Realistically idealistic daydreamer, seasoned procrastinator, atheist and monarchist with a secret agenda and a slight inclination towards voodoo practices.
Another piece of wisdom from your Middle East expert Cat - this time for those who are looking for jobs in the Middle East online:
Forget Bayt & Monster. Well, it doesn't hurt posting your CV there, but the chances that it will be seen are slim. Under no circumstances should you use AlJazeerajobs - not only it charges you (apparently it is for "translating your CV into Arabic"), but it is the least helpful site out of dozens available - employers can't search CVs and keep track on the applicants.
Try Gulf Talent instead. It offers employers great search options, and your CV will get better exposure. The site is free for job-seekers and extremely user-friendly. I have already hired 3 people through Gulf Talent, and lined up another 9 for interviews next week.
When posting your CV online, remember that prospective employers will not open and read your CV unless it contains the desired keywords. Therefore put as much relevant information in your CV as possible, and don't forget to write detailed job descriptions. It is always a good idea to list the equipment you worked on if you're an engineer, goods you sold if you are into sales, and so on. Also, don't make a mistake of stating desired salary. While it helps employers to figure out the seniority of your current position, you may lose out on potential interviews if they think your expectations are too high or too low. You are not obliged to disclose your last salary either. Let the employer make you an offer, then negotiate your way through.
Interesting words used to explain the techniques on the search of Gulf Jobs available on large number of fields. Nowadays HRs of all companies search these resumes and contacts applicants directly.
Yup. I would much rather spend a day searching for applicable candidates that match my requirements than spend weeks waiting for recruitment companies to provide me with CVs most of which will be no good. And then should I actually want to hire anyone through the recruitment company, I have to pay exorbitant amount of money!
Thanks for the info QatarCat. I'm actually entertaining the idea of a job in abu dhabi. I'm not sure if I like the idea of a probationary period without my family, but if the money is god I just might have to do it.
In the field of education, job seekers in the Gulf are discouraged from using recruiters...LOTS of scam artists out there. Right now a scam working out of Nigeria has been advertising jobs through the ministry of education (uses their logos, faked domains, etc.).
I've known of people in other fields in the Gulf getting sucked into these scams...jobs that sound too good to be true.
i agree on bayt.. useless. But not on monster.com. Its suprisingly good.. (this is coming from someone who gets a calls from headhunters atleast 3 times a month)
Money is rarely good nowadays. The companies are trying to move away from the "traditional" expatriate package where they cover everything. Now you get a salary and the standard benefits - a basic minimum like medical insurance, yearly ticket and maybe transportation, and you're left to your own devices in finding accommodation and everything else.
Cairogal,
Yeah well I heard about so much scam coming out of Nigeria, I would never even read a CV of a Nigerian candidate! I just feel like it's a scam from A to Z!
Sandie,
Had a great Valentine's day! Hope yours was lovely! :)
Moryarti,
I guess you must have used all the keywords imaginable in your resume to get calls 3 times a month :)
My CV has been on gulftalent for over 6 months and i have yet to receive a call from anyone - my preferance is the UAE - actually i lie i got a few calls but for Qatar - not really interested - QC - r u hiring?? u want me?? LOL
heh heh, Ive looked at most sites, followed advice and watched out for the scamming sites as there are plenty ;-D
most of the guys don't even come back to you, it feels like u left in a silent world, and it's not like I'm not skilled as I'm in I.T, unless they have to many guys there .... or they to busy ;-D
I'm currently working for the largest Internet Service Provider in South-Africa doing Systems Support, thought that would attract some attention but nothing yet ;-(
Tough market for IT here. Don't forget that India is next door, plenty skilled IT specialists (some of the best in the world) with very low expectations. The market is flooded with them. Good luck, anyway.
Remember - if anyone tries to charge you for recruitment services, then it's a scam. Never ever pay! It's illegal.
Errr.... not sure. Try hotels. And don't miss www.expatwoman.com for any information about UAE (jobs included). Just go to this site and click on forum.
Interesting to see how many job sites there are expecting one to pay money to write your Cv in th eDubai format, and offer you all kinds of services.... Just got a call from Gulf CV Specialist... and straight away i knew it is a scam...
I am from South Africa, based in Dubai on my Husbands Spousal Visa, have 8 years experience in Graphic Design, and looking for a job in the advertising market.
Had more calls and movement from CV's I posted myself than I would ever get from so called specialists that ask you for money...
If all the job seakers can just do a Google search on Job Scams they will be amazed of what to do and what is going on.
I totally agree! And it's funny since there is no such thing as "Dubai format". Perhaps what they mean is "extremely bad-written, unprofessional and overinflated"? I have never seen such poorly written CVs as in Dubai (plus often half the information in them is not true). Good luck to you with finding a job for free, through a reputable agent or directly with the company :)
I am thinking of moving to dubai for work (I am now in London) and I actually came across this gulf specialists who honestly called me every day two times a day leaving me voice messages buzzling me about their services. I don't need a re-write of my cv but I was interested in the distribution of the CV to possible recruiters since she insists is a good way to go through with it and i would definetely get couple of good job offers. I was actually thinking of doing it...but then she got so spastic with guiding me through the money paying procedure and make sure i choose the correct option and asking me the exact hour that i would make the payment and wanted to call me back in an hour to see what happened and bla bla bla that she got on my nerves and I told her..'you know, I really don't like it when somebody pressures me in that way and so much. I am really starting to feel that something is wrong with you. if I want to do it I will do myself whenever I want to..maybe is today, maybe is tomorrow, maybe is in a month, maybe is never. is there a problem with that?' ans she goes no..no..sorry..I agree with you.
ohhh FUUUUUUU*K OFF
again a dissapointment :-0 I wished it was that easy!
Hi! Glad to know you didn't pay! And you shouldn't. They wouldn't do any work for you anyway. It's a scam. No reputable recruitment agency here charges the candidates. It's illegal. Stay away from them.
Also, if you have a roof over your head and some income in London, my advice to you now would be to stay put. Dubai is virtually bankrupt, with people losing jobs left right and centre. Not a good time.
Yes, don't pay any company any money to get onto their database so that they can send your CV out to any of their clients.... watch out for coreelements.com and also monstergulf.com As soon as you register your CV with MosterGulf, you wil get a phonecall where they ask you quite a couple of questions based on your CV posted.... and then you must pay them an amount of nearly 200AED.... never never ever pay these peole any money!!!
bayt.com, actually work for me, as I did post my CV and did get a phone call for an interview direct with the client.
Hi Cat, me again... Starting to get quite allot of calls for Freelance Graphic Design. Almost done with my first Freelance Design job... starting with my 2nd this week. It really helps to post your services on allot of the Classified section such as emirates-ads.ae gnads4u.com and many others.
Hi Cat, calling from Canada eh!! Heard anything on this outfit called Gulf CV Specialists? Seems they want a fair bit of cash for an extraordinary CV, letter, etc. Any advice or comments from your friends? Cheers and beers, B
Do NOT pay anyone for anything! Chances are, your actual CV is much better written than anything they can do. It's a scam. Stay away. Send your CV to recruiters, and don't ever pay them. I cannot stress it enough!
i agree 100% !!! do not pay them! When you load your CV on certain websites such as MonsterGulf etc. after a couple of days you will get a call from a call centre.... they will tell you & ask you quite a couple of questions according to your CV.... and say they have many contacts etc. but you need to pay them a certain amount! And they can be very persistant!
You are right - I haven't even thought about it. As far as I know, MonsterGulf is a reputable agency. However, businesses (any businesses, really) can get access to their CV database - which is the whole point of having it, of course - for a fee. That makes us all possible targets of "CV writing" scams. For everyone's information - there is no such thing as "Dubai CV format" or "UAE CV format". I met a few people who fell for this line. If anything, Dubai CVs and UAE CVs are the poorest samples of CV writing I've ever encountered - and I am in recruitment!
:) As long as your CV is neat, no selling mistakes & only relevant details/info is included I am sure it will be fine.
i have noticed that recruiters & people looking for employees do like it if you ad you current status on VISA / Drivers Licence etc. Especially in UAE. Many times this could be time saving on their side to see weather you are the right candidate & if the company needs to organise/sponsor you or are even willing to do that.
Also, what might be helpfull, is to have all your documents ready & sorted out. I.e. your VISA (if possible), drivers licence, and if you studied anywhere else but UAE, make sure if you decide to come to the UAE, to get all your documents attested in your own country by all the relevant departments and lastly at the UAE embassy in your country. As it needs to be attested there, how could you get it attested/verified in the UAE if the institutions where you studied is not in the UAE? They won't have the info or databasis available here (UAE)
Makes sense, doesn't it?
Just some tips from my side, this all helped my husband on his side for his job. Hope this helps!
Dear all....I am so glad I read your postings. Having found a site for Middle East Jobs I started to fill in some details (teleportmyjob.com). Within a day I had a call from gulfCVspeciaists.com and the woman explained her services and how I would find the desired roles once I signed up (at a cost of £320 GBP) to CV prep team. Well as I was not convinced I delayed further action and have been chased by them for the last few days about signing up. Today's call was the last straw as I was told that if I was serious then I should pay up to enrol or let them know within 24 hours as they had other candidates waiting. I smelt a rat within 15 mins of chat with this woman on the first call but glad I waited a little longer to find your own experiences on the forum so now I can tell them where to disembark!...from reading the other comments I can see that it will be some time before opportunities begin to open up again partularly in Dubai. I'm also a highly experienced IT sales guy, used to selling large corporate solutions but I have read that things are very poor right now so finding something may be tough......Best regards Paul B
I spent some time talking to Noel S. of GulfCVSpecialists yesterday. he wanted £212 to do my CV and promote me in the Gulf area. I decided to think about it and ask a few friends. Before they came back to me I found this web site which has confirmed my thoughts. I will not be paying anyone after this. Thanks everyone for a really useful site. So who do you contact if you want to get a job in the Gulf area? Anyone got any info please? Cheers
Thanks for the re-confirmation of the scam. I went down the same route signing up for tepeportmyjob and had someone call from gulfcvspecialists asking me to pay 198+USD 58 for forwarding my cv and a cover letter! DON'T PAY !!
Qatar Cat - thanks for this blog! Perhaps all of the individuals that have avoided falling into a trap like cvspecialists should send you a few dollars/euros instead - including me! I am curious to see if you think the economy in Qatar is beginning to pick-up again. I am actively looking for a job and the Arabian Peninsula is one area that I am interested in (almost took a job with Aramco last year).
Yeah great idea, Mark! :) I might edit this post with my bank details.
The economy in Qatar is not in any big trouble, they sit on a massive amount of natural gas. The foreign companies in Qatar are another story.
Employment in Arabian Peninsula has lost its appeal somewhat of late, since the mind boggling expatriate packages are definitely a thing of the past. However, negotiation is key, and if you have the skills that they need, they will pay what you need.
CV writing is not something new its genuine service provided by various agencies. They are expert CV writers now its upto you whether you want to avail that service or not its not a scam. r.g. if you need medical help its upto you wheter you want to go to expert doctor or take your own medication.
Hello people. I have some info abt GULF CV SPECIALISTS. It is Utter C***. I worked for this company for 2 mnths ONLY. They are not based in UAE. With their sweet talks they lure you into paying for something which is a Scam. All they do is re-write the same matter wid flowery words, and give you nothing but list of some small time recruitment agencies details. Mind you not the company details, as they mention during the telephonic conversation. This is not cos i've been one of the unhappy lots. But it is only for people who might save some $200 to $500, which i'm sure is their hard earned money. Rest depends on ones own Common Sense
Hi guys, i also registered my Cv in this company, I recieved the call etc etc. They told me what i have to pay, i read this blog here and i am not paying. I asked them to give me the opportunity to pay with bank transfer and they said they do not work with banks. That was strange for me. I told them i will pay with a prepaid card and the said " how much money do you have now inside etc".. thanks for your infos.
Interesting words used to explain the techniques on the search of Gulf Jobs available on large number of fields. Nowadays HRs of all companies search these resumes and contacts applicants directly.