Our guests today are Abdul Rahman Risilia and Muhamman Aly from Simply Digital, a Dubai-based recruitment agency specializing in hiring for the digital and tech spaces.

Simply Digital is a subsidiary of the well-known Mackenzie Jones.

Topics Covered

• What is the state of the digital and tech job market in 2017?
• What are the main differences with regards to hiring in this region as opposed to more mature markets?
• What are the main challenges faced by employers and candidates?
• How do local candidates compare to international?
• Who do you look for when hiring for digital and tech?
• Shady recruiting agencies and deceptive practicies
• Which industries are doing the most hiring in this region for digital and tech jobs?
• Hot roles in the digital and tech spaces in 2017
• The unrealistic expectations of employers
• Why employers need to look at recruiting agencies as partners and trusted advisors
• How to get a recruiter's attention when applying for jobs
• The role of recruitment agencies in educating the market on trends in the digital and tech landscape
• The importance of building community in the digital and tech spaces

Time Stamped Show Notes

[00:30] Our guests today are Abdul Rahman Risilia and Muhammad Aly from Simply Digital, a recruitment agency in the UAE specializing in the digital marketing space.

[00:40] Our topic today is the UAE job market for digital and tech related jobs.

[01:00] Abdul Rahman's been in recruitment for over 15 years over multiple industries and agency types.

[01:21] Simply Digital is a subsidiary of Mackenzie Jones Recruiting.

[01:30] Last year they worked as part of Mackenzie Jones but realized it was difficult to break away from the perception that it is a corporate HR & Finance recruiting specialist.

[01:50] To solve this, Abdul Rahman and Muhammad pitched creating a separate entity positioned as a digital marketing recruitment specialist.

[02:15] Muhammad's been in recruiting for around 6 years and specializes in the digital space.

[03:00] There are two main differences in recruiting for digital and tech in this region vs. internationally.

[03:15] The digital and tech spaces are in their infancy in this region, so not many people know how it should be implemented.

[03:40] The timelines, sales cycles and decision-making in this region are much slower.

[04:00] Some segments of the digital and tech spaces, and some industries, are progressing faster than others so there's no uniform growth.

[04:30] Over the next year or so things will become easier for recruiters and candidates as more people will digital skillsets enter the market.

[05:00] On the client side of recruiting employers have a general idea of what they need in digital roles but don't fully grasp the job requirements, what skillsets are required, where they go in the organization etc.

[06:00] Simply Digital does a lot of work to educate clients about their needs and what would work best for them.

[06:14] They try to develop trust with the clients as advisors and not just recruiters.

[06:34] It's the same problem faced by agencies, when they create and promote campaigns for clients.

[07:00] Some employers in this region only want to hire people with industry experience and that limits their options.

[08:00] Ubrik's own employees don't have a digital background because the skillsets can be learned and the digital landscape is evolving constantly.

[08:30] Ubrik focuses on hiring for the right attitude and a general grasp of digital concepts.

[09:20] Candidates coming from a more mature international market (North America, Europe, Australia) face special challenges

[09:30] Sometimes told that they are too senior for a role.

[09:40] Rejections because they don't have industry experience.

[09:55] Some settle into a job but then find out the responsibilities are not what they were initially hired for.

[11:10] Some employers want their hires to fit into their idea of the role rather than letting them use their skills to do more advanced work.

[11:50] These employees will feel that there won't be career growth in such roles and end up leaving.

[11:56] It's challenging to find local talent because prospective international hires have been operating in a more mature market for longer.

[12:20] International hires can add a lot of value to this region.

[12:55] A digital marketing manager from the U.S./U.S. will be better equipped than a digital marketing manager from this region is the latter only has experience working in this region.

[13:05] Not every client can afford to relocate an international hire, so that's where local talent becomes much more appealing.

[13:20] Shady recruiting agencies engage in deceptive practices when advertising for jobs.

[14:00] Abdul Rahman says this is a common problem with recruiting all over the World - it's his job to do things better.

[14:40] Some recruiting agencies set up shop without any experience or knowledge of the industry they operate in.

[15:20] 10-15 years ago you would have needed 10-15 years of experience recruiting before you started your own agency.

[15:50] Now, with 2-3 years experience recruiters think, "I can do this myself instead of working for someone else."

[16:00] It's not difficult to start an agency but most of them go bust in 2-3 years.

[17:10] When hiring for digital there are few recruiters who know the space well enough to have credibility.

[17:24] Many of Simply Digital's clients end up offering Muhammad a job because he's one of the few recruiters that do have a deep understanding of the digital landscape.

[17:48] A HR, Oil & Gas or Finance recruiter can't recruit for digital because they don't know the space well enough.

[18:50] Hot digital roles right now - UI/UX designers, product designers, front-end developers, digital marketing managers and social media specialists (junior roles.)

[20:20] Clients want unicorns - Arabic speakers with perfect English from specific universities and special certifications.

[21:20] A lot of marketing agencies are looking for Account Managers.

[21:45] There is big demand for content marketers.

[22:30] In most mature markets the banking sector is the biggest hiring machine for digital, but in this region the banking sector has a lot of catching up to do.

[23:10] Simply Digital does a lot of work for retail FMCG and agencies.

[24:00] Some agencies and clients do understand UI/UX design but in general there is a lot of education required.

[25:00] There is not much hiring going on in the startup space but there is potential.

[25:30] In Austrialia, Abdul Rahman says around 85% of clients are startups. Over here, less than 10% of Simply Digital's business is from startups.

[25:55] Abdul Rahman thinks the UAE is around 5 years behind mature markets in the digital and tech spaces.

[26:25] When a recruiter sees you've applied for several roles with hugely different skillsets, it's a turn-off and they are less likely to contact you.

[27:15] Apply for one role, and follow up with an email and phone call.

[27:35] Make sure your portfolio is clearly provided via URL or attachment.

[27:50] For digital hiring don't care about your resume, we care about what you can do.

[28:35] If you're applying for a content marketing job you better a content creator and have an active social media presence.

[28:55] Show us results, show us a report from one of your campaigns.

[29:30] Digital marketing is highly measurable so there's no excuse for not having numbers to back up your resume.

[29:50] Employers have totally unrealistic expectations with job requirements for digital hires

[30:30] Serial appliers - applying for digital marketing roles, sales roles, finance roles etc.

[31:00] On the client side the important thing is creating a partnership with recruiting agencies

[31:10] Do the research internally, then talk to the agencies - test them.

[31:20] Are they credible? Then trust their advice.

[31:40] Agencies want to find you the best possible hires over the long term.

[31:50] They want to commit to you and they want you to commit to them.

[32:30] If more clients viewed the recruiting agencies as advisors and partners, the agencies would take their jobs much more seriously and dedicate more resources to a client.

[33:40] Recruiting in 2017 has been busy so far but it has been slow at times.

[34:00] The second half of 2017 should pick up, moving towards a very exciting 2018 for digital and tech in the UAE.

[34:20] The key is education - Simply Digital is partnering with Astrolabs and Glass Qube to offer thought leadership workshops

[34:40] They want to educate employers and prospects about the development of different verticals in the digital landscape.

[35:00] The UAE and the region in general have huge potential for developing the digital and tech spaces.

[36:00] More opportunities for networking and learning need to be created to foster a sense of community in the digital and tech spaces.

[37:00] As the market matures and employers become more knowledgeable, more of the right roles will start to appear.

[38:00] Check out Simply Digital's website - simplydigital.ae - where you can look for jobs and sign up for their newsletter to receive announcements on new jobs and events.

Thanks for listening

Please subscribe and leave us a rating and review on iTunes. 

Click here to do that.