Sharing interview Experiences

??? not a single experience?

Ex-Pats to the kingdom have to have sponsors before we come here.  We're not usually interviewing around.

Maybe you didn't know this?

well any decent company here makes sure the candidates are interviewed ( it might not be in the kingdom but it wouldn't  harm if ppl share -regardless of the location!!)

Okay, I'll share. 

I had a telephone interview.  They asked me normal interview questions.  I asked them normal interview questions.

Then we hung up.

That's all there was to it.

helFUL- aliecat!

hey!! you forgot the 'p' in helpful !!!

But thanks

picky eh? lol

Cleopatra wrote:

picky eh? lol

No.. but without the 'p' it was HEL ful. That didn't sound too positive

i had an interviiew where all the questions were personal ones about my family...my family name...why i dont speak arabic...he also suggested if they hire me that i should go and live on a farm for a month and learn the language...he wasnt joking...needless to say i didnt accept the job offer although the money was tempting

But you hold a Saudi passport, don't you, ziad? 

So that isn't actually an 'expat' experience.

Alliecat wrote:

Okay, I'll share. 

I had a telephone interview.  They asked me normal interview questions.  I asked them normal interview questions.

Then we hung up.

That's all there was to it.

My interview went along the lines of Allie.  I spoke on the phone to folks here while I was in the states.  Simple enough questions.  Interviewed lasted about 15 minutes, mostly just for them to feel comfortable that I had the experience and quals put forth by my paperwork.  15 minutes was a breeze, I typically had 3-5 hours interviews.  If you are an expat, your credentials speak for themselves and it should only be a matter of course for them to simply judge your personality and that indeed you possess the background you say you have on paper.  Easiest interivew ever to get here.  Now the paperwork was a different story.

Cleopatra wrote:

well any decent company here makes sure the candidates are interviewed ( it might not be in the kingdom but it wouldn't  harm if ppl share -regardless of the location!!)

I have seen most Saudi companies don’t arrange the direct interviews and rely on the fellow sponsor to give them the best resources and the sponsors depends on the referral system for their resources.

Even if they arranges a direct Interview, its just  a 15 to 30 minutes more of a talk to know about you as a person and the interest to move to Saudi is more important than the expertise you have in that job as most expats had technical and academic degrees back home and hence have seen a lot of personal interest questions faced by a lot of candidates rather than more technical.

nope not an 'expat' experience but as the title says 'sharing interview experiences' thats what i did....you might ask why i am on the saudi forum for expats consdiering the fact that im saudi but i explained that in one of my first posts on this forum.....i know ur not too friendly with saudis on here ive seen a few of your posts but back to my interview experience....if an interview can go that bad for me as a saudi then i dread to think what happens to some expats

Alliecat wrote:

But you hold a Saudi passport, don't you, ziad? 

So that isn't actually an 'expat' experience.

Actually, ziad, we've had a lot of good Saudi friends on this forum, people who have been friendly, helpful and a great source of information. 

However, there's recent animosity here due to Saudi's hijacking and trolling the forum.  Not that you are doing that, but my comment was a reminder that this particular thread (begun by a National) is inconsequential to the people who the blog is intended for; ie. expats. 

Think of it this way:  if I went to a blog devoted to, say, cars and began posting about something irrelevant to cars.. say, my cat.. well, would it be appreciated by the car buffs?

mmm dunno i consider myself a car buff and love cats to death so yeah wouldnt mind hearing bout your cat but yeah i know where you are coming from...still one of the best forums out here i think....

Alliecat wrote:

Actually, ziad, we've had a lot of good Saudi friends on this forum, people who have been friendly, helpful and a great source of information. 

However, there's recent animosity here due to Saudi's hijacking and trolling the forum.  Not that you are doing that, but my comment was a reminder that this particular thread (begun by a National) is inconsequential to the people who the blog is intended for; ie. expats. 

Think of it this way:  if I went to a blog devoted to, say, cars and began posting about something irrelevant to cars.. say, my cat.. well, would it be appreciated by the car buffs?

Thanks, Ziad.  You've shown yourself to be a reasonable guy

Allie,seriously i m sure your interview experience will help the expats for ages..oh that was really tricky .

I was hired on the basis of reference of a very good friend.So it was a piece of cake but there was something funny.
Me:How 're u doing?
Employer : I m from Eritrea
Me : Oh I mean how r u ?
Employer : Oh Ok Ok I am working here for 8 years
Me : Oh you don't understand me I wanna know H.O.W A.R.E Y.O.U?
Employer : Very Good Very Good

and then the story named"Destruction of my Accent"begins and it continued for 3 miserable months
and credit goes to my Filipino & Arab colleagues

My poor 'lil nonzie ...

you've got PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) from that awful job!!  ::hug::

yes some of them like tht

I've got an interview coming up this weekend (which I have to fly from the States to Bahrain to do.  I will post up when I get back how it was.

People who are locally hired having transferable Iqama, are interviewed most of the time considering the fact that they leave their old sponsor in order to get employment in a better organization. And better organization means, they will be interviewed. All the well known companies related to my field in Riyadh have a proper system to hire an employee which includes interviews, written tests and even medical test.

I'm currently an employee of Arabian Business Machines Company in Riyadh. We are the sole distributors for Toshiba Laptops. All the Toshiba laptops you see in the market, they go through us.

I was interviewed by the department manager, then two guys from the HR. Once they cleared me, I had to go through a written test consisting of multiple choice questions and then I had to take a medical check up. Same goes for other companies like Al-Jeraisy, Al-Ajou, Olayan etc.

Now coming to the main point, interviews here in Saudi are not strict at all compared to Europe or even Asian countries. Back in my country when a vacancy is announced, the prerequisites are so tough that hardly 5 out of 100 people would fulfill them. Its different here in Saudi because the education system is so far behind then the rest of the world that when you put a well prepared CV in front of an Arab interviewer, most of the things in the CV would go above his head and then all he can do is to just ask the basic questions. Happened to me a few times.

So my tip, if you have an interview, is get well dressed, put a smile on your face and if you know a little Arabic and have a pleasant personality then ... most probably thing will go your way.