Getting tired now. 34 meetings in 5 days takes it’s toll on you.

Still, another day, does lots more business, got another 10 vacancies and flying the m2r flag proud and high.

Could do with a long sleep, may have to wait til the flight home for that though.

Off for a mango feast tonight. Only joking. They have run out.

A scorcher today.

Met with existing clients who are very happy with the service we are providing, it seems that we can provide a better service from the UK than that of the local recruiters. Great for us!

Great new biz appointment with an up and coming company with huge aspirations. We have been tasked with filling 3 C Level roles, looking forward to this one.

Out for dinner with a client tonight, had lunch with one today, it is great when you are appreciated.

Oh, and we have just been shortlisted for an award for ‘International Business of the Year’ too!!

A good day all round. 5 concrete vacancies, good solid roles with the potential of loads loads more.
Saw the various Sheikh’s residences, yes, they know how to live.
Still very windy so still covered in sand. Saw two guys on horseback being chased by a dog. Very surreal.
We will be coming back to the UK with business, increased profile and reputation and the knowledge that our service levels will be greatly appreciated by Bahraini companies. Can’t be bad.
Still being inundated with mangos. Is this the staple diet? Mango curries, mango cakes, just waiting for the mango pizza.
Until tomorrow.

So, we are back to working for a living.

It is blowing a gale here. Sand clouds everywhere. Lovely.

We have had a profitable first day, 8 meetings, 8 vacancies from 3 clients and a very good discussion with our potential new Consultant who will operate from Bahrain.

We may also have a link to royalty here, fingers crossed!

Being woken up at half 1 by bin men outside wasn’t great but it isn’t the end of the world. Feta cheese and mint leaves on toast was a different was to start the day but it was actually very welcome….

One day done, great start to the week. another 8 meetings tomorrow, more of the same please!!!

Oh and well done Diversity. (Had to get that in).

It is boiling. Not UK boiling, melt the skin off your face boiling. Ah well, better than the sand storm we had last time!
Flight was good, Emirates are a great airline.
We are staying in Seef, not in a hotel but in an appartment. After all, if we are to advise UK citizens about what it is like to live in Bahrain, we may as well experience ‘normal living’ also.
Been to the Lulu Hypermarket, 101 varieties of mango! I had no idea that the mango gene pool was so diverse.
Food is really cheap. Did a weeks shop for 2 of us and it came to a tenner. You name it, you can get it. Bigger, better and cheaper than at home. Coupled with the service - wow!
Going to watch the FA Cup final at Champs Bar soon, then 5 days of work. Well, that is what we are here for.
32 appointments, only 4 with existing clients. Even the most pessimistic would expect a result here.
So, I will check in again tomorrow, probably still boiling but loving it!!!

I found this on
http://prophetinbahrain.blogspot.com/2009/04/bahrain-highway-code.html

The copy is below, if you live, are planning to live or have been to Bahrain, it makes excellent reading!!

1. At any junction 1 in 4 cars must do a U-Turn.
2. Only Western drivers need to use indicators.
3. Local drivers will generally be in the wrong lane for where they are going.
3a. It is perfectly acceptable to turn right from the left hand lane on a 3carriageway road - and vice versa.
4. Bicycles must not be lit, can only travel in the opposite direction to the traffic on the carriageway they use, unless using the pavement.
5. Local women drivers are exempt from the need to park their car in a marked parking space, even assuming the vehicle is small enough to fit in to just one space in the first place.
6. Never, ever let anyone out into your lane or offer any acknowledgement if anyone should be foolish enough to let you into their lane.
6a. As a consequence of 6 it is expected that cars emerging into a lane will do so even if this space is too small and hence the car that is already on the main carriageway must brake hard and swerve into the spare lane - even if it isn’t free.
7. Cement lorries can go whereever they like.
8. Taking driving lessons is a sign of weakness and taking a driving test is just foolish; after all if you crash it is evidently the ‘Will of Allah’.
8a. You will be reminded of 8 by the fact that you will see a fairly major and avoidable road traffic accident almost every other day.
9. Don’t even think of riding a motorbike unless it is after dark and maitains an average speed in excess of 100mph. Unless it is a pizza delivery moped in which case it assumes the rights of a Cement Lorry (see Rule 7) but with less sustained success.
10. Traffic Lights are only advisory.

Source: http://prophetinbahrain.blogspot.com/

If you were to speak to 9 out of 10 recruiters they would paint a very bleak picture about jobs in the Gulf. You would be told to stay put, no one is recruiting, jump off the Burj etc etc. Now, this is not entirely true. Admittedly there has been a massive recruitment downturn and jobs are harder to come by, but all this means is that companies will only hire exceptional applicants instead of maybe ‘taking a flier’. For you, the exceptional applicant, this will come a good news as the number of exceptional applicants is greatly overshadowed by the FILTH (Failed in London, tried Hong Kong) in the Gulf.

The Gulf will become a much more professional place, all the wannabees, pseudo business execs will all go back to Surrey leaving the professionals to get on with their jobs.

We are currently handling executive roles in Bahrain, Saudi and the UAE and I see vacancies at this level in the rest of the GCC also. Key areas are still finance, IT and construction. Hospitality has taken a battering but we still have senior roles in this market, media is suffering but again, we have some vacancies. You just have to look for them!

We have candidates who have 5 interviews with 5 different companies arranges, companies are still expatriating and recruiting locally but they are just more cautious. Basically, if you are a blagger, don’t bother. If you are honest, professional and legitimate, you will get a job.

This market is an excuse for the lazy to become lazier. The energetic and proactive will thrive which can only be a benefit for us all. So, don’t give up after the ninth recruiter fobs you off as the tenth will probably be the one…

(http://www.tradeyorkshire.com/spotlight/wakefield.htm)
Recruiting in Wakefield for Dubai and Australia

A Wakefield company is opening doors to career opportunities overseas for British sales and management personnel.

M2R opened its doors in 2001 and quickly became a driving force in the local, then national, recruitment scene.

Founder and managing director, Munir Mamujee said: “At M2R we have never been just about numbers, but have always focused on the quality of the services we offer to both the job candidates and the clients. Candidates need to be handled sensitively and the clients need to avoid the barrage of CVs and inappropriate candidates they can often be up against when advertising a post.

“We try to save clients as much time as possible in the recruitment process, by quickly narrowing down the selection and making sure they only see the most promising candidates for the post. With ten years of recruitment experience and another five in media sales, I have been able to build up business with local SMEs as well as major blue chip clients.”

With his knowledge and passion for the market, it wasn’t long before Mamujee began looking further afield for business opportunities. It was on a holiday trip to Dubai that he first became aware of the business potential in the large ex-pat employment market there. Mamujee wasted no time in following this up with a series of cold calls to Middle East based companies.

After making contact with one of the largest publishing houses in the Middle East, Mamujee worked with UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) to explore the range of export services available that would help him take his plans further.

Mamujee explained: “I had talks with UKTI’s international trade adviser, Brian Aungiers, and joined the Passport to Export programme. This gave me a lot of valuable general tips about doing business overseas and introduced me to some of the services that could help me take things forward. The funding from the Passport programme got me out to Dubai on my first market visit and, with Brian’s direct line to the UKTI team based there, I met Sunita Mirchandani at the Embassy who gave me a lot of on-the-ground information about developing my business in the Emirates.”

On his return to the UK, Mamujee further examined the possibilities for his business not only in the Middle East, but also in Australia and New Zealand, through the Export Marketing Research Scheme (EMRS). EMRS offers advice and funding to small and medium businesses to research specific export markets.

Mamujee added: “The Passport programme, together with the EMRS results, gave me the confidence to go out to Dubai again in October last year and really do business. This time Brian was able to direct me towards funding from the Yorkshire Forward programme, the Targeted Export Support Scheme (TESS) to make the trip, and with his help and Sunita’s I already had a series of meetings in place when I arrived so I could hit the ground running. It was during this trip that I firmed up some business partnerships that are now fully operational. Our company is now able to offer a range of sales and management positions in Dubai.”

Mamujee didn’t stop there. Armed with market information from the EMRS project he quickly cemented a business partnership for M2R Global in Australia, which means he has now added job opportunities in Melbourne and Sydney to his portfolio.

Naturally, a trade mission to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, which took place in February, was an opportunity that Mamujee was not going to miss. Led by Brian Aungiers, the trip gave 20 Yorkshire and Humber companies a chance to explore business opportunities in the Middle East.

Says Aungiers: “There’s no doubt that we are going through a difficult economic phase globally but M2R proves that there are still business opportunities out there for companies if they are prepared to do the work. UK Trade & Investment services, such as the Middle East trade mission, are helping companies take some of the first steps in developing an international business profile. We had companies from all sectors joining us on the Saudi trade mission and I’m sure that all of them will have got something positive out of the trip in terms of their business growth.”

Website: www.m2r.co.uk

As the only recruiter from the UK invited on the Trade Mission to Bahrain, I was hoping for some success and an opportunity to showcase my business.

This was indeed the case.

Coupled with a sand storm and a four hour walk around Bahrain, we will definitely be returning!

We stayed at the Diplomat Radisson in the Diplomatic Area, well situated for doing business. I attended the British Business Forum and made some excellent contacts and then followed this up with a function at the Ambasador’s residence in Bahrain.

Excellent place, great people and very nice to do business with. Thanks to all whom we met and we look forward to meeting you again this year.