State of the Market

[vwdan]

Depends on your industry but certainly true for retail.

Hey, we don't all just work down Tesco

[northernladuk]

Hey, we don't all just work down Tesco

B****rd.

[Destiny2]

Afternoon.
Has anyone worked in the Middle east? How is the job market there? I feel like moving there.

[WTFH]

That's covid furlough. I must admit I hate the term furlough so not sure why I used it. I mean asking contractors not to work during business protection periods at xmas. There is usually long change freezes starting as early as mid Nov to focus on keeping the business working at the busiest time of the year so no need for the contracts if they can't change anything. Some clients ask contractors not to come in as early as first week in Dec. Minimum is week before xmas till Jan this year for most I'd say.

Depends on your industry but certainly true for retail.

Code freeze here - last deployment window is next weekend, then nothing until mid January.

[northernladuk]

Afternoon.
Has anyone worked in the Middle east? How is the job market there? I feel like moving there.

Done Dubai for awhile but only as part of a global project rather than contracted to work out there. The days of high value work with danger money are long gone with a heavy reliance on our friends east of them. The few roles I've seen recently over there that fit my skill set would have meant me earning less that UK work. There is the fact that half the world can go for the gigs as well and in straight race of skills you'll always lose out to an arabic speaker. Better to try find a consultancy that supplies services rather than just looking for a body from virtually anywhere in the world.
It was a great experience when I was there but got pretty wearing in the summer months. Hot doesn't cover it. Most of the locals are sensible to get out for awhile.

I'd definitely recommend for an experience but as a source of income it's not the earner it used to be. Hard finding roles out there though. Linkedin, Monstergulf and manually finding agents working specifically in the gulf were the best way.

Oh.. And if you are one of these brits where it's your way or no way then forget it. If you aren't extremely switched on to the culture over there you are going to find it very difficult. Exceptions might be oil/gas where you are in enclaves etc but working with the locals then respect is paramount. That's why they hate the Americans so much out there.

All that said I'd be back over in a heartbeat.

EDIT : Bearing in mind offshore is a bit off topic you might be better starting a new thread asking about Gulf work.

[BigDataPro]

Afternoon.
Has anyone worked in the Middle east? How is the job market there? I feel like moving there.

Two decades ago I have worked in Dubai and visit there once in two years even now. Culture and hierarchy remains the same. White Brits earned a lot compared to their counterparts then. It is the case even now but overall rates have come down heavily.

For e.g. An insurance company offered me £6500 tax free a year ago. The same company offered about £10,000 tax free two years ago.

Everywhere including workplaces this hierarchy remains:

1. Locals
2. Brits/American - specifically whites
3. Brits/American - non white
4. Indians, Pakistanis, Filipinos and other Arabs

These days it is not worth going there unless you have never been there and want to have a different experience.

[SussexSeagull]

Finding things a bit slow to be honest. Had an interview lined up for a Public Sector contract in the week but the project apparently got pulled at the last minute.

[Bluenose]

Finding things a bit slow to be honest. Had an interview lined up for a Public Sector contract in the week but the project apparently got pulled at the last minute.

thanks for the update Seagull. Keep chipping away.

[hungry_hog]

Market seems healthy (BA in FS).

One gig coming to end, was contacted directly by three FS firms (two sell side, one buy side) and one Retail. Fingers crossed contract secured into New Year.

On a slight tangent - has anyone ever secured a contract through efinancialcareers? They seem to have 100s of roles which are not elsewhere, looks very suspect to me! I recall using them couple years ago to no effect.

[ladymuck]

My client changed their mind about cancelling the extension offer so I'm good through to the end of March but with an enforced three week break in December. A friend of mine who was passing on a load of leads they couldn't take up said the market was booming (BA stuff in various industries)