# Taking the plunge and moving to dubai :)



## lulubelle23 (Nov 20, 2011)

Hello, 

im very new to this so pls bare with me. myself and a friend (also female as i know the rules on unmarried co-habitation!) are going to be moving to dubai hopefully in april/may of this year... we have friends living out there already but neither if us have ever been... we have always wanted to tho and thought well why not save as much as we can and get an open ended ticket! 

my questions are really about how difficult it will be to find work out there... I work currently for a debt management company and have 6 years experience in customer service/collections but would be happy to really do any kind of office based job (as long as I was qualified/trained to do it!) and have heard the job maket is quite good... 
would it be better to contact recruitment agencies/specific companies now or is it too soon? 
are housing/travel allowances generally the norm? and how much could i expect to be earning in an office based customer service/call centre type role? 
from the sounds of it it looks like quite a good job market for ex pats so do many companies offer telephone interviews or would it just be a case of going out and trying to arrange as many as possible when I get there?

I obviously dont expect to earn exceptionally more than I do over here as I only have high school qualifications, I have no degree or A-levels (but I have worked constantly since leaving school) its more a case of the urge to move to a different country and learn about a completely different culture and gain a bit of life experience before im too old!! (im 24 btw!) and dubai has always been top of my list of places to go before I die!

So many questions I know.... but any replies/words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated as I am more than a little bit nervous (but ridiculously excited!!)

thanks, 

Lucy x


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## lulubelle23 (Nov 20, 2011)

oh and my friend is a qualified beauty therapist with an extremely impressive CV!!! im assuming she wouldnt find it too difficult to get a job in one of the many hotel/spa's??


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## Mr Rossi (May 16, 2009)

Both the beauty industry and office jobs are staffed by Filipino's on what you would regard a very low salary. Customer service doesn't really exist so there is a demand for people that can communicate, however most things are price led here which means there are essentially few positions open to you.

That said if you have friends willing to put you up for free, have an open ticket and some savings to tide you over I would say give it go. But only if you are willing to chase every contact, opportunity and trail all over town all day. If you are after a working holiday in the sun, go somewhere where drinks don't start at 5-6 quid.


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## sarahlou84 (Aug 3, 2011)

I was in a very similar position to you when I came over 2 months ago.

My husband and I came over with no jobs and no money! We had tried searching for jobs before we come over but we didn't have a lot of luck because we found that employers weren't really interested unless you were already in the UAE.

Once we got over here we both signed up with every recruitment agency we could find. My husband had a job withon 2 weeks and I had a job within a month. I also only have only secondary school education but this was not a problem at all. Employers were more interested in the fact that I had stayed with my previous company in England for 7 years and my experience.

I think if you come over determined with a positive attitude you can do whatever you want to do. 

Good Luck!


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## quattro (Dec 25, 2008)

You should probably visit before you decide to move.


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

I think debt collection agencies are a growing business here. They seem to work on a commission basis so the more you collect, the more you earn. Companies haven't really gotten into the idea of having their own credit controllers yet. Staff in hotels here work very long hours as a rule. Most salons are staffed by non-Europeans. I seem to recall a thread a while ago with a lady who was a hairdresser from Australia who came over and was appalled and insulted by what she was being offered to work a very long working week with few perks. You say you have friends here? I am sure they could give you the same feedback as you will receive on this thread. One thing is for sure, it's very unlikely you will have any luck unless you are here. I am not sure I would give up a steady job with a steady income to come here if I were you though.


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