#401 "Dubai Is Not as Easy as You Think" | Jason Grundy, MD of Robert Walters on Hiring, Talent and the Truth About the UAE Job Market

Most people arrive in Dubai thinking the opportunities will find them. Jason Grundy has spent 25 years watching that assumption  play  out badly.  

As Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa at Robert Walters, Jason has seen every side of the hiring market. The candidates who oversell themselves. The companies that leave great people waiting a month for feedback and wonder why they lost them. The businesses generating AI written job descriptions that have nothing to do with the actual role. And the expats who land in Dubai assuming opportunities will fall into their lap, only to find one of the most competitive job markets on earth.  

This episode covers what is really happening in the UAE job market right now, which industries are hiring, which have gone quiet, and when the bounce back comes.  Plus  the  honest truth  about  Emiratisation , why culture  retains  talent more than salary, and why the best candidates are never on a job board.  

If you are hiring, being hired, or just trying to understand where Dubai is heading, this one is worth your time.  

 

Timestamps:  

1:30 How Jason fell into recruitment and why one snap decision defined his entire career   

6:40 How to choose the right recruiter, why trust matters, and what makes Robert Walters different   

13:15 The Middle East versus Africa and the miracle of what this region has built in 50 years  

17:30  Emiratisation : the honest answer, the  real challenge , and the only playbook that works   

23:50 What is hiring and what has gone quiet after the regional conflict   

27:00 Jason's honest forecast: when Dubai will bounce back and what it will look like   

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