Dubai relocation - family ties advantageous?

Considering a move from UK to Dubai / Abu Dhabi for PE as a junior - is it true that having "family ties" there will increase the chance of getting interviews or is this something that headhunters just say?  

9 Comments
 

Yeah I had a similar understanding but then a headhunter told me that apparently some places prioritise candidates who have family ties in UAE as they are more likely to actually go through with the offer and stick with it - this was news to me 

 

Ignore title, live in the UAE but when you say "family ties," are you talking about a referral to the job or a tie to wanting to live there since your family/relatives are there? If it's the latter then yeah its a relevant point since most will end up getting the offer and not be willing to move 8-14 hours away from all their family and friends even with a western salary without tax. 

Like another comment mentioned, most people will come here without their own family/being ok with leaving extended family and end up starting their own families here, coasting off the salary they get and probably staying in the GCC as long as they can till they move back to wherever they came from. 

 

I was talking about the latter yeah. This all makes sense, just wondering how relevant it is to the firm - the headhunter made it sound like since I don't have family ties, I will have a lower chance at even being considered - didn't know it was that serious. I'm now thinking about mentioning to them that there is nothing / no one "tying me" to my current country either, but not sure if I sound desperate then

 

Yeah I mean I don’t feel like it’s EVERYTHING from the people I’ve spoken to but it’s definitely a factor to consider since like I mentioned they will make a lot of offers to people who were astonished by the no tax salary but then have a tough time making the actual decision of moving away from everything.

I think mentioning that you have nothing tying you down wherever you are isn’t a terrible idea and is a good thing if they do actually care a lot about family ties but like you mentioned on the desperation, avoid making it sound that way at all and maybe casually throw it in, I imagine you’ll be okay imo.

 

Unrelated but considering similar move. Which HHs typically cover UAE based funds?

 

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