Most people who move here arrive with a CV that worked perfectly well somewhere else. It stops working in the UAE, and the reason is rarely quality. It is context.
Give your employers context
A hiring manager in Dubai may not recognise the company you spent six years at, however well known it is at home. Add one short line under each role: what the business does, roughly how large it is, and the market it serves. Your achievements then have something to sit against.
Lead with outcomes, not duties
“Responsible for managing the regional sales pipeline” describes a job description. “Grew the regional pipeline by a third in eighteen months” describes you. Where confidentiality stops you quoting figures, use proportions, timeframes or scale instead. Vagueness reads as modesty to you and as padding to a recruiter.
Assume it will be read twice
Once by software, once by a person. For the software, use conventional section headings, keep the layout to a single column, and avoid putting text inside images or tables. For the person, put the strongest two lines of your career in the top third of page one.
The details people get wrong
- Visa status. Say it plainly if you already hold a residence visa or are on a spouse’s sponsorship. It answers a question every recruiter has and saves a round of email.
- Contact details. A UAE mobile number if you have one, and an email address you would be happy to read aloud.
- Length. Two pages is normal for an experienced hire. Three is a lot of reading for a first pass.
- Photographs. Common in this region and not required. If you include one, keep it plain.
- Personal details. Nationality and date of birth are still commonly requested locally. Including them is normal here, and leaving them out is not a red flag.
None of this changes what you have done. It changes how quickly somebody can see it.
