How I Get a Job in Dubai: My Honest Journey as an Indian Expat

If you are curious about how I got a Job in Dubai, this blog will give you the full picture. You will see how I planned my move, how I searched for jobs, how I used LinkedIn, what challenges I faced, and what real life in Dubai honestly looks like. From work culture to cost of living, from PG life to weekend routines, this is the clear and simple guide I wish someone had given me before I went.

Life Before Dubai

What was I even doing with my life?

I’m an engineering graduate.
Automobile engineering.
The Madras Institute of Technology, one of the top colleges in Tamil Nadu.
I finished with no arrears and a head full of confidence.
But then I did something absolutely wild.

Why did I skip job interviews?

I decided to prepare for UPSC.
Not as a backup.
As my first option.
Because of that one decision, I didn’t apply for any proper job.
And that hit me hard later.

What happened after I dropped UPSC?

I moved back to my hometown, Madurai.
Life suddenly felt blank.
I went to the gym.
That was the only productive thing I did.
Then the pandemic arrived, and even that routine collapsed.

How did those three years feel?

Honestly?
Terrible.
I was jobless from 2019 to 2022.
Three long years.
I kept telling people I was doing “freelance digital magazine work” just to avoid awkward questions.
Inside, I felt lonely, ashamed, and stuck.

What pushed me toward Dubai?

I never planned to go abroad.
I didn’t even consider Dubai.
But my cousin sister, who works there, suggested I try job hunting on a visit visa.
That one message changed everything.
Sometimes I think about it and get scared…
If she hadn’t invited me, I don’t know where I’d be right now.

Decision to Move to Dubai

Why did I finally say yes to Dubai?

When my sister invited me, I didn’t think twice.
I had nothing happening in India.
No job.
No direction.
Just gym, YouTube, and guilt on loop.
So when the chance came, I grabbed it.

How much money did I carry?

Let me be honest.
I landed in Dubai with around 1500 AED.
For three months.
That’s almost nothing if you’re planning to survive on your own.
My cousins still joke about how I lived with that amount.

How did I actually survive?

Only because of family.
I stayed with my cousin sister.
I ate with them.
So food and accommodation didn’t crush me.
My only cost?
Bus fare.
That’s it.
If not for them, I would’ve broken down in the first week.

How did my family react to my decision?

They were cool with it.
Not dramatic.
Not emotional.
Just practical.
They always knew I was the type who adjusts anywhere.
I’ve stayed with relatives for days and weeks since childhood.
So they trusted I’d manage.
Their only wish was simple:
Get a job.
Start your life.
Stop wasting years.

The Move Itself

How did everything finally fall into place?

Once I said yes, things moved fast.
I spoke to my cousin brother in Dubai.
We planned everything in two or three calls.
Booked the tickets.
Got the visit visa.
Suddenly, the trip became real.
No turning back.

When did I land?

I reached Dubai on February 25th, 2022.
Funny thing?
My birthday was the very next day.
So my first full day in Dubai was actually my birthday.
Kind of symbolic, like starting fresh, starting clean.

Where did I stay?

I lived at my cousin sister’s home for three months.
That was my safe zone.
Without that support, survival would’ve been impossible with the money I had.

What were my first impressions?

Dubai looked sharp.
Expensive cars everywhere.
Roads are smooth like butter.
The skyline felt unreal.
Seeing Burj Khalifa for the first time…
I just stood there.
Speechless.

What shocked me the most?

The cleanliness.
Everything looked polished.
And the number of Indians.
After a week, it didn’t even feel like I was abroad.
More like a mix of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and a high-budget movie set.

When did it start getting tough?

Not on day one.
Not on day two.
The real hit came after I began job hunting.
That’s when Dubai stopped looking shiny and started looking real.
And then the actual grind began.

The Job Hunt Grind

How did the real struggle begin?

This is where everything got intense.
Landing in Dubai was easy.
Finding a job?
Whole different story.

How did I apply for jobs?

Thanks to all the YouTube videos and online courses I watched during those empty years at home, I already knew some smart tricks.
Most people just hit the “Easy Apply” button on LinkedIn and wait.
I didn’t do that.
I made each application three times stronger.

My method was simple but heavy

Step one. Apply on LinkedIn or Indeed.
Step two. Note the company name.
Step three. Go to their LinkedIn page.
Step four. Find the decision makers — HR, founder, manager.
Step five. Send a connection request.
Step six. DM them saying, “I’ve applied. Kindly forward my CV.”
Step seven. Use the Apollo extension to get email IDs or mobile numbers.
Step eight. Call them directly.

For every single job.

Did it work?

Yes.
This method gave me the most interviews.
People keep saying, “Bro, I applied to 200 jobs, nobody called me.”
I got around ten interview calls in two months.

What about offline job hunting?

I had a routine.
Morning: formal dress, resume folder, full confidence.
I’d go to Business Bay.
That place is wild in the morning — feels like a flood of people coming out of the metro, all rushing to offices.
Every skyscraper has 20 to 30 floors.
Every floor has tons of companies.
My target was straightforward: to complete one entire building per day.

I carried nearly 100 printed resumes.
Went to the reception of every company.
Dropped my CV.
Smiled.
Walked out.

Did I get any calls from this approach?
Zero.
Not even one.
However, I know people who have secured jobs this way with excellent pay.
So it works for many, just didn’t work for me.

Why did I stay confident?

Something inside me never believed I’d return jobless.
I never even imagined that scenario.
Maybe confidence.
But the number of interview calls I got kept me going.

And my mindset helped too:
“If I keep applying like this, something will click.”

The Real Breakthrough

How do I get a job in Dubai?

Even after getting ten interviews, nothing clicked.
Nine interviews rejected me directly.
One company showed interest, but the salary was way too low.
The main issue?
No UAE experience.
Dubai companies love experience inside the Gulf.
Freshers get filtered out fast.

So what changed?

Once again, my cousin sister became the hero.
She found a friend in her son’s school WhatsApp group.
She introduced me to the founder of a digital marketing agency who was hiring at that time.
That connection opened the next door.

Did the interview go well?

No.
I got rejected again.
They said I didn’t have enough real experience.
I had done things 
LinkedIn optimisation, website blogs, Google Ads experiments, Facebook Ads experiments 
but not enough for them at that moment.
So they said no.

The twist

Ten days later, the same founder called me back.
Why?
Because she saw my LinkedIn posts.
My blogs.
My website content.
Everything I published online worked quietly in the background.

If I hadn’t connected with her on LinkedIn, she would’ve never seen my content.
And I would’ve never gotten this job.

What about the salary?

Let me be real.
It was low.
Lower than basic pay.
I had asked for something.
They gave me half of that.
But I said yes.
Because I needed one thing more than money —
a start.

With that small salary, I survived.
Somehow.
Someway.

How did I feel when I got the offer?

Pure happiness.
My cousin sister and cousin brother were happy.
My family was happy.
I was finally relieved.
Being an Aethist, I even went to a temple to say thanks because my family asked me to.
And honestly, after three years of joblessness, I didn’t argue.

What really got me this job?

My content.

• LinkedIn posts.
• sasi10x.com blog.
• personal brand. 

Even though I wasn’t consistent later, I kept the website alive only because of the emotion tied to this moment.

Content saved me.
Simple as that.

Inside the Dubai Work Life

What did my daily life look like?

My job was 9 to 6.
Normal timing on paper.
But in reality?
>You work more.
>You stay extra.
>You don’t complain.
Especially if you’re a fresher.

Moving to the Sharjah side

After three months, I shifted to a job near the Sharjah border.
So I had to find a PG close to the office.
PG life itself is a separate story.
Different world.
We’ll keep that for later.

What about work culture?

If you’re coming from India, imagine a big MNC vibe…
Forget it.
Most Dubai offices are small.
10 people.
20 people.
Maximum 30.
Only 1 or 2 percent of offices have 100+ staff.
The rest are small agencies or small businesses.

Is the work culture better than in India?

Only in terms of respect.
People don’t shout.
They don’t insult.
But everything else?
Harder.
>You work longer hours.
>You take more responsibility.
>You fight for your place.

Will you feel lonely?

Yes.
You miss your family.
You miss your friends.
Most of the time, after work, you have nothing to do.
So I stayed back in the office for many days.
Just to avoid the empty feeling.

Are there restrictions?

Yes.
>You can’t post negative reviews about a company publicly.
>You can’t criticise things openly on social media.
>You just stay quiet and work.
Most people don’t care because everyone is there for one reason:
Money.

Is it all bad?

No.
It’s not terrible.
It’s not amazing.
It’s somewhere in the middle.
If you expect a fancy lifestyle from day one, you’ll be disappointed.
If you go with a mindset to work hard and build money, you’ll survive.

Cost of Living Reality Check

What are the main expenses?

• Rent.
• Food.
• Transport.
  These three decide whether you survive or cry in Dubai.

Transport

I didn’t roam much.
My route was simple —
Sharjah to Dubai by bus. Only one weekend
Cost? Around 10–12 AED per trip. 
Around 200–300 INR.
Decent.
Manageable.
Not a budget killer.

Food

If you cook, you win.
If you don’t cook, still fine — lots of mess options.
In PGs, food becomes a team sport.
One guy cooks.
Others buy items.
Everybody manages.

If you cook for yourself, around 300–400 AED per month.
If you eat outside, around 500 AED per month.
Still okay.

Rent

This is the real monster.
I lived in Sharjah, in an apartment.
Four-bed sharing.
650 AED per month.
Around 14,000–15,000 INR.
Expensive compared to Chennai or Bangalore.
But for the Dubai–Sharjah side?
Pretty normal.

A simple rule that saved me

Your rent should NOT cross one-third of your salary.
If it crosses, your life will turn into daily tension.
Because rent hits you every 30 days without fail.

Since my salary was okay, 650 AED worked for me.
I could save around 1,000 AED almost every month.
Whatever I saved, I sent back home.

The big money mistake I made

Last two or three months, things got messy.
Work pressure went up.
Stress eating started.
Ordering food every day wasted my money.
I even stopped walking 1.5 km to the office and took taxis.
Taxi in Dubai?
Instant hole in your pocket.

Those months?
Zero savings.
Not even 100 AED.

So yeah… don’t repeat that.
Walk when you can.
Cook when you can.
Your wallet will bless you.

Life outside work?

Life outside work was simple.
Mostly PG life.

Who were the people around me?

I was very friendly with everyone in my PG.
For all three years, the roommates were the same.
>Same people.
>Same jokes.
>Same support.
They were loyal.
They were helpful.
Even when I left Dubai, they all came to send me off.
I was lucky to have them.

If you don’t get good roommates, you will feel very lonely.
That’s the truth.

What did my weekends look like?

Weekends were basic.
I had only one day off.
Sunday.

Saturday night, after work, I bought a Coke tin and a chips packet.
We had a TV in our PG.
So we played movies.
Ate.
Laughed.
And passed the night.

Sunday morning… no.
Sunday afternoon.
I woke up late.
Ordered biryani.
Ate.
Slept again.
And suddenly the weekend was over.
By Sunday evening, Monday feelings started.

Did I go out anywhere?

Sometimes friends invite me to go out.
Then I went.
Otherwise, I went to my sister’s house in Dubai on weekends.
There we went to temples.
We went to the malls.
We ate outside food.
Simple plans.

How big was my social circle?

My circle was small.
PG mates.
And colleagues.
Not many friends outside that.

Where did I feel at home?

In Dubai, only two places felt like home.
My cousin’s sister’s house.
And my PG.
Everything else felt different.
Not mine.

How did I take care of my health?

Short answer?
I didn’t.

My health went down.
Fast.
Before Dubai, I was going to the gym.
I was in solid shape.
Then Dubai happened.
Seven kilos up.
Boom.
Just like that.

What went wrong with my body?

My food habits crashed.
Outside food every day.
No sleep.
Junk food.
Stress eating.
Zero routine.
It all piled up.
And it ruined my health.

That was one big reason I wanted to come back.
I wanted to fix my lifestyle.
I wanted a reset.

How was my mental and emotional health?

Not great.
I was mentally weak.
Emotionally tired.
I missed my family.
I missed my friends.
And that feeling kept getting stronger.

If I didn’t have my PG mates, I swear I wouldn’t have survived three years.
They kept me sane.
They kept me going.

What changed in my habits?

A lot.
I became responsible.
Like totally responsible.

In India, I never did daily chores.
Mom and Dad handled everything.
In Dubai, it flipped.
>I had to wash my plate.
>I had to make my bed.
>I had to buy groceries.
>I had to take care of myself.
No shortcuts.

It made me grow up.
Slowly.
Painfully.
But it worked.

What kept me motivated?

One thing.
Salary credit.
That moment kept me alive.

The notification hit.
I felt good for one week.
Then the struggle started again.
Every month.
Same cycle.

So how was the balance?

Honestly?
There was no balance.
It was survival.
Pure survival.

But yeah, Dubai teaches you responsibility.
And reality.

What would I tell my past self?

Simple.
Stop being lazy.
Do your chores.
Take care of your body.
And save money.
Because that was the whole reason you went to Dubai.

What mistakes would I warn myself about?

Don’t take too much stress.
Seriously.
When I look back now, those problems feel tiny.
At that time, they felt huge.
But they were nothing.
Not worth losing health over.
Not worth losing sleep over.

Stress destroyed my health more than the city did.
So I’d tell my past self:
Relax.
Work smart.
Not like a machine.

What lessons did Dubai actually teach me?

First lesson?
Money matters.
People love to say, “Money is not everything.”
Haha. 
But money matters.
It gives freedom.
It gives stability.
Dubai made that very clear.

It also taught me how to be social.
>How to survive alone.
>How to talk to people.
>How to adjust.
Real life lessons, not Instagram quotes.

Would I recommend Dubai to someone?

Yes.
But with conditions.

If you don’t get a job in India, you can try.
If your main goal is money, Dubai works.
Your savings there will be way higher than your salary in India.
So financially, good move.

But remember the warnings.

What should people be careful about?

If you don’t socialize, Dubai becomes a desert.
Literally and emotionally.
You’ll feel lonely.
You’ll feel stuck.
So talk to people.
Make friends.
Build your circle.

Also, don’t expect the typical MNC vibe.
Most places are small setups.
Small teams.
Fast pace.
Different culture.

Tourism-wise, it’s great.
Life-wise, it depends on how you handle it.

What happened after coming back to India?

I came back.
Fresh start.
New chapter.
But finding a job in India?
Way harder than I expected.

People kept asking the same question.
“Why did you leave Dubai?”
“You shouldn’t have left.”
Some even judged me for it.
And honestly, I lost a few interviews because of that line alone.

How did I find my job in India?

I used the same method I used in Dubai.
Apply online.
Find the decision maker.
Reach out.
Follow up.

It worked again.
I got an interview.
Got the job.
Salary-wise?
Way less than my Dubai savings.
But emotionally?
I feel lighter.
Closer to my people.
My routine.

Do I regret leaving Dubai?

Not really.
Dubai gave me experience.
India gave me comfort.
Both matter in different ways.

Will I go back to Dubai again?

Yes.
If I get a great opportunity, I’ll pack my bags.
But not for a long-term stay.
Maybe a few years.
Grow.
Earn.
Move on.

Dubai is not a place I hesitate to return to.
It’s still special.
Just not “forever home” special.

Final note

This is my story.
My journey.
My ups and downs.
If you found it relatable, drop a comment.
Share it with someone who needs this clarity.

Cheers,
Sasi

Check out my other blog posts – Facebook Ads Vs Google Ads