If you’ve just happened to find this blog or have been here before, I’d like to explain what this is all about.

This is a blog about living and working in Qatar which I used to update regularly when I was based in Doha, Qatar. I have now moved back to the UK but I still occasionally check in on the comments for this blog. This blog still regularly receives lots of questions so I thought I would try to address most of them here.

1. This is a blog about living and working in Qatar which I wrote in my free time; it was not my job to write this blog, I did not get paid to write my posts. This blog was written by me because I wanted to help people find more information about living and working in Qatar. I am NOT a recruitment agent, I CANNOT find you a job in Qatar, please DO NOT send me your contact details/qualifications/CV and ask me to find you a job in Qatar. Please see this post for guidance.

2. If you have received an offer of employment in Qatar, congratulations but please do not send me the details of your contract or salary and ask me if this is suitable for life in Qatar. I receive lots of questions like this and am not interested in answering them personally, everyone and every situation is different, this is why I wrote my ‘Cost of Living’ post so have a look there. There is also an up to date cost of living section on this site.

3. Everything in Qatar is linked to your Residence Permit (RP), which is linked to your employer (if you are working) or a family member (husband, wife; if you are not working). This is your working visa and what allows you to stay in the country. An individual cannot apply and pay for an RP themselves, it must be sorted out by an employer thus this is the reason why one cannot come to Qatar without a prior contract or promise of employment.

4. When I thought about the subject matter for my posts, I tried to think of the major questions that I had when I first moved to Qatar. If you have questions about living and working in Qatar, please go through all of my posts and see if your questions are answered there or in the comments. You’ll probably find your answer but if you don’t, please go ahead and ask a question.

As I mentioned before, I am no longer living and working in Qatar but this blog still sees a lot of traffic and, although I do think most of the major questions have already been asked, there may be a few things that have not been covered. I will try to check back from time to time, go through the comments and answer your questions as best I can but in the meantime, good luck and thanks for reading.

A.

*These are probably the search terms most people use you find their way here.

If you’re not based in Qatar and you’re looking to find a job here then the internet will be your  main point of reference (however, most of these points hold true even if you are based in Qatar).  One of the biggest Middle East job sites is bayt.com so I’d look there first.  Other job sites which may be worth looking at are Gulf Jobs Sites, Gulf Talent and MonsterGulf.  And you could just try searching ‘Qatar job sites’ and see what you come up with.

After the jobs sites, you might have some luck with the classifieds section of either the Gulf Times or The Peninsula.  Then there’s good ol’ qatarliving.com and a new site that I’ve just found, Qatar Classifieds.  There is a short list of some Qatar recruitment agencies here although, because I don’t have any firsthand experience with these, I can’t vouch for them and I’m not sure how current the list is but it could be a good starting point.

Moving on from there, you could try looking at the specific sectors that you are interested in and searching either job sites specific to these industries (oil and gas, biotechnology, health care, tourism, etc.), or specific company sites.  For instance, if you are interested in the tourism industry then try contacting Qatar Airways.  For the oil and gas industry, look at Qatar Petroleum, and with health care, try looking at Doha hospital websites, and so on.

As with many things in life, sometimes it’s ‘who’ you know and not ‘what’ you know so networking is key.  If you’re searching for a job in Qatar and don’t yet have a LinkedIn account, I would definitely set one up and start following some Qatari companies or companies with branches in the Middle East.  For all the ladies out there, I’ve also just become aware of the Qatar Professional Women’s Network who regularly host events and have some good advice for jobseekers on their website.

This list is by no means exhaustive and there may be many more options that I’ve not thought about or am not aware of.  If you’ve had some success elsewhere and want to share then please leave a comment.

Good luck!

And I do have to add this…as much as I enjoy writing these posts, receiving comments, and trying to help out my readers as best I can, please don’t ask me to personally help you find a job; I really don’t have the resources or inclination (I have got my own life after all!) to be able to do this.

Doha Skyline

I have been living in working in Doha, Qatar for a little over a year now.

Why Qatar you ask?  Well, why not?  When the contract for my previous job in the UK was coming to an end, and I wasn’t having much luck in my job search, a colleague informed me about a position that may be available in Qatar.  I thought about what she had told me for a moment and wondered if an offer would really materialise, and if it did, would I seriously consider it.  The next thing I did, although I probably shouldn’t admit this, is Google ‘Qatar’ to see where in the world it was located.

An offer did eventually materialise and I did eventually accept it so this job kind of found me, rather than me finding it.  I accepted the job because it was by far one of the biggest challenges of my professional career and definitely the most amazing opportunity that I had ever encountered, one that I certainly would not have gotten in the UK.  Things in Qatar are advancing quite rapidly in my field of work and, although there is still a fair way to go for this little country, this job offer was too good for me to pass up.

Personally, I left behind a fiancé (now husband) and a flat in South London knowing full well that my move to the Middle East would not be a permanent one.  I thought I’m young, with no children and not too much tying me down so if there was ever a time and a place for me to do something like this, it is probably now.  My advice for people debating a move abroad for a job is to just do it (easier said than done, I know!), what have you got to lose?

Seriously though, the fact that you are debating (and not flat out saying ‘No’) means there is a sizeable portion of you that would like to take the plunge and live/work abroad.  There are lots of websites that you can log on to and heaps of questionnaires that you can take to discover if such a move is right for you but ultimately, the decision is yours and no matter how many websites you visit (or blogs you read about living/working abroad) the final verdict rests in your hands (making a list of pros and cons really helps).

Everyone’s situation will be different and sacrifices will be made, you just need to make sure that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages (see making pros/cons list above).  For me, my husband and our home remain in London, there is no chance of him finding work out here.  Was it difficult moving to the Middle East and leaving him behind?  Yes, of course.  Do I regret doing this?  No, this has been a fabulous experience, one that I will never forget and I am lucky enough to have a partner who understands this.  This arrangement works for now and I know that it is not permanent, once I feel I have accomplished what I came to do in Qatar, I can always move back to the UK.

Hopefully I will be able give you some insight as to what it’s like living and working in Qatar, answer any burning questions you may have and possibly even convince you to make the first move and try something different.  It hasn’t been the smoothest of rides, but then again, I didn’t think it would be; if moving abroad for work was so easy, everyone would be doing it.