In the first of our articles on working in the Middle East, we examined the potential for earning more money, how you could meet new people, opportunities for exploring new areas and also for embracing career challenges.
Our second article continues the theme, identifying more great reasons to work in this exciting region of the world.
Access to a wider region
If you’re based in Europe or North America, then the idea of popping over to Egypt for a long weekend may seem unrealistic. However, from your base in the Middle East, you’ll discover that all sorts of destinations are opened up to you.
This is part of the transformation that can be brought about in terms of lifestyle. Your sense of what is possible will change, with access becoming available to a range of new options. As well as embracing life within a new location, you will suddenly discover that it’s possible to travel extensively across the region.
Knowing that you are helping
Many countries within the Middle East have experienced difficulties within the recent past. The recent history of Iraq, to take one example, is well known. Your presence within the region is likely to have a positive impact, as you assist with rebuilding the economy, bringing valuable expertise.
At times, you will be confronted with situations that you simply wouldn’t expect to find at home. This can act as a reminder of the fact that you are dealing with very different circumstances. It can also be helpful in building awareness that you have a role to play in helping local people. There’s no doubt that your work, when seen in this context, can be extremely rewarding. Although you may not arrive in the Middle East on some form of humanitarian mission, you will be contributing to life within your new home.
Building your network
The region plays a core role across many industry sectors, including energy, tourism and finance. From a professional perspective, there is an opportunity here to build your network of contacts. There is nothing to compare with actually having face to face meetings with decision makers in the region.
While others may make their phone calls from offices in the US, for example, you’ll be meeting and socialising with those in the region on a daily basis. That gives you an enormous advantage and it’s something that can be used to your benefit, expanding the potential to boost your career position. You may not think about a move to Iraq or Iran, for example, as providing networking opportunities. But this is a key advantage to making such a move.
In the past two blog posts, we’ve investigated why it is that so many people choose to work in the Middle East. As we have outlined, there are numerous advantages to doing so. If you’d like to learn more about the opportunities that may be available to you, then do get in touch.