Hi everyone!
I am from Canada as is my fiance. She is currently working for Emirates and living in Dubai. I am considering moving there to be with her and was wondering if anyone had any experience working as an expat bartender?
I have more than 5 years experience in the industry from catering, high-end restaurants to speed bartending at busy venues. I can also flare bartend. I am currently supervising a hotel bar here in Canada. I was recently offered the assistant GM position but declined due to my plans of moving abroad.
From my research, it seems I can expect to make around 3000AED a month, which works out to be just $1000. This seems very low. I see that "service charge" is added to this and was wondering if anyone could give me an idea of what I can expect in tips or service on top of this. I have accommodation covered already with my fiance. Could this improve a potential offer, as I understand it is included with many packages?
I also see that it seems a typical work week is 6 days and 48hrs, 6 days off a month and about 30 days annual paid leave? Can anyone confirm this as the norm? Has anyone else got a better offer than this? In Canada, one of the great things about bartending is the flexibility with your schedule. You can trade shifts or move around hours in order to get days off you want, that doesn't seem to be the case in Dubai?
I also understand most contracts are 2 years? Are there repercussions for leaving a contract early? Has anyone been offered a 1-year contract?
What is the best way to go about applying for jobs? Did you work with a recruiter? Did you go through online job listings or cold call hotels? Is it better to go there and try and meet with the hiring managers?
Any additional tips or advice you obtained from experience are greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!
Jeff