Dubai: You’ve sent out dozens of application letters, walked into a number of companies to drop your CV and got called into interviews, but until now you haven’t got a single job offer.
What could you have possibly done wrong? Jobs may be hard to come by these days, but there's a likelihood that candidates are also missing out on what employers are really looking for.
A job portal has recently polled more than 5,000 respondents, including employers in the UAE and other parts of the Middle East and North Africa (Mena), to find out why job seekers are struggling to land a job offer.
More than a third (34 per cent) of those polled between March 3 and March 22, 2016 said one of the reasons is that candidates “do not know what the employers are looking for”. In the UAE, more hiring experts (42 per cent) shared the same observation.
Another contributing factor is that schools in the region don’t actually teach students the skills they need to enter the job market, according to 22 per cent of the survey participants.
In order to help candidates successfully navigate the job market, Bayt.com, which conducted the study, asked companies what they really want and what difficulties they’re facing when looking for a new talent.
While jobs may be scarce these days, employers’ responses indicate that there’s still a good demand for entry-level positions amid challenging economic conditions, with more than half of those who are hiring (52 per cent) saying that they're looking for qualified candidates to fill junior executives and 30 per cent searching for executives.
About 10 per cent of companies said they are looking for director-level applicants. Within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, organisations “show a greater need” for senior executives, coordinators and managers.
“The higher demand for entry-level positions was largely consistent across the region,” Bayt.com said.
In terms of job roles, the most in demand are candidates with background in sales, with 20 per cent of hiring companies saying they’re looking for sales executives and 16 per cent on the lookout for qualified sales managers.
Also in demand are project managers (15 per cent), mechanical engineers (14 per cent), electrical engineers (13 per cent), accountants (12 per cent) and administrative assistants (12 per cent).
The findings on top occupations echoed those released earlier by another job portal, Monster.com, which reported that UAE companies registered a 60 per cent increase in demand for sales and business development professionals in March compared to a year earlier.
Monster.com also noted that there's been a growing demand for candidates with qualifications or experience in the health care industry (38 per cent), as well as those with software, hardware and telecommunications background.
However, there's been less hiring for hospitality and travel professionals (down by 1 per cent), as well as those with qualifications in communications/arts/creative (down by 3 per cent).
Recruitment specialists had earlier confirmed that the overall hiring activity in the UAE has declined as companies cope with the impact of falling oil prices. According to Morgan McKinley's UAE Employment Monitor, the number of jobs on offer in the country dropped by 9 per cent, from 7,899 slots in the last quarter of 2015 to 7,212 in the first quarter of 2016.
Job vacancies are particularly hard to come by in the oil and gas sector and other indiustries impacted by the decline in crude prices.
But it doesn't mean hiring has completely ceased. Recruitment specialists suggest that the key to succeed in a tough environment is to know what the employers are looking for.
Employers surveyed for Bayt.com's study said they struggle to locate candidates with the required skill sets, especially when hiring for senior and mid-to-junior roles.
When asked what specific skills many candidates are often lacking, the majority (63 per cent) cited creative thinking and problem solving, while 60 per cent pointed to international work experience and 59 per cent highlighted leadership skills.
“It is really interesting that the skills gap in the Middle East is not one of technical skills, but of soft skills,” said Suhail Masri of Bayt.com. “To add to the challenge, it’s much easier to assess and qualify a candidate based on his or her technical skills, as opposed to soft skills.”
