finding work in dubai
 

I am moving to Dubai in the new year and have been told that the easiest way to find work is to look when you arrive, rather than using the internet etc. Can anyone confirm that this is the case and give me any advice for when i arrive.

Many people come to dubai on visit visas, search and find nothing, but it all depends on your credentials and how much in demand your type of position is. I would advice that you check out the various online resources that post jobs in Dubai and see how many positions are available for your type of position, why not try applying from where you are and see what happens.

Thanks for your help I am a qualified social worker and have had a lot of experience in child care and charitable work. I am led to believe that there is little in the way of social services in Dubai and so would be prepared to be flexible with regards to work. Do you know of any useful contacts or websites that may be useful to me?

Thanks again for the help

Cant say that I have met many social workers here in the UAE, but maybe I dont know enough people. From my experience working here really really needs paper (degrees, certificates, diplomas, etc), so if you have something like this for child care, then I would advise you to apply at some schools or nursaries. The best job resources can be found in my signature, I wrote it when I didnt have a job and continue to update it. ;)

Thanks again for your help, I have a masters degree in social work and will contact schools and nursaries as advised. However if this avenue is unsuccessful what are the chances of being able to retrain in a new field whilst living in Dubai

Thanks in anticipation Mikinda

It is much easier to find a job and meet employers if you are in Dubai. However there are two significant drawbacks to this:

1. You may be hired as a "local" hire rather than an overseas hire. This means you would get less generous housing and furniture allowances (if any).

2. Time moves very differently in the Arab world, as priorities are different. You may get a job offer, but until it is all signed and sealed and you have all the papers, you cannot get a flat, so you will be stuck in an expensive hotel. This could drag on for weeks/months even, and you face the choice of waiting it out at a hotel, or waiting it out back home at the risk of losing the job if you can't pressure the employer to follow it through.

Thanks for that info, my partner is already in Dubai and will soon have a flat, He has experienced all the drawbacks you have mentioned. When he is settled I will join him and search for work out there,
Thanks again for the advice

Hi ya, i am new to this also Sounds as though we are experiencing the same problems. I would really like to work in the UAE, I have some friends who live there already.
I have registered with some agencies - but so far 4 months later still no joy. Any ideas?? I seem to go round and round on the internet drawing blanks really.


So I am thinking at present to trying another route by qualifiying as a dive instructor first. Get a job doing that and then try to find another job while i am there - but ?

It's really frustrating

Perhaps you could try and advertise for the type of job you want in situations wanted in the two newspapers - might be an idea?

K3atie

K3atie

My advice to you is to see if one of your friends will let you stay with them as it is far easier to get work whilst your out there,
quite often people dont advertise on the internet because it is so expensive

Mikinda

Well I am happy to say that I have tried my best to help people online to find jobs with my jobs article, but things are going to get even better when I launch my jobs site, TEN Jobs. There are around 40 or so jobs currently posted but the website is currently under construction and will be launched in February. And one more thing, it is free for job seekers :D.

Thanks for that, although i have heard that it might be better to get hirerd as an expat rathe than the locals because the terms are better - I dunno so confusing

Good, let me know!

However i am finding that many of the recruitment agencies do not seem to cater for my type of position

I work in packaging / repro sometimes called pre press. I am finding that graphic jobs seem to mostly function on the design side not the technical side after the inital concept.

I am finding that some sites just have a list of computer software packages that they expect most people to use, so on Cv builders there is no option to express etc. packages. Perhaps that might be an area for you to expand on.
I think the CV builders need to be a little more fexible in these areas

cheers