How to Unearth Hidden Jobs In Dubai by Networking

Are you aware that recent studies from Jobvite and CareerXRoads indicate that between 40% and 28% of jobs were filled by word of mouth/networking and were not publicly advertised on jobs boards? This is has been termed, ‘the hidden job market, the Dubai hidden job market. Yes, one of the most effective ways to get a job in Dubai (or any place) is to attend business and careers events and use old-fashioned networking skills. Dubai is an excellent place to engage in networking as it has a range of business and career events occurring during every month of the calendar year.

But, you don’t just need to network at formal business events, if you want to uncover hidden jobs you should always be networking, whether you are at business functions, social functions, on the golf course, at the gym etc..

However, in order to make networking work for you — and uncover hidden jobs — you need to present yourself correctly and ask the right questions. You need a networking strategy to uncover hidden jobs and you can find this below.

1.Research and schedule meetings with attendees prior to the event

Before any business networking events, research attendees and participants using social media and the conference website and identify potential contacts and arrange to meet up with contacts during the event.

2.Develop your on-line social media resume; develop an on-line social resume that amalgamates all your social media accounts such as: Linked-In,Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest into one landing page. You can use a tool such as CareerCloud to do this. Make sure your social resume link is included in your business card and hand out your business card to everyone you meet.

3.Always take a few printed copies of your resume/CV as people may ask for it and you don’t want to disappoint.

4.Elevator Pitch; Develop a quality 15-30 second Elevator Pitch which summarizes who you are, and what you do and possibly what your objectives are if appropriate.

5.Conversational pointers to unearth the hidden job; when talking to entrepreneurs and managers at networking events, you should be asking them questions about upcoming projects, new ventures, new products, new services, launch dates, expanding into new countries etc. These are all actions which relate to expansion and growth which point to job openings which can steer the conversation towards jobs. You could even make a suggestion such as, “Have you considered opening in country X, because I speak fluent X and have connections there and could help?”. Make sure you log the date of when these ventures are scheduled to take place and the contact the entrepreneur or venture manager a few weeks prior to wish them luck and offer your services.

6. Swap business cards and follow-up; the connection is not properly made until you exchange business cards and send a follow up email in a few days time. Try to include a point of interest in your message, such as a link which relates to your what you talked about.

Good luck at turning your networking opportunity into job opportunities.

About the author

Kazim Ladimeji is the Director of thecareercafe.co.uk—a resource for start-ups, small business and job seekers. It includes a blog with career and small business advice articles. Kazim is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, and has been a practising HR professional for 14 years.

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