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The United Arab Emirates or UAE has one of the highly competitive and rapidly evolving job markets. In fact, they offer some of the highest per capita salaries in the world. But did you know that the UAE doesn’t charge an income tax? For this reason, the country has become popular not only with local job seekers but also with foreign workers seeking better opportunities and tax-free salaries.
If you are looking for your first job or exploring a new career in the UAE, there are various methods of finding the perfect employment opportunity. You can do walk-ins, attend job fairs and hiring events, or use some of the popular job search sites. To improve your odds in such a competitive market, you can also consider using recruitment agencies as part of your job search strategy. In no chronological order, we’ve listed the 10 top recruitment agencies in the UAE with established reputations for pairing highly qualified talents with the best companies.
1) Guildhall
Guildhall brands themselves as the best recruitment agency and HR consultancy in Dubai, UAE. They have been providing recruitment, talent acquisition, and career consulting services for more than 15 years. Some of their areas of specialization include oil and gas, facility management, FMCG, IT, education, healthcare, and retail. They feature an extensive list of job opportunities at all levels. However, if you do not find a suitable position, you can use their speculative application feature. All you have to do is complete an application form, answer some questions, and upload your resume, and they will immediately contact you once a new job matches your qualifications and criteria.
2) BAC Executive Recruitment
Founded in 1979, BAC Executive Recruitment is the longest-established recruitment agency in the UAE. They have been assisting companies across the MENA region with their recruitment needs for over 40 years. Hence, their job board is packed with vacancies ranging from junior to middle and senior management roles in every industry. To apply to these jobs, you are prompted to fill out a detailed form and upload a well-written resume. In the candidates section of their website, you’ll also find career tips and advice that can definitely help you in your job search.
3) Michael Page
Michael Page is an international recruitment agency with specialties in a wide range of industries, including information technology, engineering, manufacturing, and healthcare. They have over 50 consultants based permanently in the GCC who help businesses of different sizes, from startups and SMEs to multinational corporations. The firm has a track record of success in placing temporary, permanent, full, or part-time positions not only in the UAE but across the Middle East. Their website provides a detailed job search tool that allows you to easily look for jobs based on expertise, location, employment type, or expected salary. You can either directly upload your resume or use your LinkedIn profile to apply for any vacancy.
4) Charterhouse Middle East
Charterhouse Middle East was launched in Dubai in 2004. They recruit at all levels in various disciplines, including HR, finance, retail, and legal, among others, for companies across the GCC and Levant countries. Aside from filling out a form and sending them your resume, you can also register on their website with your LinkedIn profile to apply for jobs. They have a career center with a lot of articles offering tips and advice about counter offers, interview preparation, and more. The website also has a detailed salary guide you can take advantage of to have a better understanding of how much is the market average salary for your desired job and industry.
5) Adecco Middle East
Listed in the Fortune Global 500, Adecco is known as a world-leading provider of first-class HR solutions. They expanded their footprint in the Middle East in 2008 with offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. With a team of expert consultants in 60 countries and territories, they place 1,000 candidates in temporary and permanent positions daily. They provide entry to executive-level job opportunities in an array of industries, including IT, eCommerce, hospitality, finance, and energy, oil, and gas. While you can browse these jobs without an account, you need to sign up for one to apply.
6) Hays
Hays is another international recruitment agency that has been networking and recruiting in the UAE since 2005. Their job listing includes contractual, temporary, and permanent job opportunities from reputable companies across the Middle East. To apply to these jobs, you can create a Hays account or use either your Indeed account or LinkedIn profile. But if you don’t have any of these accounts, you can simply send them your resume. Some additional features their website has that can be beneficial to your job search include a save job function for later application, salary guides, and a wide variety of articles about the latest trends and insights.
7) ManpowerGroup Middle East
ManpowerGroup is a leading recruitment agency operating a global network of offices across 80 countries and territories, including the Middle East. Their easy-to-navigate job board lists entry to executive level vacancies from small to large corporations across all sectors. Similar to other firms’ websites, applying to these jobs will require you to create an account. However, if you have an optimized LinkedIn account, you can use it too for faster application.
8) Scancruit
Scancruit is a Dubai-based recruitment firm with more than eight years of experience helping clients not only in the UAE but also in Denmark and Spain with their recruitment needs. They are also dedicated to supporting job seekers to find the right opportunities by connecting them with the right company. Their job database has an extensive list of vacancies in different fields that you can apply for by simply completing an application form. You can also sign up on their website in two easy steps to have the opportunity to get contacted if new jobs perfectly match your qualifications. You just need to provide them with some basic information and your best practice resume.
9) Mindfield Resources
Mindfield Resources has more than 25 years of experience providing executive search and staffing solutions to companies in the Middle East and Africa regions. They started their journey with the consumer goods sector. Today, they also encompass the retail, automotive, engineering, real estate, financial services, private equity, and venture capital sectors. They partner with some of the most progressive organizations, from startups to SMEs and Fortune 500. These partnerships allow them to provide job seekers with employment opportunities ranging from junior to middle and senior management positions.
10) NADIA Global
Headquartered in Dubai, NADIA Global is considered the largest executive search and recruitment firm in the Gulf and the Middle East. They have 40 years of experience placing highly qualified talents in various fields, including public relations, finance and accounting, education, HR, and more. They are also known as a training provider offering executive coaching as well as professional career and corporate training to help job seekers augment their industry skills. In fact, they have successfully placed over 260,000 applicants and trained over 210,000 others. Their job database features various opportunities, ranging from entry to executive-level roles. You can apply to them by registering on their website free of charge.
How much do recruitment agencies charge?
Job seekers do not have to pay a service fee for using a recruitment agency to search for jobs in the UAE. In fact, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, it is illegal for any firm operating in the country to ask candidates for any fee. So, make sure to be vigilant and avoid those asking for money upfront before allowing you to move on to the next application stage.
How do you know if an agency is legit?
Recruitment agencies are definitely helpful in undertaking the overwhelming task of searching and applying for jobs in the UAE. But sadly, some agencies take advantage of people who are desperately looking for a job. One of the most common forms of scamming they do is asking for money to help you guarantee an interview or land a job. Remember, even if the offer is tempting, this is a major red flag. To check whether an agency is legitimate, here are some tips.
- Do a Google search and look for company information, such as the name of the CEO
- Find the company’s website on your own and examine it – avoid using a provided link
- Check the company on LinkedIn
- Ask the right questions during your discussion
- Contact the potential employer directly
There are a lot of great recruitment agencies in the UAE, which makes it really confusing which one to reach out to. You can contact us so we can help you get started. Nonetheless, you can explore the websites of the recruitment agencies we’ve listed above on your own and determine which one best fits your needs.
