a hurry to jump ship in this present climate, especially if your job is very secure. Better to be stuck in a boring job than sitting in a foreign country, unemployed. At least if you find yourself unemployed in Ireland, your country won't let you starve!
> 
> Either way, best of luck!




Thanks for your help , 
The boon in Ireland was created by an inflx of forigners creating a need for rental accomodation, and as all the Polish etc who created the need for rental accommodation flee this fast sinking ship because there is no longer work for them, there is approximately 100,000 unoccupied properties in Ireland at the moment. As a result of cataclysmic miss-management of our country, it is estimated that it will be 2012 before our economy turns and it will be 2014 at the earliest before we start to see good times again. And, as the man said, things will get much worse before they get better. All this coupled with Ireland becoming the murder capital of Europe and also the gateway to Europe for human and drug trafficking. I, like many other native Irish, want to get of this barge and leave this cesspit of anarchy and crime (as if our own criminals were not enough to deal with, our illustrious government went out and imported criminals from Africa and Eastern Europe in their quest to get additional labour into the country. Now the ones who came to work are leaving, and what remains are the scum who free-load on our ridiculous refugee assistance and the once diluted pool of criminals has increased ten fold as a proportion of refugee stats. Our most hardened Irish criminals are terrified of this imported faction. Our idiotic political correctness refuse to deal with this with a firm hand and week by week it gets further and futrther out of control).
There is a respect for the enforcement of the law in the middle east. 
There is a respect for each other that is not found in Europe.
There is little or no evidance of vandalisim in U.A.E.
The students in U.A.E. think it is cool to do well.
The list can go on.

Anyway, sorry for getting on my soapbox. I could go on but I don't want to depress you.
If you take all the above, coupled with the fact that it could take 10 years in Ireland for me to get a tan you might have a better understanding of why I want to move.
Am I wrong?

Thanks for your help


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## Sparkysair (Jul 16, 2008)

Just a thought, but do you speak Arabic by any chance? I recently spent a fair amount of time (over several visits) in the Honda garage in AD and I was the only English speaking customer who came throught the door. All the other customers were native Arabic speakers and all the sales guys spoke Arabic - the guy I dealt with was Egyptian. If you're serious about the move, maybe it would be a good idea to take some language classes (assuming you don't already speak Arabic of course!)?


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## brendanbrady (Jan 5, 2009)

Sparkysair said:


> Just a thought, but do you speak Arabic by any chance? I recently spent a fair amount of time (over several visits) in the Honda garage in AD and I was the only English speaking customer who came throught the door. All the other customers were native Arabic speakers and all the sales guys spoke Arabic - the guy I dealt with was Egyptian. If you're serious about the move, maybe it would be a good idea to take some language classes (assuming you don't already speak Arabic of course!)?


Unfortunatly not. however, I am led to beleive that English is widely used and although they may have spoke Arabic, the likelyhood is that they could speek English as well. However, I do beleive I should get some basic language skills and take your advise on board.

shokran Gazillan


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

brendanbrady said:


> Thanks for your help ,
> The boon in Ireland was created by an inflx of forigners creating a need for rental accomodation, and as all the Polish etc who created the need for rental accommodation flee this fast sinking ship because there is no longer work for them, there is approximately 100,000 unoccupied properties in Ireland at the moment. As a result of cataclysmic miss-management of our country, it is estimated that it will be 2012 before our economy turns and it will be 2014 at the earliest before we start to see good times again. And, as the man said, things will get much worse before they get better. All this coupled with Ireland becoming the murder capital of Europe and also the gateway to Europe for human and drug trafficking. I, like many other native Irish, want to get of this barge and leave this cesspit of anarchy and crime (as if our own criminals were not enough to deal with, our illustrious government went out and imported criminals from Africa and Eastern Europe in their quest to get additional labour into the country. Now the ones who came to work are leaving, and what remains are the scum who free-load on our ridiculous refugee assistance and the once diluted pool of criminals has increased ten fold as a proportion of refugee stats. Our most hardened Irish criminals are terrified of this imported faction. Our idiotic political correctness refuse to deal with this with a firm hand and week by week it gets further and futrther out of control).
> There is a respect for the enforcement of the law in the middle east.
> There is a respect for each other that is not found in Europe.
> ...


Fair enough! However, I do think that in every society, there are a few who give everyone else a bad name - you shouldn't give up on your country just because of that. Every country has its good and bad points and the same is true for the UAE. Weigh up the good and the bad before you make a final decision, if anything just so that you do not get the culture I got when I first moved out here! 

Anyway, we all have our reasons for coming out here. Best of luck with your job hunt and I hope that it works out for you.


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## brendanbrady (Jan 5, 2009)

Maz25 said:


> Fair enough! However, I do think that in every society, there are a few who give everyone else a bad name - you shouldn't give up on your country just because of that. Every country has its good and bad points and the same is true for the UAE. Weigh up the good and the bad before you make a final decision, if anything just so that you do not get the culture I got when I first moved out here!
> 
> Anyway, we all have our reasons for coming out here. Best of luck with your job hunt and I hope that it works out for you.


Thanks for the kind words of advise.

Regards,
BB


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## qwert97 (Jun 2, 2008)

I am sure you are a highly qualified person and many Companies would want to hire you under normal circumstances. However the grass is always greener on the other side. Middle east (including Dubai) has been hit by recession and people are holding on to their purses tightly and I am pretty sure there is a slump in the vehicles market.

If after weighing pros and cons you do decide that you still want to move to this part of the world, make sure you don't severe your ties back home- i.e don't sell home but rent it, keep your car etc just in case you have to go back. Dubai has lost its lustre and the economist predict that the market will not recover before 2010.


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## brendanbrady (Jan 5, 2009)

qwert97 said:


> I am sure you are a highly qualified person and many Companies would want to hire you under normal circumstances. However the grass is always greener on the other side. Middle east (including Dubai) has been hit by recession and people are holding on to their purses tightly and I am pretty sure there is a slump in the vehicles market.
> 
> If after weighing pros and cons you do decide that you still want to move to this part of the world, make sure you don't severe your ties back home- i.e don't sell home but rent it, keep your car etc just in case you have to go back. Dubai has lost its lustre and the economist predict that the market will not recover before 2010.


Appreciate the advise,
as you quite rightly said, "economist predict that the market will not recover before 2010." however, economists predict Ireland will not recover until 2014 and where I do not consider myself to be old at 49, 5 years is a long wait for things to get back to normal. It is not only the economic factor that is driving me but the security factor. There are many places now in Ireland where you won't drive through never mind walk.

Thanks again for your help!

Anyone got anything good to say or positive advise??


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## Rod007 (Jan 7, 2009)

> Anyone got anything good to say or positive advise??



The advice you should be seeking for ought to be the correct advice and not necessarily a positive one!

As someone who's lived half of his life in England and currently living in my country of birth (not Dubai) I would say the following:

1- I am afraid for your field of work you should be seeking to find work in English speaking countries. The language barrier will be of immense importance in your profession and it will cause you a lot of unhappiness and stress even if you managed to find the work you're looking for.

2- Just that you come to realisation of what it's like to live in a foreign country, if money is not an issue, why not book a short holiday to Dubai and see if the place is really what you imagine it is.


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## Xpat (Nov 12, 2008)

Rod007 said:


> Anyone got anything good to say or positive advise??
> 
> 
> The advice you should be seeking for ought to be the correct advice and not necessarily a positive one!
> ...


Very good reply Rod,

Brendan I would ask you to wait till March even if U get an offer to get an idea how the local government is doing. As far as I know it is doing Very bad! The company I was working wasnt even connected to real estate layed off 5 ppl from my office of 12. We are high tech company and making one person redundant can increase responsibilities to others. They asked me if I wanted to increase my responsibilities , i refused and am planning to resign. I found out the payments we were supposed to receive from last yr's projects were delayed cos those companies invested their money in real estate and lost millions.


Dubai aint transparent as ireland and they are hiding stuffs and a crash in real estate can mess up Dubai like no tomorrow. Dubai is in 80 billion dollar debt... and borrow money from Abu Dhabi.....


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## brendanbrady (Jan 5, 2009)

Rod007 said:


> The advice you should be seeking for ought to be the correct advice and not necessarily a positive one!
> 
> As someone who's lived half of his life in England and currently living in my country of birth (not Dubai) I would say the following:
> 
> ...



Thanks again for the advice.
I have visited U.A.E. on a number of occasions and I am familiar with the cultural differences between Ireland and M.E. 
On reviewing my original thread I note I omitted one important statement that:
"Although my forte is automotive, my management and HR abilities could be applied to many industries." so I am not restricted to the motor trade. Indeed these abilities would work very well in realty which is a big industry in the Middle East. 
I am aware of the global problems that ensue but I have an ability to produce results in hard times which I have proved before in the last recession but unlike the last time I will relocate to the area where prosperity is most likely to return quickest!
My research says the Middle East is this place!!"


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## crazymazy1980 (Aug 2, 2008)

brendanbrady said:


> ...but unlike the last time I will relocate to the area where prosperity is most likely to return quickest!
> 
> My research says the Middle East is this place!!"


Interesting final quote. 

I would say that the Middle East is the last place that the recession has hit and as the US and Europe are climbing the hill at the moment and making steps to acknowedge, and hopefully fix the situation, the ME is just about feeling the shockwave and acknowledgment isn't too forthcoming - so I doubt a plan as to what they are going to do is in anything more than it's infancy. 

An article in The National today says that house and rental prices have just levelled off, that peak happened in Aug 2007 in the UK so we're about 16months behind. The difference is here the debt is around 100% GDP whereas in UK it's around 8% and everyone is saying this is really bad, this economy is also very very young and doesn't have the same foundations of stability that will help the economy of the UK recover.

Finally a lot of the investment that comes here is from foreign sources. This means investors, less the brave ones who have spare cash, will be very cautious at the moment. Banks are already trying to build up there capital and are being very reluctant to loan to businesses and invididuals AND when they do are whacking on high interest rates as protective measures against the higher risk.

So I would say that the best place to be in a recession would be a place that has already been hit or one that is in a more developed state and moving out of it. Moving into a country that is possibly about to go into hard times may not be the best move.

But this is only conjecture for debate. We all pay our money and take our chances...


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