Introduction
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.
Show Notes
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
31:54 Why badly trained interviewers are losing great candidates and how to fix it
36:32 AI in recruitment: what is actually happening, the quiet tap no bot can replace, and the one line that says it all
45:34 Why a third of candidates are hesitating and why two thirds are still saying yes to Dubai
53:40 Culture is the only real difference between companies that keep people and those that always hire
57:00 How to stand out as a candidate, what your LinkedIn is doing wrong, and why the CV is just the door
1:02:30 Degrees: do they still matter and what Jason told his own kids
1:07:00 Quickfire: red flags, overpaid professions, secretly dying careers, and Dubai versus Abu Dhabi
