Tips on Applying for Job in UAE

As someone who is responsible from recruitment in our organization, daily, I’m receiving thousands of emails for thousands of job seekers who are hoping to find the suitable job here in UAE. So for those who are looking for job, here are some helpful tips from me.

1. Make sure that your cv’s or resume is updated. Make sure that your objective is on top, followed by job experiences. Make sure that your job experiences are updated. After your job experiences, arrange your educational background in this manner: University (on top), Secondary (middle), primary (last). The highest education should be on top. 

2. Create a concise and short cover letter. Again short and concise.

3. Make sure that your photo is recent and professional. Not like the photo from ice age or the photo which was grabbed from social networking sites. Here in UAE, majority of the employers gives at least 30% score on pleasing personality.

4. When forwarding your cv or resume, make sure that you are not forwarding the message over and over again. I bet you know what I mean with this “FW:“. It’s a big NO! It gives the impression that you are just applying randomly and with no intent of knowing the company.

5. If you finally received a call or email for interview, ask the following details: company name, location/address, date and time of interview, contact person and the vacant position. It’s very important to know the aforementioned details in order for you to locate the place easily.

6. Study the company and job opportunity, conduct some research. This will create a good impression on your interviewer because it will leave an impression that you are interested in the company.

7. Think of common interview question and prepare the appropriate answers. Practice in front of the mirror. Do it over and over again so you will be comfortable to speak.

8. Dress professionally. Fix your hair. Men should wear tie. Ladies should keep their accessories to the minimum. Brush your teeth, take shower and wear some perfume.

9. Be on time or arrive 5-10 minutes prior to the set appointment. DO NOT BE LATE!

10. Put your phone on silent mode. 

11. Whatever the circumstances are, try to smile often and be polite.

12. Greet your interviewer with smile, offer handshake (for men, not particularly to women if the interviewer is men), and make an eye contact.

13. Be yourself. Focus on your interviewer. Answer the questions with all honesty. Relax. Don’t be nervous. Think before you answer.

14. After the interview, don’t be shy to ask regarding the next procedure and when can you expect the update regarding your application.

15. Pray earnestly to God because God knows best. :)

For anyone who wants to apply, you can send your cv or resume at hr.ds.ae@gmail.com or hr.dc.ae@gmail.com

Life is Beautiful!

It's a very beautiful day. Took a cab from my home to Al Fallah Street to grab a cup of coffee at Starbucks but decided not to take one as it's a pain in the ass to carry for 30 minutes walk. While walking, I've decided to play my favorite song, "Like I'm Gonna Lose You". This is how it goes:

Apologies for the video and audio quality. Bit windy on that day.

While walking, I noticed a lot of things. I saw the sky, it was full of clouds, which is a rare occasion in UAE.

I noticed the No. 56 bus which I guess was delay on his schedule.

The Life Line Hospital's Golden Building never fails to amaze me. I always wonder how they make it gold.

And Oh, before I forget, the Mawaqif guy who's an early bird in catching who did not place their parking tickets. 

The Pakistani man who is crossing the street. He is old and he is having a hard time walking.

Few blocks away and I saw this guy who is down the gutter at the pedestrian. He came from the Hospital and like the old Pakistani guy, he as well has a difficulty in walking.

I'm at the Hamdan Center, and I took a photo of my Kickers shoes. Of course, how I would miss that? Caught this while walking.

Arrived at the office exactly 9:17:53am. Haha. Still have time to prepare a cup of coffee. :) Awesome.

Life is beautiful. There's a lot of things that we can be thankful of. For me, I can sing, talk, some of them can't. I can walk, run, some of them can't. I have job, some of them, don't have. If we would only appreciate what we have and what we can do, then, we will appreciate life itself.

How my Day Went

It's Friday here in UAE. It's my favorite day of the week. I was able to rest, relax, watch movie, read books, procrastinate and a lot more. So here's how my day goes, I woke up 8:30am. Went to the kitchen to prepare a cup of coffee. My flatmate joined me and we talked a lot. I came to know that she's a martyr to her ex-husband. It was not an issue of a third party at first. A typical problem of Filipino who got hooked into vices "gambling of any forms and drugs". She told me that she gave a lot of chances to her husband and keep on accepting him over and over again. But he keeps on doing it. Until it reaches to a point that they cannot pay their debts no more. They finally decided to go overseas to pay off all their debts. But every time the husband is going back to Philippines, he's leaving them with tons of debts again. It became a normal cycle of apologies and forgiveness. Until her heart started to get tired. Her turning point is the third party which she come to know 3 months ago. The Woman is pregnant and she knows that it's the end of it. We finished talking at 10:30am. Cooked breakfast, ate and I decided to watch movie at 1pm. I watched mocking jay. It's not that bad but not that good as well. Slept again, took shower at 4pm and decided to go to my assistant's home to get my planner. Took a photo while on our way home.

Walked for a bit and hang out at The Bagel Bar Coffee Shop. Don't be mislead though, it's 100% coffee shop and never a bar of some sort. We stayed there for few hours. Ordered irish coffee, called my friend "Royen" to come over. When he arrived we talked about ways on how we will earn extra money. As you know, life here in abroad is never easy. Room rent is very expensive. It's equivalent to 3 bedroom house in Manila. After I finished my coffee, I ordered another cup of tea. Left at the coffee shop 2 minutes before 10pm. We're lucky enough to find taxi easily. The driver started the meter 9:59pm. Just for everybody's information, taxi fare's minimum rate after 10pm is 10aed. Arrived home at 10:15pm. Started to do the agenda for tomorrow's meeting *crap* and process flow for hiring, pre-employment, termination and resignation. Finished the whole thing at 1:00am.

Hiring Process/Workflow:

Pre-employment Process/Workflow:

Termination and Resignation Process/Workflow:

UAE hit by the Storm 9 March 2016

It was last Wednesday (9 March 2016), UAE was hit by the storm. I was conducting the interview at that time. I saw my colleagues looking so anxious. Then my boss entered my room. CJ, you better see this. I’m puzzled why he looks so worried. Then when I looked at the window, it was total darkness. I can barely see the buildings outside. The wind is hovering like crazy, you can feel the wind shaking our building. It was a combination of strong wind and heavy rain. The people started praying. Some of them even throw a joke, “let’s all repent for today might be the second coming”. It is 10 in the morning, but it looks like 7 in the evening. T’was total darkness on a mid-day. It lasted for nearly an hour. The wind is gone, rain’s gone, but the damage is very evident.

 Later in the afternoon my sister sent me a photo. I can't believe it myself!!! She said that not only strong wind and heavy rain, they also experience this:

Until now some of the areas in Dubai are still flooded. This according to my friends who have been here for more than a decade, said that this was never happened before. Climate change is real. Wake up people! We are here in one of the hottest part of the world and yet, we experience this.