Did you know that the youth represent almost one-third of the entire Egyptian population? That’s right – Egypt is one of the most youthful countries in the world, so you may as well buckle up because the competition within the Egyptian job market is fierce… and it's only getting fiercer. Whether you are a local or you've been living as an expat, the truth is, you’re probably going to have to fight tooth and nail to earn a place among the Egyptian workforce.
But hey – I’m not trying to dishearten you from applying to jobs in Egypt, so you better have a pen and a piece of paper handy because you’re going to take notes (my motherland doesn’t take kindly to non-notetakers, so don’t say I didn’t warn you).
It goes without saying that, since you’re reading this blog post right now, your next job might very well be less than a couple of clicks away. Seriously. Our job search directory is seething with thousands of job vacancies across many different industries, and the best thing is: new jobs are being added every day!
So why not take a quick detour from reading and actually go apply to a job or two? Maybe even three for good measure.
Go on. I’m waiting.
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What are you still doing here? Chop-chop!
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Back already? Wow, that was fast. One would think you’re applying for typist positions.
Yes, I know you’ve heard this one a lot, but sometimes the most important stuff bears repeating more than once. Not only will applying what you’ve learned (or learning new things altogether) give you a head-start over your non-experienced competitors, but employers will also take note of the fact that you’re not just an “office potato” (I just coined that term, by the way. You heard it here first).
Seriously though, your chances of getting picked over everybody else will shoot up because of internships, because Egyptian employers like action-oriented go-getters like you, who’re not afraid to stand out. So go out there and start making some noise for yourself.
Upskilling yourself should actually be the third or fourth step in a multi-stepped process. The first, really, is identifying skill shortages here in the country. You should then audit your own skillset and see if you're able to fill anything that you find lacking in skilled professionals. Or, if you’re the one that’s lacking the skill set, you better start learning, because if you manage to get savvy at one of the less popular fields (where fewer experts reside), you’ll be like the needle in the candidate haystack.
If you haven’t had at least the mildest reaction reading that, then I’m going to go on a limb here and assume you’re from somewhere that’s not the MENA region – in which case, you better roll up your sleeves because you’ve got a lot of work to do.
Come on, you probably already knew you’re going to have to do this step if you’ve been eyeing the Gift of the Nile as a potential HQ.
But like everything else, the first time is always the hardest. And you don’t need to learn all the complex grammar rules of standard Arabic; once you get the hang of the Egyptian dialect and keep practicing diligently over a couple of months, the only task ahead of you will be working on that accent.
(Or maybe not. That’s optional – unless you want to blend in)
Finding jobs in Egypt is a little different from finding jobs elsewhere. It's more or less the same process: understanding what employers are looking for and then diving headfirst into the required elbow grease to become it.
If you liked this post, and haven't already, I recommend you head over to the job search directory and start applying. You can read as many blog posts as you like, but if you don't start applying what you're reading, you'll go nowhere fast.