The Recruitment Process in Dubai

How Do Companies in Dubai Go About Recruiting Employees From Within and Outside of Dubai

The answer to this question depends on the rank of the position you’re seeking. If you’re gunning for the middle to top management positions e.g., HR or Purchasing Manager to Director for Sales & Marketing, the companies interested in your qualifications are going to go beyond the regular process to have you in for an interview. And these are normally the multi-national corporations. When they don’t have anyone in-house to fill the vacancy, they’d normally go to recruitment firms for an executive search.

They would normally use several recruitment firms at once. When the firms have narrowed down the selection, company HR director will review the recommendations of the firm and make a shortlist. When you wind up in that shortlist, the fun begins. They will either fly you in for an interview, all expense paid, of course, or if they have regional headquarters where you’re at, they will ask you to report to someone there, or they can arrange for a video-conference to interview you. Make no mistake about it, if they want you, they have both the money and the technology to see if you are really what they truly need or want.

If you’re looking for a staff position or non-core position such as office assistants, administrative assistants and other similar positions, company managers won’t be too concerned about your qualifications but of your ability to perform well enough to suit their needs.

Another important factor that determines how you might be recruited is your current location. Obviously, recruiting someone from abroad is more expensive than sourcing your workforce locally. Holding all things equal, if the choice boils down to two candidates and one of them is already physically in Dubai, employers would go for someone already in the country. As Labour Laws dictate, employers cover all expenses related or incidental to recruitment and hiring of their employees, companies would save a whole lot of money if the candidate is already in.

Many job seekers go on foot from building to building, floor to floor, office to office and hand their resumes to the receptionist at each place of business they can get into. Others scour the internet and the papers for email addresses or fax numbers and send out their resumes and CVs electronically. We wouldn’t recommend that you do this, however. As it very time and resource consuming and it isn’t nearly as effective as utilizing the tools that we provide on this website.

If You’re Outside of Dubai, Should You Come to Dubai to Look for a Job?

Whether or not it’s wise to come to Dubai as a tourist or visitor to actively look for a job here is a dilemma to many people. Visiting Dubai is not an inexpensive trip, especially for people who desperately need jobs. There is no assurance that you’ll get hired when you’re here and are actively looking. While many have found success with their efforts and their investments have paid off, there are equally many who have failed and have gone back to their home countries jobless and buried in debt because of the job-hunting trip they took.

The best way, therefore, is to go halfway. What does that mean? Well, be willing to spend for a trip prior to getting hired but do so after you have previously lined up several job interviews from your current location. Again, there is no guarantee that you will be hired if you fly in. However if you do, your chances of getting hired are better than those who are not physically present. You’d be in a better position to report to interviews. But to minimize your wait time and your related costs and expenses, float your CV before you fly in. Some companies actually do an initial phone interview. When you get replies, you can arrange for an interview at a future date and you can then fly in to report to your interviews and intensify your search efforts. That way, you won’t be starting from square one when you set foot on UAE soil.