Getting a job in Qatar (Doha)

Hello everyone,

I have a question for the community I'm sure a lot have asked in the past...

I am an IT professional with about 20 years experience currently working and living in Canada. I have been searching for a job in the Middle East for decades now without any sign of success. I have mainly been using LinkedIn, Bayt and indeed to find jobs in the Middle East - mainly Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates..and have sent countless applications. Despite having all the experience and technical qualifications outlined in the job description, I constantly get rejections. I have tried to reach out to recruiters and those attempts have gone unanswered.

What am I doing wrong? How is it that so many westerners are able to get jobs in the Middle East and I'm stuck banging my head against the wall trying to figure out why I'm not getting responses. Some people have suggested to me to take a month or two and go to the country of interest and submit applications while there. However, that's not very feasible, as it is very expensive for me to leave my work for that long, unpaid and have numerous expenses abroad in the hopes of getting a job.

I have applied to National companies as well as mnc's with zero luck.

Are my expectations for salary too high maybe, coming from the West? Are companies not willing to sponsor from abroad? I understand the market is very saturated locally and companies can find candidates willing to take a lower pay but how is it that everyone else is finding these great packages? How are people from the UK being hired? I read a lot of forums of people from the UK getting job offers. What's so different about Canada?

Any insights or advice or connections would be greatly appreciated