Job Discussion Forums

[Sheikh N Bake]

I met one standing outside the old Dubai Men's in Abu Hail and he smelled strongly of wine before classes. Not cool and unwise.

[Eisenhorn]

I know a few who come in hung over, and I have suspicions that a few folks at my branch (and others) may spice up their coffee...

[justDeserts]

Hi,
Just an update, I have my interview this Wed-video conference in the middle of the night w/ reps from MOD EDIT Wish me luck!

JD

[ludhilltoysoldier]

Good Luck! [/b]

[veiledsentiments]

... break a leg...

Be sure to discuss the issue of your child - and care/education. M-Z might be a problem...

VS

[justDeserts]

YEA~ I passed the interview and have been "allocated" to a school that I'm happy with. Haven't been given my official offer yet though. Time to hurry up and wait...

[Sheikh N Bake]

Not to throw cold water on this, but be mindful of other posters here who report being offered a position on the phone only to receive an email withdrawing the offer due to insufficient funding or whatever. I wouldn't want you to see all your belongings or whatever before receiving a contract.

[justDeserts]

Yes, I keenly remember Charisma's recent postings on that scenario, so I am continuing to pursue an offer that I have stateside, just in case. The tricky thing now is knowing when to commit to one position. The higher education climate here isn't as stable as it once was with hiring freezes that come out of no-where, so each position has the potential of falling through at the last moment, which is unsettling.
Can I be confident once I sign the contract? Could HCT withdraw even after that point?

[veiledsentiments]

If you are reading the other threads, you will see that there are budget issues in the UAE too. (after all... AD, where the money/oil is... is having to bail out Dubai)

And yes, it is tough trying to string along one's back-up offer. Once you have a written offer and the ticket is arranged (you won't have the official signed contract until after you arrive), you can be pretty confident. BUT... these are unusual times there too... and I do know of people over the years who were literally told just before heading out to the airport. (a handful over 15 years - normally a problem with their security clearance)

VS

[ThomasGradgrind]

JD, I hope everything turns out well for you, as I'm sure it will - provided you haven't agreed to go to the ill-fated Women's College in Abu Dhabi.

My other half works there, and reports that a new arrival on the management team is instigating her own reign of pettiness and spite, mostly directed at the teachers. Commonly known as 'The Claw', she is proving to be as popular as the proverbial rat-sandwich.

For example, teachers' attendance is monitored regularly to ensure nobody is arriving a few minutes late, or slipping away at one minute before the official approved departure time. And if you want to leave the college campus during working hours, your supervisor's permission is needed! It's absolutely surreal - treating professional teachers like factory workers!!

Even worse, teachers have been threatened with the sack if their students are caught eating in the classrooms! Is it any wonder that the block has been put on teachers requesting transfers to other colleges? Soon there'll be nobody there, unless they can persuade gullible newbies to come.

So, if you have been offered a place at ADWC, do the right thing and turn it down.

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

"treating professional teachers like factory workers!!"

Punch in...punch out...

NCTBA

[veiledsentiments]

So it has been for years and it is only getting worse... all over the Gulf at most employers. This was always one of my top complaints.

VS
(breaking our resolution are we NCTBA?)

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

Yes, ma'am, we are...ex-jarhead or not...(No offence. John)

I've had nearly enuf...(three months 'haint bad)...

NCTBA

(I remain...Never Ceased To Be Amazed)

[meritpay]

Regarding the quirks and idiosyncracies of different HCT centres, a colleague of mine in Abu Dhabi recently passed on to me a document claiming to be a 'dress code' for HCT faculty. It had me hooting with laughter for a good while, so I thought I would share it here.

Firstly, woollens are out. Cardigans and Jumpers are, apparently, 'unprofessional' in the eyes of the management, and should not be worn at college. Now, I've always thought of woollen outer-garments as extremely homely and conservative, so the notion that they could could in any way be regarded as 'not professional enough' is bizarre to me. Maybe the college management don't like them as they are not 'dynamic' enough for the HCT's entrepreneurial faculty members?!

Footwear also came under the proverbial microscope - only dark coloured shoes are permitted, and they should be either slip-ons or lace-ups. No other type is permitted, apparently, so you can kiss goodbye to those gray-colored zip-up boots you've been wearing for the past couple of years, buddy!

Ties should be worn at ALL times, and shirts need ALL the buttons done up - so no more slouching around campus with your top button undone, you slob!

I reserve the biggest laugh for the last, however. The HCT's Sartorial College Guide obviously takes itself very seriously, as it claims that its statements on the dress code are nothing more than 'common sense'. Now, when somebody starts throwing around the phrase 'common sense', it's usually because there is no logic involved in the argument. They can't justify their absurd statements in any rational way, so they revert to 'common sense', in an effort to stall any further argument.

Well, if the code is real common sense, it wouldn't be necessary to spend hours discussing it, and then putting it to paper, would it. And anyway, just who spent all those hours discussing the code? The faculty members themselves? Surely they are in possession of a good deal of common sense, no?

Well, apparently not. They were excluded from all discussions regarding the dress code. It was just the supervisors and the senior management who decided on this encodement of sartorial common sense.

So now that we know just where this idea of 'common sense' is coming from - the rear part of the management's carefully tailored trousers - it becomes entirely understandable!

So, the HCT dress code - file under B ... for Bullshit!

[veiledsentiments]

I wonder if that is system wide or just for a particular branch. It appeared that all the rules were for men or just the ones that you passed on?

Why would anyone want to wear anything wool in the UAE? The lowest low in the last 2 months has been 54F/12C in AD. I can't think of one day in all of my years in the Gulf that I would have ever even pondered the wearing of something wool. The few sweaters that I had were cotton.

When I was there, there wasn't any written rule book (verbally women weren't allowed to wear trousers/slacks) that I ever saw. Of course then there were probably people complaining that there were no written rules.

VS