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is it for an U.S. citizen to get a job in Dubai?

Why? where do you see a problem?
The last count I heard that there were well over 80 nationalities working in the UAE

The reason I asked is because I was wondering do they even consider an applicant who currently resides in the U.S. I'm more than willing to travel to UAE for an interview but are they willing to even consider? Many companies in the U.S. won't even consider you for an interview if you live in another state and with the economy over here in the toliet I'm willing to try something new.

Slightly tricky question and the answer depends on the company to whom you will be applying (size, income etc.) and the nature of position you are applying for. Try looking at the question from a different angle.

Put yourself in the shoes of a CEO of a business in Dubai. You have three vacancies in your company. One is for a secretary (approx. 60,000 AED p.a.), the next for a middle management position (approx. 240,000 AED p.a.) and the last position for an executive marketing manager (approx 600,000 AED p.a.) of the business. Yours is a medium to large company and turns over 20 million dollars per annum.

Take the following into consideration, if you use a local or international placement agency to find a suitable candidate you will have to pay them between 15 and 20% of the annual package offered as a placement fee. So your secretary position would cost between 9,000 and 12,000 AED, your middle management position 36,000 to 48,000 AED and your executive position 90,000 to 120,000 AED in placement/ agency fees.

In real terms what you then find happening is that they will recruit the lower two positions “in-house” simply by placing an advertisement in a local paper or advertising on an open web-site (or their own web site); a lot of the time these placements are actually done through personal staff referrals. The HR and interviews are handled internally. Often with these positions the employer is more flexible with the candidates profile as they are likely to have more candidates to choose from. Example: if you place an add in a local UAE paper for an English speaking secretary, who can type 100 words per minute you are likely to get at least 2,000 applicants! And if you were to post an advert for an Office Manager with a Bachelors degree in HR or Office Management you are sure to get at least 50 to 100 applicants. All of these people will be “in country” on visit visa’s!!! Why would the company then waste money on an external recruitment agent, phone calls backwards and forwards, telephone interviews or possibly paying to have candidates flown to Dubai for an interview? Additionally in most other countries a business could claim these costs as a tax deduction, in the UAE there is no company tax and so no financial benefit.

Where lager companies tend to spend “the big bucks” is on high profile positions/ placements where the need the person to fit their required profile 100%. These are normally executive positions where finding the right candidate is critical to the short or long term objectives of the business.

Of course, this is a generalization, but from my experience pretty accurate.

If you're pretty then you'll definitely got a job.

What sort of field are you in, and experience?

Thanks dbxsoul, I have a degree in Communications and I'm looking for either PR/Event Planning work or some type of contracting work. I'm a hard worker who is also willing to learn new things. My work ethic is fantastic.

i dont think finding a job should be a problem, whether you are in or outside the uae

Why doesn't a new member check the date of the original post before replying. Emzy your mostly replying to year old posts.