What is the best time of year to find a job in Dubai? The image is of the Dubai skyline at sunset

The Best Time to Search for a Job in Dubai in 2023

Joel Mason
Dubai

The Best Time to Search for a Job in Dubai in 2023

Joel Mason • Apr 05, 2023

Knowing when to apply for jobs in Dubai throughout 2023 is just as important as knowing how to apply for a job in Dubai. This is specially true when you're searching for a job in Dubai on a visit visa.

The city and work culture in Dubai is subject to more high and low periods than most cities in the world, this is thanks to extremely hot weather in the summer and the many important holidays marking religious celebrations.

By the end of this article, you’ll have a complete understanding of how to plan your Dubai job search for 2023.

You'll know when you are most likely to find a job in Dubai and when your Dubai job search is likely to be less fruitful.

I'll also tell you which months to avoid visiting Dubai to look for a job, and what to do during the quiet hiring periods, plus when to reach out to Dubai recruitment agencies.

What's the best time of year for a job search in Dubai?

January and February

January and February are by far the best times of year to apply for jobs in Dubai.

No matter which industry you are in, January and February are key months for Dubai recruitment agencies

Why Are January and February the Best Months to Look For a Job in Dubai?

The returning workforce

In January, HR and hiring managers that travelled home for Christmas will begin to return to the office, and by the time mid-January comes along, Dubai recruitment agencies will be working at full capacity.

Finalising hiring decisions in Dubai can often be a slow process because so many people travel.

Arranging interviews with multiple stakeholders can be a logistical nightmare for companies in Dubai.

However, in January and February most people will be back together in the office, and things can therefore move much more quickly.

Backlog of job vacancies

There will also be a backlog of roles that have built up over the quieter holiday period that now need to be filled.

Active recruitment processes often go quiet at the tail-end of the year and the pressure will now be on to fill them as the new year begins.

Dubai has a very transient workforce, very few people stay in Dubai long term and there are always people returning to their home countries.

After each major holiday period (especially the summer, which we’ll talk about below) there will be new job opportunities in Dubai that become available, often unexpectedly, and companies will be under pressure to fill them.

People change jobs at the beginning of the year. This is often because they receive their annual bonuses at the end of the year, plus the simple fact that this is peak recruitment time. When someone moves jobs, they create a vacancy.

New hiring budgets

January and February are the months when new hiring budgets are approved and roles signed off.

As soon as hiring managers in Dubai receive their hiring budgets, and get the go ahead for additional personnel, they will be in a hurry to fill these vacancies.

You will find lots of telephone and video interviews taking place in Dubai during January and February, plus many first stage interviews being scheduled.

The Dubai weather

Another factor that makes January and February great months for your Dubai job search is the weather.

The weather is great at this time of year! It’s so much easier travelling to Dubai during these months as you can attend interviews and travel around the city without overheating.

As the year progresses, and the temperatures increase, it becomes more and more difficult to do this.

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March, April and May

March, April and May are still good months for your Dubai job search.

Even though January and February are peak times to find a job in Dubai, you will typically find that the pace of hiring is still pretty high during March, April and May.

Still vacancies to fill

Not all of the vacancies from the beginning of the year will have been filled yet.

Processes that began at the start of the year may have been unsuccessful meaning new candidates need to be sought.

Countdown to the Dubai summer

These are also the last good months of hiring before summer, and Dubai recruitment agencies will be working hard to fill as many roles as possible before the mass exodus of summer begins.

Ideally you should begin your Dubai job search during the peak months of January or February, however, if you don’t find something by March, don’t despair, you still have a few good months ahead of you whilst recruitment teams in Dubai are still in the office.

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Get connecting

These months are a good opportunity to reconnect with recruiters in Dubai as new roles might have come online since you first met with them at the start of the year, also roles that they thought they might have filled may now be open again.

You can learn how to connect with Dubai recruitment agencies here.

June, July and August

June, July and August are not good months for applying for jobs in Dubai.

The mass exodus

The summer months are always quiet in the world of recruitment. In Dubai, however, it’s even worse, it’s dead.

Dubai witnesses a mass exodus during the summer months as people flee the soaring temperatures, and return home for extended periods of time.

It’s notoriously difficult to finalise hiring decisions during the summer as HR teams and key stakeholders scatter across the world.

The summer is not a great time to travel to Dubai

I would strongly advise against travelling to Dubai to look for a job during the summer months of June, July and August.

The temperatures make it extremely uncomfortable and difficult to get around, in fact it will probably put you off moving to Dubai at all!

You will find the city very quiet and people will be slow to meet with you and may not respond to you at all.

Can you work on your Dubai job search in the summer?

Absolutely, whist you may not have as much success from applying for jobs in Dubai during these months, you can still use this time to get ready for the end of summer.

Consider what Dubai recruiters will be looking for on your CV, and refine it.

Get a new CV template and work on making it perfect for the new roles that will become available.

Plan your job search strategy and do your research during these months.

It's also a great time to create your profile on the major job boards in Dubai, plus get your LinkedIn profile ready.

September, October, November and December

September and October are also good months to find a job in Dubai.

People return to the city

People return from their vacations at the end of September as the academic school year begins.

The city begins to fill up, traffic returns to pre-summer levels (unfortunately), and hiring dramatically increases.

After the long summer break people return to Dubai refreshed and ready to get back to work. The wheels begin to turn and recruitment begins to enjoy another peak.

By October the weather begins to cool down

The city has come back to life and people are ready to hit the ground running.

Families who are ready to leave to Dubai once and for all, often do so during the summer, this is so that they can get their kids settled into their new schools at the beginning of the academic year. This naturally means new vacancies need to be filled, often these are key and senior roles.

Great months to visit Dubai

October and November are great months to visit Dubai, there is an energy to the city, people are willing to meet with you and recruiters will be in full swing, looking to fill positions before the Christmas period arrives.

In many parts of the world the end of November into December would be quiet on the hiring front as people begin to wind down for the Christmas holidays.

This is also true in Dubai, but less so than most of the world. November can actually be a pretty good month for meeting with recruiters and getting a leg up on the competition before the January peak comes along.

By mid-December recruitment agencies and HR teams will slow down somewhat, but remember, this tends to happen a little later for the recruitment agencies in Dubai, meaning that November and December can be good months to get your job search started ready for the new year.

Ramadan and your Dubai job search

When looking for a job in Dubai you need to factor in the Holy Month of Ramadan. During Ramadan many people take time off, working hours are dramatically reduced and life in Dubai slows down.

Do not be surprised or become frustrated if you hear nothing back during Ramadan. You simply need to factor this month into your job search and plan around it.

Be aware that the month in which Ramadan takes place moves forward each year. This means that this year it will fall earlier in the year than last year.

You will need to do your research so that you’re prepared. You should also be aware that the exact dates are not fixed as the commencement and ending of Ramadan depend upon moon sightings.

It is likely that you will not complete on a job offer during Ramadan. If you begin an interview process right before Ramadan begins, don’t expect it to proceed during Ramadan, be patient and understanding and wait for business to return to normal.

Use the time to do something positive for your job search, try up-skilling, reworking your CV or getting some interview practice.

Other religious observances to be aware of in Dubai

Throughout the year in Dubai there are various religious and national holidays that can impact upon the flow of recruitment and hiring. Some of these include;

Eid al-Fitr

Haj season

Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice)

Al-Hijra (Islamic New Year)

National Day

This is not an exhaustive list, and again some dates vary from year to year and you should do your research before embarking on your job search so that you understand the natural ebbs and flows that affect life in Dubai.

Conclusion

The best months for job searching in Dubai are January, February, September and October.

Other good months for finding a job in Dubai are March, April, May and potentially November and the beginning of December.

You should avoid June, July and August, as well as during Ramadan.

Familiarise yourself with other many religious and national holidays that punctuate the annual calendar in Dubai.