Dubai is one of the most popular cities in the world for Job hunters. Some of the reasons for that is its 0% Income Tax, above-average salaries, strategic geographical location and variety of roles available. This applies not just to Dubai but for the whole UAE, with Abu Dhabi and Sharjah seeing an increase in numbers of Expats moving in search of work.
What this also means is that the landscape for Job Search is more competitive than ever in the region, with Recruiters receiving up to 900 application per role they post. So how do you stand out?
With a sky-high level of competition, finding a Job in Dubai is challenging, but with the right preparation, you can be one step ahead and position yourself in a sweet spot to land your next role. Here are a few tips to help you prepare ahead of submitting Job Applications.
This may seem sort of obvious, but you would be surprised at how many people start applying before even assembling their CV. This will not only allow you to apply faster, but also force you to think about your most relevant and up to date experience, which will help you once you get to the interview stage.
Recruiters will most likely have a read through your CV for about 20 seconds, so being concise is a superpower. The best CVs are 1 page long, Include bullet points under your Work Experience, start with Action Verbs, and clearly articulate your Actions and Results. If you’re just getting started and want a template you can copy for your CV, sign up to Download it.
LinkedIn is one of the most visited websites in the UAE, and a “Recruiter favourite” destination for advertising new roles and connecting with their professional circles. You will be able to use the Search Bar to find new roles in the region, and in some cases also see who are the Talent Acquisition Managers who post them.
Building a LinkedIn profile, posting regularly about your area of work, and engaging with other posts that are relevant for your field of work, will naturally put you in front of the right eyes. You may also be able to connect with people who know others hiring, and perhaps even get a referral.
Do you know anyone in Dubai or the UAE? If the answer is yes, then you have a starting point. Try to grab lunch or find a way to speak to this person about your job-search journey. Ask for an introduction to someone else - if you have someone in mind, even better. This will get the ball rolling, and you will quickly start being in touch with a larger pool of people.
If you don’t know anyone in the UAE, lookout for Expat events. Chances are, others attending also don’t know many people, so this is always a good place to start. You have to put yourself out there to build out a Network. Short term, there might be no gain, but long term, it will definitely be worth it.
Have you ever been asked “What type of role are you looking for”, and found yourself answering with “I can do anything!”? You might’ve even thought it was a great answer. Well, unfortunately, you may be wrong. Generalists are good for a small % of Roles, but in most cases, Talent Acquisition Managers are on the lookout for Specialists.
Think about it like this, if you have 5 years or experience doing a little bit of everything, and you are applying for a Marketing Manager Role, who do you think will impress most - you, or another candidate with 4 Years of pure Marketing Experience? While being a Generalist is a great attribute at Startups and smaller companies, medium and larger companies need people to focus on a subset of the business, and that requires you to be a Subject Matter Expert. If you find something you like doing, frame your CV and LinkedIn profile around the skillset required for those roles, and showcase your experience in it.
There are plenty of great websites in the UAE to find and apply for Roles. Below you can find some of the top ones:
1) LinkedIn
2) Bayt
3) The Talent Point
4) Want to see more? Sign up to Matutto for FREE
Making your CV as simple and easy to digest as possible will give you a hedge over other candidates. Recruiters will look through it for about 20 seconds, so it’s important they can quickly grasp everything they need, and clearly understand how your skillset matches the job they’re hiring for. Here are some tips to build a perfect CV:
A common mistake people make is to organize their CV in chronological order from oldest to newest. However, your latest experience is probably the most relevant one for your upcoming role, so make sure to have it in the first paragraph after the Header. Also think about it like this, if a Recruiter is only going to look at your CV for about 20 seconds, they might not even go all the way to the bottom, so you want to make sure you share with them the juicy stuff right at the start, as it may tilt the scale in your favour.
When describing your experience always think about it in the STAR Format. S = Situation, T = Task, A = Action and R = Results. You can’t go through all of this for each example as part of your experience, but you can certainly tackle the last 2 - Actions and Results.
For this, it is recommended to start each sentence with an “Action” Verb, such as “Delivered”, “Coordinated”, “Managed”, among others. Then follow by a description of your actions, and finalize with the Results - example: “Led a sales training to improve conversion among my team, which resulted in a Revenue increase of 24% Year on Year, and 16% above target”.
Ensuring the CV is clean of grammatical errors will not necessarily put you at the top of the list, but on the flip side, if a grammatical error is spotted by a Recruiter, you will surely end up at the bottom of the pile. This not only demonstrates your ability to communicate in written form, but also you attention to detail. So something as simple as running a check on your spelling, can avoid you some trouble when applying.
.png)