Congratulations on making the decision to work in Dubai!
You’re on your way to enjoying life in a city that boasts the biggest and best of everything, to saving a potentially life-altering amount of money, and to making great friends from all over the world.
All of the above are possible, I did it myself in 2013, and enjoyed eight great years working as a Dubai recruiter!
Coming up
In this article I’m going to outline the three most effective ways of successfully applying for jobs in Dubai.
I stress ‘successfully’ applying for jobs in Dubai, as it’s too easy to apply for thousands of jobs in Dubai and actually land nothing, or, land the wrong job in Dubai, which can end up causing a lot of unnecessary stress.
But don’t worry, the methods that I’m going to share with you will afford you the greatest potential for success.
I’m going to present them to you in ascending order of importance, meaning that the last point is by far the most effective.
So, let’s get started, the Dubai lifestyle waits for no one!
Number one – Dubai job boards
There are three main job boards in Dubai that you could, and should, use to apply for jobs;
There are others, but these three are by far the most used by well established companies and recruitment agencies in Dubai, and that’s what you want.
This is what you need to do
• Log onto each of these Dubai job boards and fully complete your profile. It’s important to make your profile as complete as possible and avoid any gaps.
• Upload a great looking and totally up-to-date CV. This CV should be optimised for the jobs in Dubai that you want to land. The more targeted the better. It’s important that you take some time to update your CV for Dubai and make sure that it includes everything that a Dubai recruiter will be looking for.
• Make sure you have your up-to-date contact information on your profile. I would advise creating a new and very professional sounding email address just to manage your Dubai job applications. Don’t use the hilarious email address that you set up in Uni, it’s time to move on.
• Use Dubai job boards to do some research. Conduct a search for the kinds of job you’re looking for, e.g. Sales Manager - Automotive. Now make a note of the companies that are hiring, or the recruitment companies that are posting the jobs. Also take note of the variations of job title that are coming up. This information will help you to directly approach the right people and tweak your CV and LinkedIn profile so that you include the correct key words.
There is one thing that you need to avoid when applying for jobs in Dubai on job boards
Avoid applying for loads of roles. It’s tempting to hit the quick apply button on every job that you think you could be good at, but that’s not the way to use job boards.
Whilst you may think you could be great at the job, the reality is, no one cares what you think unless you actually possess the relevant skills and experience, if the job asks for an Arabic speaker, don’t apply for it unless you actually speak Arabic!
Apply for the jobs that you are at least 80% qualified for and adapt your CV for every single application, those who adopt a quality over quantity approach to applying for jobs in Dubai, are typically the most successful.
Number two – LinkedIn
Whilst Dubai job boards will afford you some degree of success, LinkedIn, if used correctly, will give you a much greater degree of success when applying for jobs in Dubai.
The main reason for this is because around 50% of the population of the UAE uses LinkedIn.
If you want to successfully apply for jobs in Dubai, you absolutely need to be on LinkedIn.
If you’re already on LinkedIn, you need to update your LinkedIn profile and make sure that each and every section is optimised for the Dubai market because nearly every single recruitment consultant in Dubai will use LinkedIn to find candidates.
On top of that, most companies in Dubai will also use LinkedIn to source candidates for job roles and many will post job opportunities on LinkedIn too.
There are two ways that you’re going to use LinkedIn to find a job in Dubai
1. Use LinkedIn to apply for job opportunities
LinkedIn is full of roles to apply for, just take a look at the figures below.
Check out the latest LinkedIn usage statistics here.
As a recruiter, I used LinkedIn every day as one of my main tools for headhunting candidates. I would conduct advanced searches for people with specific skills and experience and use the LinkedIn premium features to reach out to them.
This is how to search for and apply to jobs on LinkedIn:
• Step one: Click on 'jobs' at the top of your profile
• Step two: Click on 'job alerts' on the left hand side
• Step three: Click on 'search for jobs'
• Step four: Type 'Dubai' in the search bar and hit 'search'
Pro Tip: Set up alerts so that you get notified every time a relevant job comes up
2. Use LinkedIn to reach out directly to hiring managers
This is going to be the most effective method when using LinkedIn to find a job in Dubai.
Using LinkedIn’s fantastic search capabilities, you’re going to search for HR managers, team leaders, and hiring managers in the companies or industries that you want to work for.
Now sign up for a free trial of LinkedIn Premium.
You can cancel this right away so you don’t get charged when the free trial is over and still use the benefits for 30 days.
The feature that you want to use is the 5 Free InMails.
Craft a really engaging message with a strong call to action (or download the pack below which includes pre-prepared scripts for contacting hiring managers) and send them an InMail asking to talk so that you can discuss how you might fit into their organisation.
Find out more about using LinkedIn to find a job here.
How do I find hiring managers in Dubai I hear you ask…
If you want to be really clever, use LinkedIn jobs to identify the person who has posted a role that you want to apply for and use one of your free InMails to message them directly!
When you view an active job opportunity on LinkedIn, you'll often be able to see exactly who posted the role, and you can send them an InMail, provided you are using LinkedIn Premium - get a 30 day free trial here.
Before you start applying for jobs in Dubai on LinkedIn
Before you start to contact people on LinkedIn, you need to make sure that your LinkedIn profile is fully complete and quite frankly looks amazing!
There are 10 steps that you should take to make sure your LinkedIn profile helps you to land a job in Dubai.
My 10-step guide to creating a LinkedIn profile will guide you through each step with visuals to help you out.
If you’re serious about finding a job in Dubai, I highly recommend getting yourself a copy!
These are the 10 steps to creating a great LinkedIn profile for Dubai
Step one: Create a great LinkedIn banner image
Step Two: Add a professional and engaging LinkedIn profile picture
Step Three: Choose your location
Step Four: Include the best number & email
Step Five: Write an attention-grabbing professional headline
Step Six: Make your about section really compelling
Step Seven: Add some great content to you featured section
Step Eight: Complete your experience section
Step Nine: List your most relevant skills
Step Ten: Get great LinkedIn recommendations on your profile
My 10-step guide also contains three additional sections that will help you fully maximise your LinkedIn profile for landing a Dubai job - get your copy now
• How to connect with people on LinkedIn
• How to find the right people on LinkedIn
• How to engage and post on LinkedIn so that you get found
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