GUIDE BOOK

for
JOB SEEKERS
Version: 1.0

PAKISTAN:
Suite#106, Kavish Crown Plaza,
Main Shahra e Faisal, Karachi
Tel: (+971 6) 7429613
Fax:(+971 6) 7429631
www.consultpms.com

U.A.E:
P.O. Box: 6693
Tel: (+971 6) 7429613
Fax:(+971 6) 7429631
www.consultpms.com

Why are people attracted to U.A.E? ...................................................................................................... 4

Is U.A.E Really Tax Free?........................................................................................................................ 4
You Dont Need a Job in U.A.E. A Job in U.A.E Needs You!...................................................................... 5

3.1.
3.2.

Examine Your Specialty ......................................................................................................................... 6

Targeting Your Job Application .............................................................................................................. 6

3.3.
4.
4.1

Selling Your Job Application................................................................................................................... 7

U.A.E Resume (CV) Writing Tips ............................................................................................................. 8
There Are No Anti-Discrimination Laws in U.A.E .................................................................................... 8

4.2
4.3

Include Your Photo................................................................................................................................ 8

Include Your Nationality ........................................................................................................................ 8

4.4

Include Your Date of Birth ..................................................................................................................... 8

4.5
4.6
4.7

Your Gender is a Factor ......................................................................................................................... 9

Glorify, Exaggerate and Dramatize......................................................................................................... 9
Forget The Clean PK Style CV. You Need a U.A.E Fancy Style CV ............................................................. 9

4.8
5.

Either Write A Great Cover Letter, Or Forget It! ................................................................................... 10

CV Emailing Tips: ................................................................................................................................. 10

Tip 1:
Tip 2:
Tip 3:

Make Your Email as Personal as It Can Be ............................................................................................ 10

Make an Attractive Subject Line .......................................................................................................... 10
Greet the Recipient by Their Actual Name ........................................................................................... 10

Tip 4:
Tip 5:

Do Not Ask for a Job Directly ............................................................................................................... 11

Rename Your Resume File ................................................................................................................... 11

6.

Professional U.A.E CV Writing:............................................................................................................. 11

7.
7.1

How Can I Find a Job in U.A.E? ......................................................................................................... 11

If youre just starting your U.A.E job search....................................................................................... 11

7.2

Preparing for your U.A.E job search. .................................................................................................... 11

7.3
8.

Youre now ready to launch. ................................................................................................................ 12

Recruitment agencies in U.A.E ............................................................................................................. 12

9.
10.
11.

Hiring Companies in U.A.E ................................................................................................................... 12

Your own network............................................................................................................................... 12
What about job sites? ...................................................................................................................... 13

12.
13.

When you get job offers and hot leads.............................................................................................. 13

A bit more to know about U.A.E jobs ................................................................................................... 13

14.

Using LinkedIn to Land a Great Job in U.A.E ......................................................................................... 14

14.1
14.2
14.3

U.A.E LinkedIn Groups ......................................................................................................................... 14

U.A.E Jobs in LinkedIn Groups ............................................................................................................. 15
Show Off Your Expertise ...................................................................................................................... 15

15.

Guide to Recruitment Agencies in U.A.E .............................................................................................. 15

15.1

How Do Legitimate U.A.E Recruitment Agencies Make Their Money? .................................................. 16

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1.
2.
3.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

15.4

Build a Relationship First ..................................................................................................................... 16

16.
16.1
16.2

Salaries in U.A.E How to Predict Your U.A.E Salary ............................................................................ 17

ONLINE INVESTIGATION ...................................................................................................................... 17
OFFLINE INVESTIGATION ..................................................................................................................... 18

Getting the Most Out of U.A.E Recruiters ............................................................................................ 16

How to Make U.A.E Recruitment Agencies Forward Your CV/Resume to Employers ............................. 16

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15.2
15.3

1. Why are people attracted to U.A.E?

Job seekers are attracted to the U.A.E market because of the
fact that earnings are tax-free in U.A.E. The UAE federal
government and the Emirate of U.A.E do not levy any kind of
taxes on individual earnings. What you make is entirely
yours. For individual income earners, this means having more
to send back home or to save.
Thats why the U.A.E job market is attracting talented
professionals and skilled workers from all over the world.
From Europe to America, even from Asia-Pacific and Africa,
the U.A.E workforce represents all five continents and over
100 countries. Besides tax-free earnings, individuals are
attracted to jobs in U.A.E for any or all of the following
reasons:
Career opportunities for talented professionals. Professionals looking to expand their practice or explore new
markets, even those looking to take on a new career path, find excellent career opportunities in U.A.E. Due to
rapid development and expansion in the region, many multi-national companies are establishing Middle East
headquarters and offshore locations in U.A.E. These businesses are tapping into the global talent market that
brings together the best of both worlds.
Expanded opportunities for skilled and semi-skilled workers. U.A.Es most active industries construction,
hospitality and retail are enjoying steady growth whilst these industries are almost dormant in neighboring
countries. Workers with skills relevant to these industries are naturally attracted to jobs in U.A.E where these job
opportunities are not available back home.
Experience the world in U.A.E. There are at least a hundred different nationalities represented in U.A.Es
community of residents and tourists. People from different parts of the world find themselves at home here
because of the sense of familiarity they get. Hear people speak your native language. Walk into a grocery and find
your favorite food. If you feel like exploring the exotic tastes of the Far East, Indian, Chinese and even Filipino
restaurants are in town. Make new friendships with people whose backgrounds are entirely different from yours.
U.A.Es cosmopolitan feel caters to fashion and trends all over the world.

2. Is U.A.E Really Tax Free?

Service charges collected at U.A.Es hotels and restaurants are also a form of indirect taxes.

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Municipal property tax levied on property owners. This tax is passed on to occupants as part of the rent
agreement. In effect, if you live and work in U.A.E, you are indirectly paying property taxes.

Well, actually no, that is not true. While there are no income taxes, value-added taxes (VAT), gross sales taxes (GST),
personal taxes, nor capital gains taxes in U.A.E, there are in fact other types of taxes levied on certain activities such as:

 Import tax of 5% is levied on all imports to the UAE. This is perhaps the only formal, direct tax levied in the UAE,
although goods such as tobacco, alcohol, pork products, raw gold for manufacture and arms and ammunition are
subject to higher import tax rates. Even if youre not the importer for these goods, the import tax is normally
passed on to final consumers as part of selling prices.
Road Taxes or Toll fees (SALIK). Some of U.A.Es major routes and thoroughfares are now collecting toll fees from
motorists using these routes.
Additionally, every single municipal or government sector service charges fees, even typing and translation
services.

3. You Dont Need a Job in U.A.E. A Job in U.A.E Needs You!

There is an important fact that is frequently overlooked by job seekers. The ignorance of this fact is the reason
most job seekers tend to face difficulties in their job search. Heres the simple fact:
Job seekers are sellers. Employers are buyers.
What does this mean? And how should it affect
your job search and your outlook towards
employment?
You may, as a job seeker, send out 10s, if not 100s,
of cover letters and resumes to employers only to
be disappointed with the lack of response. Then
you will rationalize this disappointment in your
head. You may think to yourself:

Maybe the company is not hiring now

Maybe the person who reviews applications is on a vacation
Maybe there was a system failure that prevented my application from being received
Maybe it is something that really is out of my control
Maybe, etc

But the truth is, these causes are seldom the reason for lack of response. Employers always have money to spend
and hire new people; ALWAYS. The reason they didnt respond to your efforts is because your offer to them is not
compelling enough. You did not convince them that you are worth buying.
What are businesses, companies, and employers interested in? One thing: money.

first, examine your specialty and your capabilities

second, market your specialty by targeting your job application

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You need to:

To convince employers of buying your service, the first thing you need to do is to refine yourself and specialize in
one field and then show them that your specialty can bring them money.

 third, sell your specialty by showing employers the benefits of having you

3.1. Examine Your Specialty

In order to examine if you have a specialized skill, ask yourself the following question:
Can you utilize your skills to earn a living independently and without the help of an employer, for example as a
freelance consultant, designer or writer?
If not, then is it because you lack the platform that the employer provides or is it because you are not sure of the
value of your skills in the open market?
If youre not sure of the value of what you do, then U.A.E may not be for you, yet. As I have said in our other
employment guides, U.A.E companies offer minimal training and expect employees to hit the ground running.
U.A.E employers are not out there to discover your hidden qualities and talents. They want you to teach them
what you do and do it for them.
Furthermore, if you answered no, perhaps you should take some time off, think about your future, and discover
exactly what you enjoy and what you would like to do with your time.
If you answered yes then you are more than ready. Now its time to put on the salesman and marketer hat.

3.2. Targeting Your Job Application

In marketing it is known that targeted messages receive the highest response.

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For example, you may see a job posted on XYZJobs.com. Write down the
company name and the department of the company that posted the job.
Then find the contact information of the company. Then call them up
and ask to speak to the manager of the department that posted the job.
When you are asked by the phone operator for the reason of your call,
say that you have important questions about the posted job description,
and you need clarifications. Speak with confidence and authority. When
you are connected to the manager (be polite, but dont let him/her
intimidate you; he/she is not your manager, yet. Its just someone on the

However, due to the difficulty that is associated with creating a quality

targeted job application, you may opt for quantity. In other words,
instead of tailoring your applications to a few companies and hiring
managers, you may create a template message that you broadcast to
100s of employers. In reality, when it comes to sales and marketing,
quality is much more important than quantity. Think about yourself: are
you more likely to respond to a spam email that goes out to 1000s of
people, or are you more likely to respond to an email that addresses you
by name and discusses issues that are relevant to your life at the
moment? Exactly. Thats what you should do.

phone who may be the stupidest person in the world), ask the questions that you have. Ask him what he really
wants in the person who hell hire. Ask what traits he likes, etc. Also, take this opportunity to introduce yourself
and learn the name and, if possible, the email and direct phone number of the manager. This information will
help you target your message to this manager directly.
Tell me: how many job seekers do you suppose will go to this length in order to secure a job? Very few. If you
follow this procedure, you will have instantly put yourself ahead of all job seekers. Additionally, with the
information that you will have acquired through this procedure, you will be able to tailor your application to the
specific requirements of this manager and his department. It will be very hard for them to not consider you for
the job.

3.3. Selling Your Job Application

Now that we have talked about the importance of targeted messages, we should now address the importance of
the content of your targeted message. What exactly should you say in your job application in order to sell it?
There are two important principles of selling that you
should keep in mind when you send out your application:

Make it very clear exactly what you do. Dont let

them get confused in trying to understand where
to place you in their organization.

In your profile whenever you mention one of your

strengths, follow with a sentence that describes
how this strength can be a benefit to their
business.

For example, if you have 12-years of experience in marketing, in your profile, dont just say A dynamic
professional with 12-years experience in marketing. Instead, emphasize how they can benefit from your 12-years
of experience by saying something like, With my 12-years of marketing experience, Im capable of creating and
executing marketing campaigns that are guaranteed to enhance the brand and perception of [insert company
name] to increase long term profitability.
Whenever you mention one of your strengths, make it clear to the reader how this strength will contribute to their
profitability and make them a better company. Dont make the reader have to think in order to figure out how you
could help them.

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If you follow the outlined procedure in this article, you will never be unemployed again because you will no longer
need employment. Instead, employment will need YOU.

4. U.A.E Resume (CV) Writing Tips

Regardless of the technical meaning of either CV or resum, for U.A.E
employment purposes, they are the same thing. Since the word CV is
more commonly used in U.A.E, were going to use it throughout this
article.
Here, Ill tell you about U.A.E specific issues that you need to be aware
of when writing your U.A.E CV. If you need general instructions on how
to write CVs, there are hundreds of free websites that can give you
that. Use Google to find them, but for a U.A.E specific CV, stick here.
Lets get started.

4.1 There Are No Anti-Discrimination Laws in U.A.E

U.A.E is a free place. (Well, at least in this regard it is). No one tells the employers what and what not to look for
in an employee. Employers can ask you all kinds of questions and they can judge you based on any criterion they
deem necessary. What does this mean for your CV? Well, many things

4.2 Include Your Photo

For your U.A.E CV to be effective, you have to include a photo of yourself. The photo tells the employers many of
the things that they would want to know about you. Like, do you look hot and presentable? Or, what ethnic group
do you belong to, is it one of which the employer favors? (Yes, this thing happens in U.A.E, unfortunately)
In any way, your photo also makes your CV look more human and attractive.

4.3 Include Your Nationality

What if you are a unique human being of mixed races? What if its hard to tell your ethnicity by your photo? In
this case, include your nationality. If you are a dual-citizen include the better nationality. This might not work for
some people, though, as their name may reveal their real nationality. Like, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon with a U.S.
passport!
Moreover, regardless of how much of an individual you are, your nationality could tell many real things about
you. Set things straight from the start and reveal it in your CV.

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No 45-year-olds need apply to this Marketing Assistant position. Its common practice for employers to want to
filter-out candidates based on their age. And it is common for candidates in U.A.E to include their age on their CV.

4.4 Include Your Date of Birth

4.5 Your Gender is a Factor

There are job listings in U.A.E where they will ask for a specific gender, age and ethnicity. Like
Personal Assistant to the General Manager Needed
Gender: Female
Age: 25-35
Nationality: Lebanese or Western
More like a personal ad than a job posting, if you ask me! But, what the heck, at least they are being honest. So, if
your gender cant be determined by your name or photo, mention it explicitly.

4.6 Glorify, Exaggerate and Dramatize

I dont care whether you are applying for an office administrator or a phone operator, write your CV as if

youre applying for the Chief Executive Officer position . If youve done any work, be it freelance,
community work, school project, voluntary or anything, glorify it, exaggerate it, make it sound like the biggest
project in the industry!
Heres a little example:
You didnt:
Efficiently entered data into a spreadsheet
What you did instead is:
Devised an efficient data-entry system that was approved by management and increased productivity by 70%
Youre not lying here. The way you quickly input data into a spreadsheet is a system thats devised by you, and
you kinda mentioned that Excel trick to the boss and he liked it

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Career advisers tell people to have no styling in their CVs probably because they know that most people suck at
styling documents. And thats probably true. So, if you know for sure that you can style your CV and still keep it
clean and easily readable, do it. Otherwise, your photo nicely aligned to the side in the header, with a couple of

4.7 Forget The Clean PK Style CV. You Need a U.A.E Fancy Style CV

thin black borders here and there would do the job. To stay safe, you can have a professional review and
critique your CV for free.

4.8 Either Write A Great Cover Letter, Or Forget It!

The most important aspect of a cover letter is how relevant it is. When you write your cover letter, you are much
more likely to get results if the cover letter is addressed directly to the person who will be reading it.
Also, make your cover letter short and quick, but make sure that you give the reader a compelling
reason to open up your CV and read it.
So you see, writing a CV for U.A.E is definitely different from writing a CV for the U.S. or even the U.K. Whats
been discussed in this article should keep you safe.

5. CV Emailing Tips:
If your CV is ready for prime time, before you email your CV to anybody,
make sure that you view and adhere to below important guidelines.
They will increase the response you get.

Tip 1: Make Your Email as Personal as It Can Be

Do not make a list of emails and send to them all at once. You need
to send individual targeted emails.

You have to research the recipient of your email first and target

your message to him or her.

Tip 2: Make an Attractive Subject Line

The subject of your email is very important. You should make a very attractive subject that forces the
recipient to open your email and read it. For example, if you send an email to Nakheel Properties, heres a
subject line that you could use: Finance Manager with 14-yrs Experience for Nakheel

Properties But make sure that your subject line isnt too long. Long subject lines are indicative of spam
content and do not reach the inbox some times.

greeting. Greet the recipient by their actual name. Use Dear Mark or Dear Mrs. Smith. Your message
is much more likely to be read if you did that.

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Dear Sir/Madam is unattractive. Your message will be tossed in the trash folder if you use this

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Tip 3: Greet the Recipient by Their Actual Name

Tip 4: Do Not Ask for a Job Directly

If youre sending your resume to a hiring manager or a contact who works in a company that you want to
work for, do not ask them to look at your resume from the first email. Try to first send an email to
establish a relationship. For example, ask them questions about their industry or about their company.
Exchange an email or two with them, then pitch yourself.

Tip 5: Rename Your Resume File

Before you attach your resume to the email, rename the file to something more meaningful. The more
meaningful your resume file name is, the more frequently it will show up when a search is made. For
example, change John Smith CV.doc to John Smith Finance Manager CV.doc (avoid being
too long here also). Now when they search for finance manager, your resume will show up first.

6. Professional U.A.E CV Writing:

I recommend that you let a professional help you write your CV. CONSULT PMS for professionally written CV.

7. How Can I Find a Job in U.A.E?

I wish there was a straight one, two, three steps plan that if you
followed, youd land a great job in U.A.E. The truth is: a job
search is not that simple. But there are resources which you can
utilize to make your job search more effective. This entire free
website was created to help you find a great career in U.A.E.
Ill walk you through the various resources at your disposal.

7.1 If youre just starting your U.A.E job search

7.2 Preparing for your U.A.E job search.

Having the right frame of mind in your U.A.E job hunt is

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job hunting efforts.

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There are a few things that you need to understand.

First, you need to know how companies go about
recruiting people from within and outside of U.A.E.
Understanding
the recruitment
process in
U.A.E will allow you to more efficiently allocate your

probably the most important thing. Next in importance is how you present yourself to hiring managers and
recruiters. Your CV/resume is the document that you use to market yourself.

7.3 Youre now ready to launch.

Its time to attack the U.A.E job market. Youll tackle your U.A.E job search challenge from multiple fronts.
1. Recruitment agencies in U.A.E
2. Companies and hiring managers in U.A.E
3. Your own network

8. Recruitment agencies in U.A.E

You can start by contacting and working with headhunters and recruitment agencies in U.A.E. Please find list of the
most trusted recruitment agencies in U.A.E. in Annex A.

9. Hiring Companies in U.A.E

One of the most feared, yet most effective, job hunting methods is cold-contacting companies. Yes, I know it is
difficult. I been there. But it is vital that you do it. And by contacting companies, I dont mean simply digging up any
email address you find on their website and emailing them your CV. I mean that you should prepare a polished
sales pitch and present it to your target company. Approach companies by building relationships with professionals
who already work in your targeted companies. You can find such professionals on online networks such
as LinkedIn.
To research companies in U.A.E, checkout in Annex B., build a short list of companies and focus your efforts on
them.

The reason I didnt mention using your own network first,

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Another very powerful job hunting medium is your own

network. These are the people you know who may connect
you with hiring managers and companies in U.A.E. Dont
under estimate the power of the people you know. Contact
your friends and family and ask them for help and to
forward your information to anyone else who might be
interested in hiring you or helping you in your job search.

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10. Your own network

before recruitment agencies and companies, is because you will want to first familiarize yourself with the job
market, polish your presentation and pitch, and enhance your job hunting skills. Your own network is probably
not as vast as recruitment agencies and companies. Therefore, opportunities from your own network are scarce
and more valuable.

11. What about job sites?

You may be thinking But what about job sites, should I upload my CV there? Job sites are for lower quality jobs
and they are the least effective job hunting method. Your time is much better devoted to the methods mentioned
above. But if you would still like to use job sites, please see the Annex C.

12. When you get job offers and hot leads

Once you start getting job offers and leads, there are a few things youll want to do.
Research salaries in U.A.E (Please see Annex D.) to see if youve been given fair compensation for the position
youve been offered.
If you want to negotiate a better compensation (and you always should), understand how a U.A.E salary is
broken down and get some negotiation tips here (Please see Annex E.)
Youll also need to know your rights when it comes to your employment contract (Please see Annex F.)
and labour law in U.A.E.

13. A bit more to know about U.A.E jobs

U.A.E Jobs Scams in this area you can find information about the various scams that dishonest
people use to steal money from unsuspecting job hunters.

Article II.

Executive Jobs in U.A.E if youve heard about the high salaries that company executives get
paid in U.A.E and if youre interested in getting a piece of the action, you can find tips and
information here.

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Article I.

13

Here are a few more job hunting resources that you may find useful, depending on your current job hunting
phase.

Article III. News by job sector you can also read up on the news in a specific job sector in U.A.E. For
example, accounting jobs in U.A.E, construction jobs in U.A.E, IT jobs in U.A.E, and more. You can
find a complete list on the right sidebar.

14. Using LinkedIn to Land a Great Job in U.A.E

We all know how hard it can be to get a job, but it can be
especially hard to get the job you really want. Well,
fortunately this task has been made much easier by the rise
of social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
But, with so many options available to you, which is the most
effective? Well, they all serve their purpose, but one network
that is proving itself a prime tool for job search, for the midcareer to senior level worker, is LinkedIn. At last count,
LinkedIn had over 100,000,000 users world-wide and around
900,000 in UAE, which counts for 1 in 5 people in the UAE.
The stats show that if you want to make serious waves in the
U.A.E business network, LinkedIn is the optimal starting point.
But, how can a job seeker leverage LinkedIn to land their dream job in U.A.E?

14.1 U.A.E LinkedIn Groups

One of the most powerful job search tools in LinkedIn is
Groups; these are communities where you can network
with like minded individuals. Since you are looking to
get a job in U.A.E, you should search and join 2 or 3 of

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Joining the groups is the easy part, although ensure that

you read and obey the groups usage policy to avoid
being barred from the group for policy violations.

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the leading U.A.E based recruitment groups. The most

popular is U.A.E Recruitmentwhich contains over
100,000 members, so you have quite a few people to
network with!

14.2 U.A.E Jobs in LinkedIn Groups

Once in the group, there are lots of ways to find a job. Your first port of call should be to click the jobs tab.
This will give you access to jobs within U.A.E, and these lists are updated by the minute, so check back
regularly. Even if you dont check regularly, LinkedIn sends a daily e-mail to all members, listing out all new
job postings. You can apply for these jobs directly through LinkedIn.
Another way to find jobs in the group is to view and join the discussions in the forum area of the group. In
here, you will find a range of U.A.E based employers and recruiters engaged in discussions relating to
employment in U.A.E or in their firm. You can contribute to these discussions and network with these
individuals to build relationships that could turn into jobs.

14.3 Show Off Your Expertise

As well as joining geographic groups like U.A.E Recruitment you can join industry based groups that
are relevant to your profession. You can use these industry groups in a slightly different way to the
geographical groups. For example, if you are looking for an accountancy job in U.A.E, firstly join an
industry group like Finance Plus Once you have joined the group find and participate in a U.A.E based,
accountancy discussion and contribute to the technical discussions and show off your skills in
accountancy. You will in effect be marketing yourself to potential employers, meaning you could end up
with an invite to interview.
As you can see LinkedIn is a powerful social media tool which you can use to build relationships with U.A.E based
employers or to apply directly for jobs. With 1 in 5 employers in U.A.E using LinkedIn, it should not be overlooked

15. Guide to Recruitment Agencies in U.A.E

Understand How U.A.E Recruitment Agencies Operate To Exploit Them

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Many job seekers approach recruitment agencies as if the recruiters will find
employment for the candidates just out of kindness in their hearts. Thats not the
case. Think of employment agencies as retailers, your profile is their
merchandise. Using the advice that Im about to give you to bring your profile
from the back and put it right in the showroom or even in the display window

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Dont you wish there were a way to get recruiters in U.A.E work hard to find a job
thats just right for you? You must be wondering: with all the opportunities in
U.A.E, there got to be a company and a position that is just right for me. How can
get recruiters in U.A.E to find that position for me? I will tell you how!

right in front of shopping employers!

First, you must understand the following:

15.1

How Do Legitimate U.A.E Recruitment

Agencies Make Their Money?
The larger the package you get from your employer,
the more money the employment agency that
brokered the transaction makes. Thats how legitimate
recruitment agencies get paid. Recruiters will help you
get as high a salary as possible. They will tell you how
high your potential employer might be willing to go. If
they dont, ask them.

15.2 Getting the Most Out of U.A.E Recruiters

Now I will give you tips and information on the most effective ways to utilize recruitment agencies in
U.A.E and maximize the outcome of your efforts. First:

15.3 How to Make U.A.E Recruitment Agencies Forward Your CV/Resume to

Employers
Here is the wrong way that people usually use to approach recruitment agencies in U.A.E:
Some people will scour the internet and go from Website to Website looking for the contact information
of recruitment agencies and after having wasted so many hours they will have a list of 50 or so of the
emails of recruitment agencies. They will then send their CV to the recruitment agencies and just wait,
hoping for a phone call. Unfortunately, they never get it!
You may have experienced that yourself and youre wondering why your efforts didnt pay off.

This is actually easier than it seems. Let me explain: in each recruitment agency there are several
individual recruiters with each recruiter specializing in a specific industry; thats a recruiter for finance

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The real way to get a response from recruitment agencies and get them to work with you in order to find
a job for you is establish direct relationship with them. Well, not with the agency, but with an individual
recruiter who works there.

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15.4 Build a Relationship First

and banking, recruiter for IT, recruiter for construction, etc. To get real results out of your job search
effort, you should work directly and personally with the recruiter that specializes in your industry.

16. Salaries in U.A.E How to Predict Your U.A.E Salary

One of the most asked questions I face is: how much am I going to
be paid in U.A.E? Even though the answer can vary greatly, you
can still actually come up with a reasonable approximation of how
much you are going to be paid in U.A.E by following the methods
that are outlined here.
To plan your life in U.A.E safely and accurately, you need to
align your expectations with reality. Thats why you need accurate
approximation of your salary. To get that, youre going to have to
do some research of your own.
You can do your U.A.E salary research online or offline or both. I will provide you with the information you need and
will tell you about the benefits of each, and it is up to you to choose.

Question: what can you do online to find out your expected U.A.E salary?
Answer:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Check out the listings of U.A.E recruitment agencies

Check out U.A.E job sites
Use U.A.E salary calculators
Read Bayts salary survey reports

I will take you through each one of the bullet points aboveSo lets start

16.1
10.1..1

ONLINE INVESTIGATION
Check out the listings of U.A.E recruitment agencies

For more, check out the the Annex A. recruitment agency listing.

Page

1. Jobtrack Middle East http://www.jobtrackme.com

2. BAC Middle East http://bacme.com
3. Nadia Middle East http://nadia-me.com

17

There are dozens of recruitment agencies in U.A.E. However, only a few of them have fully maintained and up to date
websites that provide salary information. Here are the three recruitment agencies that have listings I recommend you
check for salaries:

Even though the websites above dont have the most user-friendly design and navigation, they do have rich listings that
may give you valuable insight into U.A.E salaries. Be aware, however, that some of these salaries are inflated to
attract applicants or intended for IDEAL candidates.
10.1..2

Check out U.A.E job sites

Another or additional way to measure your expected U.A.E salary is to check out the listings on U.A.E job sites. Some
employers indicate a salary range in their job postings.
Just like with recruitment agencies, there are dozens of job sites in U.A.E. Here are two that you can start with:
1. Bayt.com http://www.bayt.com
2. NaukriGulf http://naukrigulf.com
For more, check out the the job sites listing.
Do a search for your desired position on those sites, and see if there are postings that indicate a salary range.
10.1..3

Use U.A.E salary calculators

A third way to investigate your expected U.A.E salary online is to use U.A.E salary calculators (which are based on salary
surveys).
The seemingly most comprehensive salary calculator for U.A.E and the one that I would recommend is PayScales.
10.1..4

Read Bayts salary survey report

The last investigation lead online is Bayts salary survey report for 2009. It could give you some general insight into how
much jobs pay in U.A.E and the Middle East region as a whole. It is available for download here.

16.2

OFFLINE INVESTIGATION

There are several reasons why you might want to do offline salary research, such as:
1. All of the above online methods didnt provide enough information for your specific case
2. You want to confirm your online findings
3. The online research may take longer than this quick offline investigation

Now this kind of salary research should be enough to give you a pretty good idea of what you should expect to be paid
in U.A.E, so that you can plan safely and accurately!

Page

As always, confirm your answers by calling a few other recruitment agents. You can find their phone numbers in our
recruitment agencies list in Annex A.

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By offline investigation, what I really mean is that you call up a recruitment agency, tell them about your skills and
experience, and ask them about the average salary for a profile like yours. Its easy, quick and effective! I have done it a
couple of times.