In 2019, I came to the United Arab Emirates for the first time in search of a job. I didn’t got a job and I had to return back to Pakistan. It was just before the lockdowns due to COVID-19 and I will say, may be it was for the better that I returned on time.
In 2023, I decided to give it another try and try some more luck. This time, things were different.
Let me tell you what happened. The detailed story with my feelings & expressions can be found here.
I arrived in Sharjah in October 2023 and spent at least two months of my visit there. I applied to many jobs in different sectors but did not receive any calls for an interview except one. It was a medical centre in Ajman, I visited there and had my interview. One thing I noticed here in the UAE is that there is too much discrimination and favouritism in everything. In short, I was not selected because of so many reasons. You might have guessed why.
Next, I applied for a kind-of-job at a company with someone’s reference just to secure my residency. I had to pay the visa fees and search for my own work. It helped me buy more time as well as access to other things such as applying for a driving license.
I worked with someone on a small commission-based sales job and paid my driving license fee out of that.
In the 8th month of my arrival, I was called for an interview in a Garage for a Parts Purchaser position. I joined on a trial basis and worked for almost 3 weeks. I left the company because of an employee who was managing the office instead of the actual manager. He was a young disrespectful guy who used to be very abusive and derogatory. Literally, no day would pass without him disrespecting the staff. Since he was a (distant) relative/(or whatever he was) of the owners, we couldn’t do anything about him. There was no mental piece in the job and on top of that, I was offered way less salary than what we discussed in the initial interview. So I had to leave for the good of my mental health and also my pocket.
