Employment in Dubai (personal experience and observations)
Just the next day after my arrival in Dubai, I sat and read this post . At that time I didn’t know how or where or why, so I was grateful to the author for the information.
Now I, with experience and successful employment behind me, want to share my thoughts on how to look for a job, and about some local features. I really want to write an article that will not scream "Hurry, everybody refuel your tractor," so I will try to stick to the dry facts. Also I will try not to duplicate the information from the above post (except when I want to refute or clarify it).
For a start - a little about yourself. My favorite axis is Linux, my real passion is Networking, my true love is Asterisk.
')
My career is about 11 years old, I know the meaning of the word Asterisk about 7 years, and Cisco - about 9.
This article will be about finding a job for a network (or system) engineer, not a programmer. This is an important clarification (details below).
During my career I never looked for a job and did not attend an interview in the full sense of the word. No, HR managers with no sacks of money behind me did not run after me, but it always happened that in different projects and for different works I was called by friends or friends of friends who were told about me. Therefore, I was a little worried - I am in a foreign country, no one knows about me, and I don’t even know how to sell myself. Fortunately, my rather specific experience for these parts (here VOIP is forbidden) and now it helped me - this interview was not much different from everyone I've been to before.
Here are a few sites that have advised me experienced:
In general, all sites with vacancies are constantly cross-sharing and sharing each other (except, perhaps, Dubizzle), therefore, looking for something serious is quite difficult. In addition, I have never noticed there vacancies of large IT companies - they will post vacancies only on LinkedIN.
This is what concerns the passive job search. Knowledgeable people say that I did everything absolutely wrong, because here the process is different. You need to go with your resume to business centers, give it to the reception of the company, ask to meet with the HR manager, call anywhere and everywhere and ask about current vacancies. Everyone is doing just that, and it is very, very difficult to get through this noise.
For example, at the time when I went through preselect and I was called for an interview, LinkedIN under that vacancy already had 3000 submissions, plus another half of it came from other sources (they were not specified to me). What is remarkable, they took me because of Asterisk, since I was the only one who wrote it in Skills. And although the vacancy did not imply VOIP, I personally confirmed the old rule: if you really want a job, you could apply for resumes, even for those vacancies that do not really apply to you. The employer may well have a vacancy for your specialization, they just did not have time to put it in public.
In fact, it is half true. Not only Indians work for food. In fact, Pakistanis are much and much more. And their pressure on the labor market is quite noticeable - look through vacancies at Dubizzle and understand for yourself. Sometimes there are vacancies with such requirements that in Kiev such a specialist could receive 1000-1500 ye, and here they offer 600-700. Amazing - next. No wonder in many vacancies feel free to write "Pakistana only". They say that nobody else in our right mind will ever go to us.
Certificates here in high esteem. I never took them seriously, which never bothered me in my life (as now). However, there are a lot of vacancies that require half of the certificates known to science. Why? Yes, because the HR manager read somewhere that it is necessary. I have no other explanation. Try to figure out why the “Installation and support of LAMP servers” vacancy requires an RHCA. I could not.
I personally did not even ask for a diploma. And no one whom I could ask, he was not asked to show at the interview. My HR remembered the diploma even when he was denied registration of a work visa, arguing that the position of the engineer is serious and I need a diploma. I didn’t even talk about legalization or recognition, they made a copy without even reading it. Rumor has it that a major corporation is likely to ask for a diploma with all the perks. And for employers from FreeZones, it should be all the same whether you have a diploma (unverified rumors).
From my point of view, work in IT provides immeasurably great opportunities for migration to anywhere in the world. Computers everywhere work the same way, and subject to the availability of the Internet, you can theoretically work anywhere.
Therefore, a potential migrant worker must ask himself the question - what is he looking for in a distant country?
In Dubai, obviously you should not go for the money (the exception - a little lower). By virtue of the above, the probability of finding a well-paying job here is not higher than in any other region (the same EU). And in connection with the upcoming Expo 2020, real estate prices are rising to the envy of bamboo. Better choose Malaysia or Singapore.
Also, do not go to someone who does not like the heat. In the summer there may well be up to 45 degrees. Dubai is all stretched along the sea, so a kilometer from you on one side is always the sea, and on the other - the desert. Hot and humid almost always.
Especially it is not necessary to go to those who love a dissolute way of life. The country is Muslim, alcohol is only at home or in a club, and you can’t even talk to strangers on the street. A friend of my friend somehow even kicked out because he lived with a girl in a civil marriage (however, I doubt this story). Better go to Tunisia or Thailand.
Definitely worth a visit here at least for a year or two of avid machine-personnel (which I myself am). If you are on the street more often turn around after a motorcycle or a beautiful car than a girl passing by, you will definitely like it. And it's not just that supercars drive around every corner. Prices in the secondary market are generally ridiculous here, in places even lower than those of the United States.
Also here should appeal to those who like to be in a built and changing environment. There is almost no IT infrastructure in Dubai, which is probably why programmers have little demand here. But they really need system architects - everything is in the process of active construction. I work in a company that creates large WiFi installations - hotels, malls, cottage villages. In the last facility there were more than 600 access points (there are no small hotels here), and now two more projects started - to put WiFi and GPS on all buses, and a working village. Plus, the exclusive participation in Dubai Smart City is being discussed. Simply put, projects are being poured from the horn of plenty, and poor HR work without raising their heads. I know a couple of local IT companies, and they have a similar situation.
Continuing the previous point - if you want to do IT business, then most likely you will succeed here. And the money in b2b here is tossed around just huge. Just think of what is missing here (and there is almost nothing here).
I described only the impressions of finding a job and some pros and cons. You can write a lot, and about the prices of housing with food, and about the features of mentality, but I do not want this article to fight for the title of the longest on Habré.
If the topic is of interest to anyone - write questions, I will try to answer. I also planned to pee a little about our work and how CoovaChilli and OpenWRT earn a lot of money for a small company.
On while all. I wish you all a successful work of hardworking or pleasant work where they decided to stay.
Now I, with experience and successful employment behind me, want to share my thoughts on how to look for a job, and about some local features. I really want to write an article that will not scream "Hurry, everybody refuel your tractor," so I will try to stick to the dry facts. Also I will try not to duplicate the information from the above post (except when I want to refute or clarify it).
For a start - a little about yourself. My favorite axis is Linux, my real passion is Networking, my true love is Asterisk.
')
My career is about 11 years old, I know the meaning of the word Asterisk about 7 years, and Cisco - about 9.
This article will be about finding a job for a network (or system) engineer, not a programmer. This is an important clarification (details below).
Looking for a job
During my career I never looked for a job and did not attend an interview in the full sense of the word. No, HR managers with no sacks of money behind me did not run after me, but it always happened that in different projects and for different works I was called by friends or friends of friends who were told about me. Therefore, I was a little worried - I am in a foreign country, no one knows about me, and I don’t even know how to sell myself. Fortunately, my rather specific experience for these parts (here VOIP is forbidden) and now it helped me - this interview was not much different from everyone I've been to before.
Here are a few sites that have advised me experienced:
- www.linkedin.com - looking ahead, I’ll tell you what LinkedIN brought me the job.
- www.bayt.com - I personally didn’t like it very much, but it was recommended by local colleagues.
- dubai.dubizzle.com/jobs - everything is on Dubizzle, work as well.
- www.gncareers.com - GulfNews is another recommended site, I liked it more than Bayt.
In general, all sites with vacancies are constantly cross-sharing and sharing each other (except, perhaps, Dubizzle), therefore, looking for something serious is quite difficult. In addition, I have never noticed there vacancies of large IT companies - they will post vacancies only on LinkedIN.
This is what concerns the passive job search. Knowledgeable people say that I did everything absolutely wrong, because here the process is different. You need to go with your resume to business centers, give it to the reception of the company, ask to meet with the HR manager, call anywhere and everywhere and ask about current vacancies. Everyone is doing just that, and it is very, very difficult to get through this noise.
For example, at the time when I went through preselect and I was called for an interview, LinkedIN under that vacancy already had 3000 submissions, plus another half of it came from other sources (they were not specified to me). What is remarkable, they took me because of Asterisk, since I was the only one who wrote it in Skills. And although the vacancy did not imply VOIP, I personally confirmed the old rule: if you really want a job, you could apply for resumes, even for those vacancies that do not really apply to you. The employer may well have a vacancy for your specialization, they just did not have time to put it in public.
Local labor flavor
Myth 1. There are a lot of Hindus, and they work for food.
In fact, it is half true. Not only Indians work for food. In fact, Pakistanis are much and much more. And their pressure on the labor market is quite noticeable - look through vacancies at Dubizzle and understand for yourself. Sometimes there are vacancies with such requirements that in Kiev such a specialist could receive 1000-1500 ye, and here they offer 600-700. Amazing - next. No wonder in many vacancies feel free to write "Pakistana only". They say that nobody else in our right mind will ever go to us.
Myth 2. Diploma and all-all-all.
Certificates here in high esteem. I never took them seriously, which never bothered me in my life (as now). However, there are a lot of vacancies that require half of the certificates known to science. Why? Yes, because the HR manager read somewhere that it is necessary. I have no other explanation. Try to figure out why the “Installation and support of LAMP servers” vacancy requires an RHCA. I could not.
I personally did not even ask for a diploma. And no one whom I could ask, he was not asked to show at the interview. My HR remembered the diploma even when he was denied registration of a work visa, arguing that the position of the engineer is serious and I need a diploma. I didn’t even talk about legalization or recognition, they made a copy without even reading it. Rumor has it that a major corporation is likely to ask for a diploma with all the perks. And for employers from FreeZones, it should be all the same whether you have a diploma (unverified rumors).
Is the game worth the candle?
From my point of view, work in IT provides immeasurably great opportunities for migration to anywhere in the world. Computers everywhere work the same way, and subject to the availability of the Internet, you can theoretically work anywhere.
Therefore, a potential migrant worker must ask himself the question - what is he looking for in a distant country?
Vs
In Dubai, obviously you should not go for the money (the exception - a little lower). By virtue of the above, the probability of finding a well-paying job here is not higher than in any other region (the same EU). And in connection with the upcoming Expo 2020, real estate prices are rising to the envy of bamboo. Better choose Malaysia or Singapore.
Also, do not go to someone who does not like the heat. In the summer there may well be up to 45 degrees. Dubai is all stretched along the sea, so a kilometer from you on one side is always the sea, and on the other - the desert. Hot and humid almost always.
Especially it is not necessary to go to those who love a dissolute way of life. The country is Muslim, alcohol is only at home or in a club, and you can’t even talk to strangers on the street. A friend of my friend somehow even kicked out because he lived with a girl in a civil marriage (however, I doubt this story). Better go to Tunisia or Thailand.
Behind
Definitely worth a visit here at least for a year or two of avid machine-personnel (which I myself am). If you are on the street more often turn around after a motorcycle or a beautiful car than a girl passing by, you will definitely like it. And it's not just that supercars drive around every corner. Prices in the secondary market are generally ridiculous here, in places even lower than those of the United States.
Also here should appeal to those who like to be in a built and changing environment. There is almost no IT infrastructure in Dubai, which is probably why programmers have little demand here. But they really need system architects - everything is in the process of active construction. I work in a company that creates large WiFi installations - hotels, malls, cottage villages. In the last facility there were more than 600 access points (there are no small hotels here), and now two more projects started - to put WiFi and GPS on all buses, and a working village. Plus, the exclusive participation in Dubai Smart City is being discussed. Simply put, projects are being poured from the horn of plenty, and poor HR work without raising their heads. I know a couple of local IT companies, and they have a similar situation.
Continuing the previous point - if you want to do IT business, then most likely you will succeed here. And the money in b2b here is tossed around just huge. Just think of what is missing here (and there is almost nothing here).
Epilogue
I described only the impressions of finding a job and some pros and cons. You can write a lot, and about the prices of housing with food, and about the features of mentality, but I do not want this article to fight for the title of the longest on Habré.
If the topic is of interest to anyone - write questions, I will try to answer. I also planned to pee a little about our work and how CoovaChilli and OpenWRT earn a lot of money for a small company.
On while all. I wish you all a successful work of hardworking or pleasant work where they decided to stay.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/285636/
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