# Moving to Dubai wihout job?



## cfcol (Apr 25, 2011)

Hi all,

I'm moving over to Dubai next month with a friend from Ireland for one month to find a job. I'm interested to see what you think of this idea, do you think it would be difficult to find a job in Dubai at the moment? 

I'm 22 and have a degree with a good bit of experience in Marketing & Event Management and ideally hope to find a job within these industries. But I am willing to take any good paying position. 

I have been applying for positions online but I don't think the employers are taking me seriously without been located in Dubai.

I would love some advise on the above as I'm getting nervous about moving over now. 

Thanks,
Colin


----------



## md000 (Dec 16, 2008)

Any hiring manager would ask these questions:

1) What is good paying, to you? AED per month (negotiable or depends upon your salary range are NOT good answers. you need a straight forward X AED per month with Y benefits)
2) What is "good bit of experience" - considering that the basic math shows you just got out of univeristy this year or last year. 
3) What regional experience do you have that would make you a good candidate?
4) If you have no regional experience, have you ever been to Dubai? Why are you interested in coming here? 

At the end) Why are you a better candidate than everyone else?


Think about those questions, then make the decision to come here. 

-md000/mike






cfcol said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I'm moving over to Dubai next month with a friend from Ireland for one month to find a job. I'm interested to see what you think of this idea, do you think it would be difficult to find a job in Dubai at the moment?
> 
> ...


----------



## Burj (Apr 25, 2011)

i think id concur - i tried for a while then decided to come over. this is the advice lots of people gave me especially nowadays when roles are scarcer!



cfcol said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I'm moving over to Dubai next month with a friend from Ireland for one month to find a job. I'm interested to see what you think of this idea, do you think it would be difficult to find a job in Dubai at the moment?
> 
> ...


----------



## Mr Rossi (May 16, 2009)

A recruiter once told me that applying for jobs through jobsites are a waste of time as there are up to 500 applicants per job each day. They use filtering software to go through that but even then they may only look at 5-10 CVs. That's if the job is actually geniune and not advertised just to make either the recruiter, company or even the jobs website itself look busy. Frustrating but I wouldn't take no replies personally.

The jobs market in the UAE is very tough at the moment, I know a few people in events (both corporate and entertainment) and the work is sporadic freelancing a lot of the time. Corporate spending on things like exhibitions is right down and that has an effect on the whole industry. Also while your degree is handy in this part of the world, it's mostly about contacts and experience. The bottom line is people give jobs to their peers in return for positions back. If you're not part of the circle or group it may be particularly difficult to break in, especially without any regional experience.

That said it is possible if you are dynamic enough.


----------



## DubaiATC (Jun 26, 2010)

cfcol said:


> I'm 22 and have a degree with a good bit of experience in Marketing & Event Management and ideally hope to find a job within these industries.


Realistically, a potential employer is not going to consider any 22-year old as having a "good bit" of experience, especially just out of college. I wish you the best in your job search, but I hope your resume doesn't indicate "good" experience because that could be a red flag when they look further and see you're fresh our of school.

md000 made some excellent points, I hope you consider them carefully.




cfcol said:


> But I am willing to take any good paying position.


Not trying to be negative, but this is highly unlikely outside of your job field/degree. It's a tough job market over here right now, and the competition you'll be up against will make it difficult.


----------



## zin (Oct 28, 2010)

I came to Dubai a year and a half ago with no job lined up but had 10 years experience in my field. I was lucky to find a job within a month and a half but I had applied to over 50 positions online and barely 5 responded. I had one interview in my entire search and got the job.

I'm now speaking with recruitment agents and they are saying the 2nd and 4th quarters of the year are normally the busiest yet this year (we are in Q2 now) they are extremely slow to compare to the previous few years when the recession was in full flow.

Even though I did what you are considering my suggestion would be don't. When I came I could support myself for 6 to 9 months without work so I gave myself time to find a job, 1 month is not enough.


----------



## Canuck_Sens (Nov 16, 2010)

Hi,

You are young and I don't think this is a good idea unless there is huge unemployment there in Ireland and int he rest of Europe.

You are young, build your experience there, learn things, be good on what you do. you might change fields along the way.

and then when you feel like trying uncharted waters 9other countries)I would say go for it. Here they are looking for people with experience.

but now it is too damn early honeslty. You want to live well right ? living well does not mean partying all the time.

They are going to offer you peanuts because you have no experience and you might feel enticed to change jobs mostly because there are jobs there where they will pay you better because you speak English.

sorry for being blunt that's how I see it. good luck with your choice


----------



## cfcol (Apr 25, 2011)

Thank you for all your advise. Right now all Im looking to know is what the job market is like and would I be better off being over in Dubai to find a job rather then applying online from home. A lot of recruitment agencies are advising me to contact them when I arrive and are not interested in helping me from here.

md000 -Thanks for those questions. I am fully aware of the questions that i may be asked and what salary/package I require to work and live in Dubai. 

DubaiATC- regards my experience i will allow the employer to judge what experience i have when looking at my resume, im not going to state to them that "i have a good bit of experience" or write it in my CV.

Zin - Im thinking myself that a month is not enough but I wouldn't be in the position to stay any longer. Im hoping to meet with recruitment agents and employers when I arrive and that way if I don't get a job at least i have met with them face to face and can hopefully keep in contact with them and proceed from there. 

Canuck_Sens - Unemployment in ireland is very bad at the moment and is the reason I am relocating. I choose Dubai because I love the city and was really hoping to live and work there. 

Thanks again for all the advise.


----------



## zin (Oct 28, 2010)

cfcol, it's good to meet the recruitment agents as that is half the battle in Dubai anyway. What I would advise though is to be flexible, i.e. not require a relocation fee, let potential recruiters think you are living in Dubai already so they don't have to fork out getting you here. If a job comes along have enough money until your first pay check to live.


----------



## nzdiaspora (Apr 19, 2010)

cfcol said:


> Thank you for all your advise. Right now all Im looking to know is what the job market is like and would I be better off being over in Dubai to find a job rather then applying online from home. A lot of recruitment agencies are advising me to contact them when I arrive and are not interested in helping me from here.
> 
> md000 -Thanks for those questions. I am fully aware of the questions that i may be asked and what salary/package I require to work and live in Dubai.
> 
> ...


I got zero response from online recruitment sites like monstergulf, bayt and gulf talent so don't waste your time and energy. I got all my interviews and meetings by applying through company careers websites directly and by contacting people through linked in (linked in was the best!!). (if they are interested they would usually want to see you the next day)

You can set up appointments with recruitment agencies, but to be honest they can afford to have very specific requirements and won't waste their time seeing you if you do not match their needs or if you just want a chat. 

There is an abundance of unemployed expats with the advantage of having UAE experience so getting a job through the normal channels will be difficult (don't think you can pick up some bar work or simple admin job because these are usually filled by asians and eastern europeans who are cheaper to employ). 

The best way is to find a job is through people you already know here or by making contacts. The best option is to get a job in ireland that has branches in dubai then get a transfer (thats what my partner did when we decided we wanted to try living here)

Unless you are very very lucky one month in dubai is not long enough to find a job, some interview processes can take up to two months in themselves.


----------



## wandabug (Apr 22, 2010)

I say go for it, as long as you have the funds to support yourself while looking. Don't get yourself into debt over it and if you are unlucky and do not find employment then you have had a fantastic holiday. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Things happen to people who are prepared to take a risk. Good luck xx


----------



## expatkid (Mar 19, 2011)

Hey i Know a place which has a vacancy and they are looking at people with good command over the English language, They are into Events . Just PM me your mail id. Will give u the details.


----------



## cfcol (Apr 25, 2011)

expatkid said:


> Hey i Know a place which has a vacancy and they are looking at people with good command over the English language, They are into Events . Just PM me your mail id. Will give u the details.


Hi Expatkid,

Thanks for your post and I really appreciate your help. Im still only a junior member on Expat forum so I am unable to PM you. My email add is [SNIP] and i would be happy to send on my CV if required. Thanks a million, Colin


----------



## android (Dec 11, 2010)

cfcol said:


> Hi Expatkid,
> 
> Thanks for your post and I really appreciate your help. Im still only a junior member on Expat forum so I am unable to PM you. My email add is [SNIP] and i would be happy to send on my CV if required. Thanks a million, Colin


Cfcol
just an advice, even if you find a job, better be sure, that you really like it, otherwise you will be stuck with a work you hate at least for 2 years, don’t make my own mistake.


----------

