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How soon should you follow up on your job application in UAE?

So you’ve finally made up your mind –you’re sure you want to work in the UAE. You have sent out a couple of job applications to various companies in the Gulf state. Some of them have phoned you to let you know the status of your application, while other companies take a little bit longer to inform you on whether or not you got the job.

In the UAE, the job application process can be a gradual one. According to Gary Ward, commercial director at Hays Gulf, there is a huge number of job applicants seeking work in the Gulf state and so job screening can take a little longer.

“Every job vacancy receives hundreds of applications and the shortlisting process takes significantly more time than other regions, where there are lower numbers of applications to review,” Ward said, as reported by Gulf News.

Here goes the dilemma of every Filipino who have dreamed of working in the UAE: is it proper to make a call to the company you’re applying at to inquire about the status of your application? If so, how long must you wait before picking up the phone?

“Sending a mass mailing of CVs and waiting for the companies to contact you is not an optimal job search strategy. The key is in the follow-up. Plan your follow-up strategy and execute it well. Follow up by phone to make sure the relevant manager has received your CV. Follow up again to ask for a meeting and follow up with notes regularly until you have received some form of a response,” Suhail Masri, VP Sales at Bayt.com, said in a Gulf News report.

“Treat the job search process as a job in itself and apply the same discipline and structure to your activities that you would apply to your job. Create a ledger of job search activities from researching a company on the internet or in publications to sending initial introduction letters to follow-up calls, follow-up notes etc,” he added.

How soon do you follow up?

A survey by staffing firm Accountemps, published in a CNBC article, showed that of the 300 human resource managers they polled, 36 per cent said the best time for applicants to do a follow-up is one to two weeks after submitting your CV or resume.

Meanwhile, 29 per cent of the respondents said an applicant can follow up in less than a week. 25 percent said in two to three weeks, and 10 percent said in three weeks or more.

“I think you have to find the fine line between appearing too eager and not interested enough. With all the applications that hiring managers might get, you certainly want to get your name in there and try to get it at the top of the pile,” Accountemps district president Bill Driscoll said.

Driscoll advised sending a follow-up email instead of calling but he warned that checking in just a few days after you have submitted your resume can give potential employers the impression that you are a bit pushy.

He added that if you did not get a response for your first email, you can always send a second email before it is safe to say that you can start applying for a new job or position.

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