# Gulf States Jobs Expo - London



## zeus127 (Oct 22, 2008)

Hello everyone,

I wanted to know what you all thought about this job expo taking place in London in March. Here is the link: Opportunities Gulf States - EXP09.

Apparently, there will be loads of employers from the gulf looking to recruit folks from the UK & the West. This appears to be the first one of its kind, at least by this participator group. They have not yet listed the employers who will be attending. 

I was wondering what you all thought about this and if you think it would be worth the time/money? I live in the U.S., but I'm actually considering flying out to London to attend this expo. I've been a bit discouraged by the lack of responses to my job applications and I think this may be a much better method of getting myself noticed and hopefully lead to an interview. 

Thanks, in advance, for your responses!.


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

zeus127 said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> I wanted to know what you all thought about this job expo taking place in London in March. Here is the link: Opportunities Gulf States - EXP09.
> 
> ...


I wouldn't put my hopes too high on this to be honest!! I checked out the website and as you said they don't even have a list of the employers attending!

Why don't you just do a trip to the ME country of your choice and with good job oportunities (I hear Qatar is doing ok, and Abu Dhabi... as for Dubai, well.. just read the forum!!) instead of doing the trip to London? Is only another 7 hour flight from LOndon to DBX 

Maybe last year this expo was good, but those were other times, and with the current conditions and economic climate, is hard to find jobs for people who are already here in Dubai (don't now about other countries on ME), a lot of companies are on hire freeze, so I doubt that there will be lots of employers looking to hire at this show... Is just very contradictory with what we are hearing (and experiencing) over here at the moment, where hundreds of people have lost their jobs... I don't know.... maybe it would be a good idea to email them and ask for a list of employers? Just so you know what to expect in case you decide to make the trip to London. Or if you do, make it a holiday plus go to the expo, because for the expo alone, I would not do the trip! 

And may I ask what industry do you work in, as obviously is the construction industry that is the most affected but some of the other industries are doing fairly OK. 

Hope this helps


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## Nickel (Dec 7, 2008)

I have to agree with Izzy. With the many redundancies here, there are many "already planted in Dubai" people looking for jobs who, IMHO, will get the first grabs on any openings here.

BUT, the big question is: what industry are you "with"? That could make a BIG difference~~

IMHO, I wouldn't go to a "job fair" in the UK for a Dubai job. I would come to Dubai!!!


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## zeus127 (Oct 22, 2008)

Thanks Izzy & Nickel!

To answer both of your questions, I'm in IT. There seems to be no shortage of IT jobs available in the region. I'm targeting the UAE for my job search (A.D., Dubai, Sharjah). 

Both of you state that I should go to the UAE to look for a job, but my concern is that if I don't have an interview secured, what would I do there? I don't suppose you want me to col-call companies and request an immediate interview while I'm there? Also, if I were to go to the UAE, how much time would I need to spend? I am currently employed and it's not very easy for me to simply take 3 weeks off work. I can manage it, but I would like to have a plan in place for when I arrive. 

Should I let employers know that I'm willing to fly to the UAE on my own expense for an interview? How would you suggest I plan this out? Thanks again, your responses are very helpful!


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## Nickel (Dec 7, 2008)

zeus127 said:


> Thanks Izzy & Nickel!
> 
> To answer both of your questions, I'm in IT. There seems to be no shortage of IT jobs available in the region. I'm targeting the UAE for my job search (A.D., Dubai, Sharjah).
> 
> ...


Honestly, in the economic climate here (and globally) a face is better than a CV (IMHO). Many come here for a month or 2 - on a visitor visa - to try and secure employment.

But, I see your dilemna. Are your qualifications "stellar"? Do you possess qualifications which would make you sought after/better than other IT professionals? Do you have any connections with your present job who might have connections here in the UAE?

I don't know much about the IT field or the idiosyncrasies that might be unique to that field. Maybe someone here can point you in the right direction.

Good Luck!!

Oh, (edited to add) - I would not "offer" to fly out on my own to a prospective employer. But that is my opinion.


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## dizzyizzy (Mar 30, 2008)

zeus127 said:


> Thanks Izzy & Nickel!
> 
> To answer both of your questions, I'm in IT. There seems to be no shortage of IT jobs available in the region. I'm targeting the UAE for my job search (A.D., Dubai, Sharjah).
> 
> ...


Well, you said it yourself! that you got discouraged for the lack of responses to your submissions!! While I think IT is an area that might not be as affected as others (maybe FlyingDodo can tell you more since he is in IT too), things are definitely slow at the moment and those awesome expat packages are rare to find now... plus there are unemployed people already living in Dubai and those are the ones who are more likely to get the jobs! My experience was that even if a few employers showed interest in my CV before I came here (had a few phone interviews and all) it was clear that they did not take me completely seriously until I got here, and this is not just my assumption, a recruiter actually told me so, that the company he had sent my CV to had loved it but they could not do much until they actually met me and we spoke face to face. We did and I got an offer 2 weeks after. I don't know how much time you would need to spend here doing interviews honestly. Back in September I received 3 offers in a period of 4 weeks. The time between I did the first interview with my current employer and the time I was hired was less than a week. But then again I was really, really lucky because they needed me to start immediatly due to urgent projects that needed my intervention. And things back in September were definitely different...

So I guess from my rant what I would personally suggest you is to ring these potential employers and test waters.. if you hear the same response as I did (that they employer likes your CV very much but is not likely to make you an offer until they meet you face to face) then it might be worth doing the investment and flying here. But definitely doing your homework on the phone would help lots to give you an idea of the potential in your specific case. Also please consider that some recruiters here don´t take email very seriously, which means you will have to do lots of phone follow up.

Hope this helps and good luck with your search!

Izzy


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## crazymazy1980 (Aug 2, 2008)

zeus127 said:


> Thanks Izzy & Nickel!
> 
> To answer both of your questions, I'm in IT. There seems to be no shortage of IT jobs available in the region. I'm targeting the UAE for my job search (A.D., Dubai, Sharjah).


What kind of IT jobs are you looking for. I work in IT Security and a lot of the jobs are taken up by people from the Indian Sub-Continent for much lower salaries than someone from the Western world woud even consider. There are however IT Management roles - it would be whether you would fit into that category.

I hadn't set foot in the UAE for a single interview as my interviewer did the interview on a trip back to the UK and then I did a telephone interview to assess me for the more technical aspects of the role. A lot of people do it this way, however as the positions become less and the available local HR becomes greater through lay-offs and redundancies it's going to be harder to establish an interview unless you're here in the country with a smile on your face and a can do attitude pretty much 'ready-to-start'. 

Do your research and then plan a long vaction over here then come over with a laptop and the ability to print your CV adapted accordinly for each role/company speciality and if you're lucky (and good enough) you never know...

...if you don't find anything then at least you've had a nice holiday 

Good Luck mate.


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

In this present climate, I would not bother handing in my notice to come to Dubai if I had a secure job or even jeopardising your current job with unreasonable requests for annual leave. What is happening in the UAE at the mo is merely the calm before the storm! Things will get a lot worse and what is happening in construction will slowly but surely spread to other industries simply because no corrective action is being taken. Dubai seems to have adopted the attitude that once US & Europe sort out their economic woes, everything will fall into place here and that couldn't be much further from the truth. This country is highly inexperienced in dealing with anything that even resembles a crisis - I still ask myself how a country that has been predicted to experience only a minor slowdown could have landed itself in such a mess!!!

Getting a job in the UAE right now is like winning the lottery. I would not come out here if I were you unless I had a very secure job offer, from a company that was in existence during the last recession or that has at least enough financial backing to see it through the next few years. Things could very well work out for you but please consider all eventualities before coming out here. If you can afford to wait, then do so cause after all, what's an extra couple of months if it means that you end up with the right offer, from the right company. By mid-2009, it will be more apparent which companies will survive and those who will simply disappear into oblivion!

Best of luck!


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## zeus127 (Oct 22, 2008)

Thanks again to all of your responses, they are incredibly helpful. To answer some of your questions, I am an IT Service Desk Manager with 10+ years experience. I am really in no rush to move out, and the advice to wait a few months or until the summer is very sound. I have the luxury of being with my current employer for the entire 10+ years and my job is very secure. 

It's interesting to me that you all suggest I fly to the UAE to find work, but none of you wouldn't recommend that I fly to the UK to meet these employers at this job expo. That's the part of this whole thread that is confusing to me. I realize that it will depend greatly on the employers who will actually be coming to the event. But if there are employers in my field that will be present, I just can't reconcile this not being worthwhile....


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

I would opt for Dubai over London for the simple reason that you would have a lot more employers to target and that would significantly improve your chances of landing the right job with the right company.

This is the first time that this expo is being run and until the last minute, you have no guarantee of who will be there and their standing in the market. It is very likely that the 'big boys' in your field will stand back and watch who turns up this year before deciding whether to have a stall the following year. This would mean missing out on talking to some of the leading companies in your field as understandably, sending a team to the expo would cost money and unless it provides a real opportunity to generate some marketing to the right people and increase their position/ stand in the market and generate new leads/ clients/ business, for most big companies, such expos are a waste of time. 

I used to work for a big company and they only ever made an appearance when they stood to gain something from the expo - sure they could target good candidates but when you are that massive, candidates tend to come to you, so there needs to be other opportunities there to justify the expense of having a stand. The rule of the games dictates that you go to the employer rather than the other way round. By making the effort to come out here, it shows a genuine interest in their business and a personal commitment on your part to move out here and build your career.

Good luck!


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## Rod007 (Jan 7, 2009)

zeus127,

If I were you I would register online for the newsletters instead --- I had a quick look at the site and apparently, they will list all the positions on their site before the Job Fair starts --- You could then apply for any position which may be suitable. Sounds a lot better than spending your time and money to go to London and finding out there was no position which took your fancy. 

All the Best.

Rod


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