[ph83]

Hi there

I'm coming out to stay with friends for a week very shortly and desperately want to try and land some good interviews for work whilst out in Dubai. It's a repeat visit and me and my partner are adamant we want to move and improve our lives.

I've read the helpful employment info in 'read before posting' and have sent my CV off to the agencies listed there as well as getting any friends already out there to 'network' as much as possible for me.

Am I missing any tricks?? I'm a graduate with 7+ years of luxury marketing experience and know there's a lot of good employers out there. I'm also open to any new opportunities and would happily visit an agency for them to tell me what they think I could be eligible for.

Any advice on ho to get these first few doors open would be extremely appreciated!

Anyone with similar experience- I'd love to know how you did it.

Many thanks

 

[dizzyizzy]

You are not missing anything, is just not that easy to find jobs here. There are jobs but there is a lot of competition. You have an edge though since you have experience in the luxury market. You may need to start contacting companies directly. Recruiters will not help unless they have a job opening for which you are a good fit. Otherwise they will ignore you.

 

[ph83]

Thanks for the reply. I'm so used to the UK route of being forced to go through agencies that I'm forgetting companies still like to get direct applications.

I'll get writing. Thanks!

 

[Mr Rossi]

All brands here are owned or franchised and more often than not, managed through a local group. Find out who the group for a particular brand is and contact their HR department. Don't drill down into the brand themselves too much.

A word of warning, there are quite a number of inadequate people in luxury goods. If you over shadow them, your skill set or experience is better than your interviewers then you have zero chance. At the same time you obviously need to impress to be hired. A tricky, balancing act.

 

[ph83]

Thanks for the honesty- this is useful and might explain why my CV isn't getting me to where it normally would at home. A tactical downgrade might be needed.

Will try the big boys like Al Tayer directly.

Cheers.

 

[teuchter]

All brands here are owned or franchised and more often than not, managed through a local group. Find out who the group for a particular brand is and contact their HR department. Don't drill down into the brand themselves too much.

A word of warning, there are quite a number of inadequate people in luxury goods. If you over shadow them, your skill set or experience is better than your interviewers then you have zero chance. At the same time you obviously need to impress to be hired. A tricky, balancing act.

Having spent the past 5 years heading a multinational PR agency here in Dubai, I cannot agree with this statement enough. Client side marketing people are often shockingly incompetent/clueless over here, leaving you wondering how on earth such people can manage to get (and keep) such positions. (Often a case of nepotism/'wasta'...) Not limited to the luxury goods sector either, I may add.

teuchter

 

[babinda]

Hi PH83 - I have sent you a private message

 

[Mr Rossi]

Thanks for the honesty- this is useful and might explain why my CV isn't getting me to where it normally would at home. A tactical downgrade might be needed.

Have 2 CVs. At the interview stage with your potential new manager/boss (not the more standard HR interview) try to suss out your interviewer's capabilities early on.

If they're a clown, stick with the edited CV that's got you the interview. If you deduce that your interviewer is actually switched on and you may be selling yourself short on what is an actual good position, pull out the other one and explain the reasons why you have 2 CVs.