Will work for shawarma

"How's the job hunt going?" is a question I often get. It's certainly not been as easy as I would have thought. I've been on the prowl since September and have only had a few nibbles so far.

There are a few unexpected roadblocks... mostly that, unlike the US, employers here can be visibly very selective and specific about the exact type of candidate that they want. Heck, they can even ask for a photo to be sent with your résumé. They can advertise for a bilingual (Arabic/English) male under 35 with GCC experience, for example. White and blue collar expatriates make up an estimated 80-85% of residents here. Enter Qatarization, which is a program designed to increase the number of Qatari nationals in the workforce (the target is 50%). At least this makes applying for a job quite easy... I often skip straight to the requirements to know if being a 31 year old English-speaking Western woman knocks me out of contention. I've heard that in an interview, employers can also ask all those questions it is illegal to ask in the US, like... Are you married? Have any kids? What religion are you?

In December I went to a workshop on how to find a job in Qatar and it was a little disheartening. It took the woman who organized the workshop 18 months to find a job. I also went to a cultural sensitivity seminar in December and learned only 8% of women work (Kevin thinks this is specific to Qataris, but who knows). It seems the main avenue to finding employment is through networking, which I am not great at. There is a new women's professional networking group here, but at the one networking event I went to most of the women seemed to be new arrivals like myself or teachers or nurses. I am pretty much just continuing to hit the internet job boards hard, but this may mean it will take me longer than a hard networker to find a job.

I did find a part-time gig through networking (who knew?), but the hours are quite sporadic. I'm still hoping something comes through as I would like to be working, but I'm still really enjoying my "off" time. The weather is beautiful right now and walking on the Corniche is a treat.

On a side note, employers do a fantastic job of letting you know you haven't been selected for an interview, using such choice phrases as:

• "Unfortunately on this occasion you have not been successful in your application."
• "We... regret to inform you that we are not able to offer you a position at this time."
"The position is now closed and, unfortunately, your application has not been short-listed."