Calum123

Hello everyone,


My wife and I are moving to Qatar in August as she has accepted an offer with Al Khor International School. She will be my sponsor and the school is sorting out our flights, visas, temporary accommodation etc. My question to you is how easy will it be for me to get work when I arrive? I am a 23 year old university graduate (Event and Marketing Management) with 5 years experience in the financial industry.

Im very open when it comes to job opportunities and I am happy to do whatever I can find within reason. My main concern is not being able to secure work as I really don't want to live out of my wife's pocket. Obviously I have been searching online since she accepted the offer and I have applied for a number of jobs that suit my skill set but I am running out of places to search.

Can anyone on here suggest places to look for jobs that aren't nessesarily management positions or higher and is there a means to search whilst in the country?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide

Also I thought I would add the link to my LinkedIn profile just incase any of you on here are recruiting or know of anybody who is, I hope that is okay

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saifrehman

Hi Calum,
Do you know any information about taking the car to Qatar?

Calum123

No sorry I don't

saifrehman

Thanks

KJinDoha

Hi Calum,
As you may have noticed, it is not a great time to be looking for work in such an oil dependant economy. The market is not very good in Qatar right now. I am constantly hearing of lay offs and budget cuts. Although, I understand that the lay offs are often of high cost personnel who are to be replaced at a lower cost - given your profile, this phenomenon may be to your benefit.
I think that the biggest jobs site is bayt.com.
Ps. My impression is that a teachers salary at a high end school can not cover a middle class lifestyle for a couple as well as yield savings here. Of course, I have no idea about your personal circumstances.
KJ

eastrunner

would they have something at the school that you can get involved in, perhaps on the admin side, also do the companies that you work/worked for in the UK have any branches or offices in Qatar that you can get some help from perhaps transfer

NeVeRReSt

Hello Calum,

The best place to start would be the various recruitment agencies here in Qatar. Recruitment consultants would have the biggest and best knowledge base of clients and also cover many industries.

Good luck...

NeVeR

Calum123

Thank you all for your replies.

@KJinDoha - thats not really good news in regards to the lay offs and budget cuts and I hope it doesn't hinder me too much. I have been looking on Bayt for a while but it just seems to be more senior positions that are advertised. I think that my wife's salary should more than cover us to live for a few months whilst I find work, the school are giving us 10,000 QAR PM to cover rent, her salary is then 11,500 QAR PM as a newly qualified teacher with yearly increase as her experience grows.

@eastrunner - getting a place in the school is actually an option as I am educated to a degree level they are happy to offer me a role as a teaching assistant or like you said admin work. They have told me that the salary isn't the best and I am on a waiting list along with other spouses in the same boat. Ideally I would like to work somewhere that would match her salary or get me something close to it. Unfortunately the opportunity to transfer to Qatar with my current company isn't possible, I work for Barclays Partner Finance and they don't have any business anywhere in the middle east other than Dubai.

@NeVeRReSt - Yes I was thinking recruitment agencies would be a possible route to explore but I am not 100% on where to find them, do you have the names of any I could look at either online or when I get there? I have heard they operate differently to the UK from looking at peoples blogs about Qatar life, have you had any personal experiences with them?

If anyone has had a similar experience or knows anyone who has please share!

NeVeRReSt

Calum.

Google - Engage Selection - and locate the contact details for qatar on their website. Give them a call and ask for Rodger Palmer, as I belive his wife works within the same profession as you, so you'll get best of both worlds.

I don't personally have any experience with recruitment agencies here in qatar. Although I've had many friends find work through them after being made redundant etc...

There are many other agencies here and it's worth dropping a cv into all of them, as they all have different relationships with different clients etc. All agencies will have office space, so upon contacting them they'll likely call you in for interview or out for coffee for a chat.

Good luck.

NeVeR

co durham boy

Two of you won't survive long on 11,000 chips per month that's for sure . Doha is no place to be struggling as it's not great when you're making a few quid.

Cost of living is the highest in the GCC and set up costs horrendous. Bang your cv off far and wide but to be honest it'll be tough , there's a lot of experienced people looking for work.

You might have a better chance with a word of mouth chance when you get there but that's a shot in the dark.

Best of luck

mission

Gotta agree....QR 11k per month for two people is nowhere near enough to have a remotely decent life style....have you actually looked into your day to day costs ie


transport
food
entertainment
utilities
dinning out etc

Calum123

@NeVeRReSt - You have been very helpful thank you, I will make some enquiries to different agencies as soon as I can.

@co durham boy - We have both just finished our degrees this year and have been living the student lifestyle (scraping by on 650 pounds each month) so surely it can't be any worse living on 11,500 PM for a few months? I have every intention of getting a job as soon as I can and will make it my mission to find one from day one. If my search comes up with nothing then I still have the option to work within AKIS school. We are actually living in Al Khor which is about a 35 minute drive from Doha and I know that rent is generally cheaper and you get more for your money from research.

@mission - Agreed 11k doesn't seem to be enough to live comfortably on a permanent basis, but we have no intention of this to be a long term thing. like I said I will put everything into getting a job from day one in Qatar, the school have already been very supportive and have told me they have a large network of spouses in the AKIS community that they will introduce me to in the welcome week when we first arrive. My wife and I have done a lot of research into Qatar's day to day costs and my understanding is the following:

Transport (taxis) = cheaper in Qatar

Food= very similar in price - eating out seems to be a bit cheaper..

Entertainment = Sports and Leisure - more expensive in Qatar but not a nessesity as soon as we arrive.

Utilities = Covered by the school each month (need to pay for internet)

Dining out = again although it is enjoyable its not a necessity until we find our feet.

Saying that we do both get a free membership to the Al Khor community club which includes a gym membership, access to a swimming pool, tennis courts, astroturf, club sports etc. It also has five different restaurants with lots of choice on the menus that are very reasonably priced.

Surely 11500 would be enough to get by for a while taking into consideration that our rent is paid, utilities are paid and we have access to a clubs facilities for free? I mean what else is left to pay for? they are also giving us 26,000 on arrival to buy furniture etc

All my assumptions are from the website Numbeo - Cost of Living Comparison Between Qatar and United Kingdom

mission

Although I live in Dubai which is fairly expensive as it is, I know Qatar is even more so, but seems like you've done your homework.....wish you the best of luck

co durham boy

You've done your home work and fair play you're having a go but make no bones about it you'll not put up with that for long.

Al Khor is a dull non descript one horse town and you have to go into Doha for a night out and you better drink slowly on 8 quid a pint . Don't be fooled into thinking what is there is to spend as it's very expensive . Your internet , phone and shopping will swallow half the salary alone.

You'd have been better off in Dubai as there's far more opportunity at least for you and it's far easier on the eye. The one thing you need working in Qatar is money as it's not the greatest place on the planet even worse if you might struggle.

Good luck again

NeVeRReSt

Calum,

No problem....

It's hard work at the beginning, but you'll soon settle in.

Just Remember - make sure you explore all available opportunities before you decide to signup with a company, as you'll require a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from your employer to leave for another employment opportunity should things not work out or you get offered better package.

Anything else - let us know.

Good Luck...Again...

NeVeR