Job market news for finance professionals in Middle East | Recruitment news for financial professionals in the Gulf

Exotix, a UK-based boutique investment bank with a focus on emerging markets, has kick-started its Dubai operations and says it has ambitious plans to expand in the region going forward. The bank has been given the thumbs up by the DIFC and has opened its new office with an initial workforce of just three, but says it is currently hiring and has plans to expand its regional operation in the near... Read more

Following on from our recent article on adapting your CV for jobs in Continental Europe, here’s some guidance should you want to apply for positions a little further afield. Middle Eastern CVs How long? Never more than two pages. Be ruthless and only include absolutely relevant information, even if your experience is vast. Include a deal list as an appendix as well as any addition information if necessary. Layout? As a general rule –... Read more

Here's the final instalment of the real life interview questions you sent through. Previous instalments can be viewed here, and here. Click on the questions below to view the answers and to find out something about the situation they were asked in. All organisations have rules, all markets have rules, and sometimes these are felt to be a burden. In which circumstances would you break a rule? Can you describe the best... Read more

Another eFinancialCareers reader has bravely put forward their CV for some (constructive) criticism in a bid to enhance their job-hunting potential. Below is their profile (with all personal details removed) and little about their search for new employment so far. Can you offer some tips about where they may have been going wrong and what, exactly, can be improved about their CV? I am looking to move to the Middle East... Read more

UBS, you might remember, has been making some key changes to its top brass in the Middle East, whilst waxing lyrical about the region's growth potential. Despite this, the bank has yet to kick-start the long-awaited expansion. The Swiss bank currently employs 127 people in the Middle East and Africa, according to its Q2 2010 report released today, which is actually an 11% drop on this time last year when it... Read more

Local banks in the GCC have largely held back from cutting staff numbers, despite declining revenues over the last year, and there are reasons to believe this trend could continue despite "anemic" deposit and credit growth during the first half of 2010. As we've surmised previously, increasing provisions for bad loan defaults and shrinking deposits at a retail level within the GCC banking sector have made a case for... Read more

As an international financial services jobs site, with international financial services jobseekers, we feel we ought to be giving you a bit of a steer when it comes to tailoring your CV for jobs outside your home country. There are distinct similarities in what’s expected in different jurisdictions (brevity is almost always good), but there are also distinct variations (Germans like photographs, UK recruiters don’t). For your information, therefore, here’s how you... Read more

Regular readers of eFinancialCareers will know that as well as news articles, we also feature regular comments from industry practitioners on recruitment issues within the region's financial services sector. We're currently looking to increase this coverage and are hoping that either financial services or recruitment professionals will put themselves forward to write openly about the issues affecting hiring and pay within the Middle East financial sector. Of course, we understand that... Read more

Is your CV not having the impact you anticipated? Are you submitting it for roles and getting limited (or no) feedback? Do you suspect you could improve it, but don’t know how? If so, would you be interested in having it reviewed anonymously and publicly by the financial services professionals and recruiters who visit eFinancialCareers? If the answer to all these questions is affirmative, then send your CV to editor_gulf@efinancialcareers.com. We will... Read more

It's not been a great 18 months for UBS's MENA investment banking team, with the bank slipping out of the top ten for regional revenue rankings in 2009. But, with the appointment of a new CEO for the region, things are looking up and job opportunities could emerge. UBS announced has announced the appointment of Anthony Iliya as CEO for the Middle East and North Africa region, taking over from... Read more

While there has hardly been an exodus of companies from the DIFC since the financial crisis hit, the slowing tide of new entrants has clearly taken its toll – it has embarked on a second round of redundancies. Around 30-40 people have been made redundant this week, according to sources close to the situation. The cuts have hit at least four director-level staff, but predominantly affected Islamic finance specialists, those focused... Read more

As we alluded to before, working for a local bank in the Middle East doesn't seem like a very stable career option currently. On the retail side, deposits have slumped, while commercial banks appear unwilling extend credit due to deteriorating economic conditions and increased defaults on existing loans. Just how badly banks in the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan (MENAP) have been hit was illustrated by a report from the... Read more

Another eFinancialCareers reader has bravely put forward their CV for some (constructive) criticism in a bid to enhance their job-hunting potential. Below is their profile (with all personal details removed) and little about their search for new employment so far. Can you offer some tips about where they may have been going wrong and what, exactly, can be improved about their CV? "I've been looking for a mid management role in... Read more

Considering the rising levels of M&A already this year, it's likely that investment banks in the Middle East could soon be adding to their ranks once again. Now may be the time for sprucing up your CV in preparation for this increased interest in your skills. Based on conversations with Middle East financial services headhunters and recruiters, here’s a template/ step by step guide to M&A CV joy. We’ve included the... Read more

The tragic death of Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed Al-Nehayan, who was considered the driving force behind ADIA during his time as managing director, could spark a power struggle over sovereign wealth fund, which will be keenly watched by the region's financial community. Five days after his glider crashed into a lake near Rabat in Morocco, the body of Sheikh Ahmed was recovered and his death confirmed. Sheikh Ahmed has... Read more

Another eFinancialCareers reader has bravely put forward their CV for some (constructive) criticism in a bid to enhance their job-hunting potential. Below is their profile (with all personal details removed) and little about their search for new employment so far. Can you offer some tips about where they may have been going wrong and what, exactly, can be improved about their CV? "I've been looking for a job for almost a... Read more

The numbers taken on aren't exactly huge, but an increasing number of investment banks are rolling out graduate training schemes in the Middle East. So, how do you go about securing a position on one? We've compiled some tips from graduate recruiters here, but Mergers & Inquisitions has featured an interesting interview with someone who went through the process themselves. Securing a senior position in the Middle Eastern financial sector... Read more

Is your CV not having the impact you anticipated? Are you submitting it for roles and getting limited (or no) feedback? Do you suspect you could improve it, but don’t know how? If so, would you be interested in having it reviewed anonymously and publicly by the financial services professionals and recruiters who visit eFinancialCareers? If the answer to all these questions is affirmative, then send your CV to editor_gulf@efinancialcareers.com. We will... Read more

This short video originated with our colleagues in the US. Featuring Cat Miller, eFinancialCareers' response to Maria Bartiromo, it's intended to help you suppress the instinct to be horrible about former/future colleagues in interviews. Watch carefully.

Don't go there.Watch the video.

The increasing trend of sovereign wealth funds (SWF) managing more of their money in-house is likely to spur demand for asset management professionals within the state-backed entities. Currently, around a third of the estimated $3 trillion in SWF assets is run by external asset managers, according to research by State Street, but this looks set to shrink. “It’s quite clear that the more established funds have been increasing their internal capability,” said... Read more