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

Qatar banks could create more than 5,000 new financial services jobs this year, with expat bankers in particular looking to move to the emirate. The forecast by recruiter Kinsey Allen has suggested Doha’s financial services industry will employ some 20,100 people by the end of this year, more than three times the 6,200 people employed by the sector in 2006, and significantly more than the 14,900 people working in the industry... Read more

Business plans for 2010 are in place, and sentiment around the Middle Eastern financial sector has taken a more positive slant. However, recruitment in the first month of this year remained relatively muted. Arab Banking Corporation has unveiled Dr Khaled Kawan as its new deputy chief executive. He will have responsibility for the group's wholesale banking, universal banking and group operations. The Bahrain Financial Exchange has named Salah Al Abdulla as... 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.

After the recent turmoil, it's possible that the coming year could provide something of an acid test for the lofty ambitions of the Middle Eastern financial sector. Here's our considered opinion on potential hiring activity in 2010. 2010 could be a good year for: Private equity: The huge volume of 'dry powder', or non-invested capital, that private equity firms in the GCC have been sitting on just gets bigger – the Gulf... Read more

Picking out the positives after a turbulent year for the Middle East financial sector is no easy task. However, here's our considered opinion on who has fared better, and which sectors have suffered. 2009 was a good year for... Sovereign wealth funds: Some comparatively risky investments have paid dividends for the Middle East sovereign wealth funds this year. Most notably the Qatar Investment Authority's $1.1bn profit on its Barclays stake sale and... Read more

Previously, we've been running a feature whereby readers of eFinancialCareers' editorial are able to submit their CVs totally anonymously (and with all distinguishing features removed) for constructive criticism by the community. We'd like to start doing this again. This has happened on three occasions so far, and we like to think the experience has been valuable for both the CV writer and reviewers. The results are visible here, here and here. If... Read more

In what could be viewed as something of a return to common sense, the sort of rapidly escalating pay packages offered to expats working in the UAE financial services sector have ceased. Instead, they have begun to shrink. Recruiters Robert Half have just produced their first salary survey for the Gulf region, which suggests that demand for front office banking staff in the region has slipped this year, and... Read more

The month of Ramadan is typically a quiet period for financial services recruitment in the Gulf and this year was no exception. Though a handful of new firms commenced new operations, the majority of recruitment was restricted to replacement hires and internal reshuffling. Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, the Japanese commercial bank, has started its operations in Bahrain Financial Harbour, 10 months after signing an initial lease agreement. Banque Saudi Fransi has named... Read more

After picking up a bit of momentum over the last few months, financial services recruitment in the Middle East was relatively slow August. Obviously times are tough, but it's also in a large part down to the annual summer lull and the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan. Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank has named Malik Sarwar as global wealth management executive to lead the team as it targets... Read more

Have you spent months out of the market in the past two years, but managed to get a financial services job again fairly recently? If so, we'd be interested in hearing from you. We're looking for people who can share their experience of losing a job, and the path back to career salvation. If this applies to you, please email us in utmost confidence and utter anonymity at editor_gulf@efinancialcareers.com.

In the interest of balance, considering all the recent talk of a Middle East expat exodus, it's worth pointing to a new report which suggests they are still able to live the high life in the region and have no desire to leave. Four GCC states were in the top ten of the latest HSBC Expat Explorer, with Qatar the highest ranked at number two. The survey is, however, based... Read more

Following on from last month's CV review, another brave candidate has submitted their CV for you to offer constructive criticism. 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? "My preference is to work in the investment banking sector,... Read more

While a decent number of both local and international firms continued to open new GCC offices throughout May, the majority of hiring activity was restricted to internal promotions and additional responsibilities. AB Capital, the investment banking division of Arab Bank Group, has gained a licence to operate in the Saudi Market. It will be headquartered in Riyadh and will offer investment banking and asset management services. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank has unveiled... Read more

eFinancialCareers now has a presence on both LinkedIn and Twitter. Follow our editor Paul Clarke on Twitter at PaultClarke. We also have a brand new Linked In Group for eFinancialCareers EMEA, and are actively soliciting members. If you are a financial services professional then please join, we would love to have you….

Following a similar feature on our UK site, we're asking readers of eFinancialCareers Gulf to give some constructive criticism of this job-hunter's CV. 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 new job... Read more

With jobs thin on the ground, it's common to seek the security of a professional qualification. In the Gulf, however, this trend seems particularly prevalent, with the number of people signing up to become chartered accountants increasing dramatically. While the numbers are still relatively small, members of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) increased by 26.5% in 2008 in the Middle East, Central and East Asia (as the table... Read more

On our UK site, we've been running a service whereby readers of eFinancialCareers' editorial are able to submit their CVs totally anonymously (and with all distinguishing features removed) for constructive criticism by the community. We'd like to start doing the same in the Middle East. This has happened on four occasions so far, and we like to thing the experience has been valuable for both the CV writer and reviewers. The... Read more

In a bid to stem the supposed exodus of expat talent from Dubai, the government has unveiled plans to extend the visas of redundant workers for up to six months. A number of financial services firms in the Gulf have announced moves to cut their cloth in the face of reduced revenues this year. Under UAE law, once you lose your job you have one month to find re-employment before being... Read more

Dubai’s not dead yet, at least for Deloitte, and it’s embarking on a recruitment drive to bolster its Middle Eastern presence across a range of businesses. The Middle East still has massive growth potential over the long term reckons Deloitte, and it’s intending to come good on the promise it made in September to bolster its team in the region. At the time, the firm moved six partners from the UK to... Read more