UAE

Ah, the good old UAE, where the roads are paved with gold and one only has to turn up with a business card that says “recruitment consultant’ on it and you’ll be retiring a millionaire in a couple of years’ time.

Highly unlikely. Yes the whole UAE region has grown rapidly since 2000, increasingly so from a recruitment perspective, and yes the development of the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) certainly brought many an expat to Dubai hoping to ride the economic boom whilst seeking fame and fortune along the way, but the reality is that Dubai, especially, was severely affected by the Global Financial Crisis and consequently many of the firms who had been talking avidly about expanding their operations into the Middle East, or had even commenced fledgling businesses, pulled out of the region.

Doom and gloom aside, there still remains opportunity for the determined recruiter in what is still widely regarded as a very embryonic market.

Granted, it is hard to sell a retainer there, yes the working week is different to many other developed countries, absolutely it is a fact that much of the senior talent one is trying to source has to come from offshore....but nonetheless there is the challenge.

Although the majority of recruitment organisations are still based out of Dubai, many firms have to operate across the whole UAE region into Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman to be able to generate the revenue that they need to live the lifestyle they want to have. How many people in Sydney or Tokyo can say they get afforded that sort of opportunity?

There are some well respected international recruitment organisations across the region as well as a handful of boutique search/selection specialists as well. For a general discussion on who we work with in the region please feel free to give us a call.

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