Sarah_Jane

Hi,

My husband and I are seriously looking at moving to and working in the ME. There are a bewildering number of agencies offering jobs, many of them advertise identical posts.

I am wondering how people on this forum obtained their posts in the ME, whether certain agencies are better than others, or if it's best to approach companies direct where possible?

Also, how long from application and job offer did it take before you moved?

I work in healthcare and my husband is a civil eng in rail.

Thanks, SJ

Bahtatboy

Similar questions have been asked and answered numerous times, so try the search function (if its working at the moment); there's a lot of detailed information available on here. In brief:

There's a host of agencies, both local and international; some deal with specific industries, others are generic. They vary in competence and contacts, as they do elsewhere. Try Scamp (another poster).

My view is that networking is the most productive technique, but good agencies play an important role, and direct applications have limited success (and then only if you can get through to the decision makers, who invariably are not in HR).

The duration between starting to hunt and getting sand in your shoes varies widely. For some (many?) it takes months; for my current position I could have been in situ within one week of the initial contact, although I'd been hunting for a couple of months at that stage. Expect things to grind to a standstill during Ramadan in many countries.

Your husband should have a lot to go at, especially in Qatar (but see the various and numerous posts that are negative about the place). You'll need to be niche, otherwise you'll be competing with subcontinentals and Filipinas who'll work below UK minimum wage.

Good luck

Sarah_Jane

Bahtatboy - Thanks for your reply - I appreciate it.

You have confirmed our suspicions about direct applications - tried that and not heard anything! Will definitely look at the specialist agencies and networking - I am just starting to get to grips with Linkedin!!

I will check out Scamp's posts too.

Many thanks, SJ

Sarah_Jane

Okay - think i have found the post by Scampy I think you were referring to (after I got past the testosterone talk).

That's helpful, thanks. SJ

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...=834963&page=2

Bahtatboy

Yeah, he's all talk and no trousers. (Not really!)

scot47

I think there are different routes depending on what field you work in. I could advise on those foolish enough to be in education but would hesitate to give authoritative advice to snakecharmers, sorcerers, hookers, and other unfamiliar professions.

scrubbedexpat141

Yes really.

What Bahtat says is spot on. THe link you've posted is the list that between us (without really realising) has become the go-to process for how to get out here.

I might be able to ring you or Bahtat or Joe Bloggs one day with a blinding role, but it might not come off. You are most likely to be in someones email-folder or little black book and get a call out the blue.

Trust me though; YOU GET OUT WHAT YOU PUT IN. MOre calls, more emails, more specs, more applications, more effort = more responses.

If you get a response to 10% of calls and emails then don't stop at 10....email 100 companies, call them all, etc etc etc

Sarah_Jane

Thanks for your reply scamp...... that's fantastic. Hubby and I looking at building up our contacts now. Hope to be joining you all out in the sand!