Jobseekers stopped traffic as they descended on a Dubai hotel in a desperate bid to climb the career ladder and cash in on the continued economic recovery.
Candidates dodged cars as they crossed the busy Casablanca Street to get to the Al Bustan Rotana hotel, in Al Garhoud, queuing from the early hours on Tuesday for an advertised walk-in interview with Dubai Islamic Bank.
Many were hoping to find better salaries to pay their rising rents or escape job woes in their home countries. Those waiting in line for a chance to shine said they were not even aware of what jobs or how many roles were on offer, but that they were just looking to get a foot in the door.
One candidate, a fund manager with more than 10 years’ experience working at a bank in Dubai, told 7DAYS: “My rent and expenses are going up, but I haven’t been promoted or given an increment in years.”
The jobseeker added: “Before they said the market is bad but what’s the excuse now? I might as well sell myself to the competition.” Others in line said they were in the emirate on a visit visa and had 60 days to find a job.
Farell Veigas, who arrived from India a week ago, told 7DAYS: “The salary is better here, especially considering the exchange rate. I have seven and a half years of experience working for bank call centres but I can never make the same salary in India.”
One recruitment specialist said the huge turnout signals market confidence. Breige Mac Manus, manager at Carter Murray, told 7DAYS: “This hasn’t happened for maybe five years. It seems a very good sign and an injection of positivity.” She added more jobs are coming on the market in the banking and finance sector. But demand is still greater than supply, according to another expert.
Farid Ahmed, managing partner at Virtus Consultancy Services, said: “People are super desperate. All the people forced to leave in 2009 are now looking to reenter the market. Earlier we’d never get Western candidates willing to compromise for jobs with single digit salaries. Now they’re willing to accept even Dhs7,000 or less.”
And the situation is unlikely to change this year, he said. “The supply is still very, very, high. Fact is, the rest of the world is not hiring.”
Both recruiters guessed the total number of roles available on the day was likely to be less than 100.
Dubai Islamic Bank did not respond to 7DAYS questions about the number of roles available, but an advertisement online stated that the bank was seeking “dynamic, result-oriented individuals with relevant experience” at “various levels” across departments including sales for cards, personal finance, auto and home finance, call centre, retail credit and operations.
Source: Yahoo Maktoob
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