# CFA holder looking for jobs in Dubai



## jckew (Jun 9, 2013)

Hi

I was hoping if someone can help me with some pointers please. I am a CFA charter holder working in London for the last 6 years in both Investment Bank and Investment Management. I had previously worked with clients from the gulf region for a few years. I am looking to move to the UAE, Saudi or Qatar given the interesting aspect of the gulf region. I have tried contacting quite a lot of recruitment agents via a google search but seemed to struggle to get any respond or their website just doesn't have many jobs available (even efinancial careers only contained CFO or Managing Director level jobs). Are there any good contacts in the recruitment agency world that I could use? What are the good recruitment agents out there that are quite active out there with strong coverage of the financial services sector?

Thank you

Regards
Justin


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## nite (Apr 11, 2012)

Investment banking and wealth management is a bit tough in Dubai. i tried for a few months, then just gave up although the situation seems better now than 12 months ago. The big banks prefer locals due to Emiratization initiatives and to work with local families or Indians to deal with the professional Indian business people who make up 60% of the population here. If you are a westerner, they know they must pay you 5x's what they would pay an Indian counterpart, so here lies the challenge. You may have a shot with Standard Chartered, Barclay's, HSBC, as they have a nice presence here, try online through their recruiting site or networking in to HR (best). PIC or one of the offshore pension, retirement scheme shops are always looking for talent if you don't mind doing hard sales and being aggressive. Where there is a will, there's a way, so just stay persistent. Headhunters or agencies can help, just be careful with the ones that ask for $ up front.


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