Job Discussion Forums

[uaeobserver]

Over half of HCT is away on holiday --- so it's hard to get anything done.

The individuals that are still around, are relatively low ranking individuals, and would have a hard time providing good responses to contract-related questions. The few compotent individuals that are around are likely VERY busy.

If you're interested in working at the UAE - I'd recommend just signing away. I very rarely run into people that have contract problems. Organizational problems are a different thing ---- but the base contract is adequate, and sustainable.

[veiledsentiments]

What are your 'contract issues'? The contract is very much a set document in the Gulf and to be completely honest, I rarely read the darned things. As long as the salary and benefits were what we had agreed upon. This is NOT one of the fly-by-night employers. The big question mark now is housing, and it will be settled (or not) systemwide, not be individual.

Unless you have lots of offers waiting for your decision, if you want to work in the Gulf, best to take one of the better employers when you can.

VS

[Niz1]

Thanks for the responses. The main issue is I believe, just a grammatical error. I think there should be a comma between my Grade level and another throughout the document. However, I just want to confirm this because otherwise, it appears as though I am not eligible for some of the benefits. It may seem trivial, but I just want to be certain.

Also, it says resignation "upon written acceptance". What happens if for some reason I need to resign and the notice is not accepted? Just looking for some confirmation on these things. Though I know many people are on vacation, it's very disconcerning that no one is responding to my questions.

[veiledsentiments]

I doubt that the comma will affect anything and I doubt that the person who received the question will even understand what you are talking about. If you have received a standard form, you will be unable to move commas. I can't imagine anything that would change benefits. The salary and benefits should be listed - and they are very standard. Everyone gets the same thing and salary is based on your credentials.

The resignation letter procedure is standard... It is pretty much they make the rules and you have to follow them all and they do if they want to. They are not unreasonable people for the most part, but if you resign without giving the required notice, you may lose the end of contract benefits. Individual circumstances are looked at and considered.

What you are going through is standard in the Middle East. You need a lot of patience and lowered expectations to survive the bureaucracy in the Gulf.

VS

[helenl]

The acceptance of resignations that do not meet the stated time constraints are subject to the acceptance/approval of the Vice Chancellor.

This used to be at the director's discretion - the person of management authority most likely to be familiar with you and your circumstances.

[Iman]

Thanks for the reply Helen. I hope you're right! It was certainly mentioned that they were looking to fill the position for August and wanted to know if hubby would be available then before they would even organise an interview. This is why we're a bit surprised nothing has happened after their rush to get the interview done. Although I guess that may have been only because faculty conducting the interviews were leaving for the summer....

Worst case scenario - what happens if we have still heard nothing in the next few weeks? Does that mean that HCT isn't interested fullstop or that they will simply hire for January? I was always under the impression that if one passed the interview they were almost guaranteed a position at some stage as long as they weren't too fussy about which college they were assigned. Is that the case or have people been left dangling in the pool until they get kicked out after 6 months for no apparent reason?

[helenl]

Typically HCT brings in new staff one week before the "old timers" are expected back - this year - that's Aug 19 so new hires would start coming in around about the 12th.

Bear in mind that even though they're desperate for people, HCT still has to jump through the immigration department's hoops in order to bring you in. That includes a security check, which can take several weeks. People in the immigration department are also on vacation and this is the busy season.

Guaranteed a position if you pass the interview? No - HCT guarantees nothing. It matters that a Chair of the English Department in whichever college decides to choose him from the pool after either participating in the interview or seeing the videotape. Some of these people have gone on holiday as well and may not be in the UAE as a result.

All you can do is sit tight and wait and see.

[adorabilly]

Helen1.

You are correct in that time frame. The letter we received stated we would fly in Aug 10th, and other were flying in on the 11th and 12th.

Iman
Just hang in there. If you have interviewed, you are now in a waiting position. If the directors of the various colleges are interested they will let you know. The problem you will run into is that most of those directors are on vacation and may be until the last week of july/first week of august. So it is now a waiting game.

We have interviewed, been offered a position, and have accepted it. We have only just heard of our flight details and have have very little contact over the summer because everyone is gone.

You could easily be offered a position in the first week of august.

[Iman]

I would have thought all the security checks and immigration stuff would be done AFTER acceptance of the offer? Otherwise aren't they wasting their time on people that they don't even know want the job?

If they do want us there in August I hope they don't let us know the week before. What if you said that it was too short-notice and asked to start the next semester, would that be a death sentence?

[snorkel]

Since i signed and sent off the offer, there has been little contact from HCT. I expect as I've read in the posts that they are understaffed and really busy due to the holidays..

I was asked during the interview whether i would be available to arrive in the UAE by mid-August, which turns out to be a week later than when the HR people want us there to get into our apartments, do medicals, etc. Does anyone know what the first two weeks will be like? I expect it is orientation, but will it be 2 full weeks of 9 to 5 orientation? I won't be arriving until the 11th or 12th, which means i will have rush settling into my apartment and doing all the other required things like banking and medicals...

[Iman]

Snorkel - when were you interviewed? How long after did you receive an offer? Have you got your tickets and everything?

BTW, for any new hires there is a lot of useful info on the ADWC site:

http://www.adwc.hct.ac.ae/college/for_prospective_staff.asp

Some of the info is specific to AD, but I would imagine much of it is applicable system-wide.

[veiledsentiments]

Never fear... there are few places in the Gulf whose orientation system is as good as HCT. Not that all will be necessarily smooth, plenty of hurry up and wait, but for most people, the hardest part is dealing with suddenly living in a place where the temp is nearing 50C and the humidity nearing 100%. (unless you're in Al-Ain). You will have plenty of time to set up your new flat and shop for furniture and all the rest.

I was a late hire and already had summer travel paid for, so I arrived just before the big system-wide meet-up. Do they still do that? I was lucky that it was in my city that year, so I was able to disappear regularly and no one really noticed that I was shopping for a fridge and carpet rather than listening to the new Vice Chancellor rattle on.

Great link from Iman...

It is still a long time till the students appear. That is when things get pretty frantic for a couple weeks... and then Ramadhan starts around Sept 13... bad timing for the next few years...

VS

[snorkel]

I was interviewed on June 13th and was offered a job within a week. I don't have any flight tickets, though in one of the emails, before I even officially accepted the offer, I was told they would schedule my flight for the 11th of August. This was before i signed any papers or sent in the security clearance form , or made arrangements for transcripts,...so I don't think they are following their procedures exactly, this may have to do with the short time frame and the people on holidays...

[veiledsentiments]

What is happening so far sounds completely the norm. I was constantly amazed in the Gulf at how nearly everyone in HR seemed to disappear on summer leave just at their busiest time... bringing in new hires. This is not just HCT, but all of them.

One must practice the art of patience...

One of the slowest bits of procedure is the security check, which is outside of HCT control. This has been known to hold up their providing of the ticket because the government hasn't given permission. In their view, there is still gobs of time until August 11... nearly a month...

But feel free to send off an email asking about the tickets if you haven't just done so.

VS

[helenl]

Yes VS, they still have a system wide conference - this year it's at the Madinat Jumeriah Hotel (and has been for the past 3 or 4 years). Last year was an unmitigated disaster in the opinion of most in attendance.

It started at 11 am and dinner (the only food - and I use that term lightly, it was horrible - served during the day) was finally brought out at about 10 pm. In between there were the usual opening speeches, the workshops where attendance was taken to see who was dedicated enough to sit through them. OK, I exaggerate - some were thoughtful and informative presentations, others were useless and poorly prepared - par for the course for such situations. But when a professional, hired as such by HCT is grilled as to why he is leaving the meeting room after signing in on the attendance sheet - it's a bit much.

There were laser light shows, an upside down painting display, dancers on the ground and (wait for it) swinging through the air on strings. This nonsense went on for nearly 2 hours.

The pre dinner speakers (there were 4 as I recall) were as good as might be expected - they all spoke too long (remember, people have not eaten in 8 or 9 hours) and one guy was obviously incapable of stringing a sober sentence together. One memorable quote "Dubai has grown rich at the expense of neighors". Afterwards, it was put around that he had suffered a stroke recently. It seems odd and very sad that his colleagues would allow him to make a fool of himself if that was indeed the case and not over indulging at the bar.

My advice for this conference, sign up for every workshop, sign in at the front door and excuse yourself to go to the bathroom if it's one of the duds. Take a sandwich or two with you just in case and be prepared to protect them from your new colleagues if indeed you don't get fed.

A footnote - it is generally believed that the conference problems were not as a result of inadequate or incompetent people on the conference organizing committee (at least two of them are among the most experienced and able large event management people I have ever met). Nope, HCT rumor has it that the VC got into the mix and kept making adjustments, additions, and changes which of course led to the overall disappointing end result.


Snorkel, HR central services lost a lot of experienced people in April this year. According to my sources about half were marched out the door on short notice. This has added to the delays in turn around times - they just don't have enough experienced staff to handle the new hires so they're scrambling now.