Don't sleep on Q4

Firstly, where has this year gone? 

It’s absolutely flown by so far and entering the tail-end of the year, it's natural people start to look towards December as a natural conclusion to the year.

To anyone hoping for a lull and things to start quieting down - you might want to rethink your approach. 

From our side here at MCG Talent, we’re bracing ourselves for what is usually one of the busiest periods of the year.  

Some people might find this surprising given that Christmas, like Summer, is usually a time that heralds a bit of an exodus among the expat population in the UAE.  

However, I am looking at our facts and figures for Q4 2023.

↳ Last year we had processes running in the UAE up until the 22nd of December - the Friday before Christmas.

↳ We made placements here in the period between Christmas and New Years - showing that things don’t shut down fully.

↳ October and November were two of our busiest months by several metrics including job briefs received and interviews recorded.

Early indications show that we are expecting something similar for this year. 

Just because expats might eye up a return home for Christmas, doesn't mean the wider region grinds to a halt.

You might be surprised to know that we had an interview take place on Christmas Day in Saudi Arabia last year. 

It will also be of little surprise to realise that events like Ramadan and Eid have more of an impact on processes than the Christmas break. 

During Ramadan the region experiences reduced working hours for the duration and Eid is a public and private holiday in the GCC.

Christmas here is not a public holiday and for some firms (usually the more local ones) it’s business as usual with staff expected to report to work. 

Going into November, more start dates will move to the New Year. That is an inevitable change and one which the market prepares for and expects.