98% of MENA Respondents Plan on Looking for New Jobs in 2017

98% of MENA Respondents Plan on Looking for New Jobs in 2017

With the New Year comes a new outlook on career prospects and goals for many professionals in the Middle East. A new Bayt.com poll called, ‘Career Prospects in the Middle East’ revealed that98% of respondents plan on looking for a new job in2017 – and nearly all of them (95.1%) feel more prepared and qualified to apply for jobs this year than they were in2016.

High optimism for career growth

More than two thirds (68.2%) of respondents claim that they do their have career goals ready for2017. What’s more, nearly nine in ten (88.5%) state that they are likely to achieve their career goals in2017, with six in ten (61.9%) stating that they are “very likely” to do so.

Health-related factors emerged in the survey as important contributors to Egypt respondents’ happiness and well-being. Nearly three quarters (74%) of respondents describe their general state of health as good or excellent, and nearly six in ten (57%) are not currently suffering from any health issues.

Happiness with Professional Life

As for their professional lives, factors that respondents in Egypt are most satisfied with include working hours (48% are satisfied), support from colleagues and coworkers (46%), freedom to make decisions at work (45%), and work-life balance (42%).

MENA professionals have their goals set high for the year ahead, with nine in ten (89.5%) respondents stating that they’ll have more job responsibilities in2017 and almost the same amount (85.3%) claiming that they will start taking more initiative at work. More than nine in ten (91.9%) claim that they will dedicate more time for training and development. As for those who will remain in their current position, three quarters (75.5%) of respondents feel very optimistic about getting a raise this year, and nearly the same amount (74.8%) feel very optimistic about getting promoted in2017.

Finding more jobs online

For a majority (58.6%) of respondents, finding a new job is at the top of their list of career goals, followed by improving skills and productivity (22.5%). To reach these goals, more than eight in ten (83.7%) claim that they will spend more time looking for jobs online in2017.

For those looking for new employment opportunities,53.2% say that they will look for career opportunities in2017 using online job sites and other methods, while29.8% will exclusively use online job sites. Less than one in10 respondents will use companies’ websites (7.1%), personal networks (6.4%), or social media (3.5%) for finding jobs.

When it comes to location preferences, nearly nine in ten (87.2%) respondents say that they want to work in the Gulf region in2017.

Along with the high optimism and proactive planning, there are some barriers that job seekers acknowledge. The main barriers that hold respondents back from achieving their career goals are a lack of growth opportunities (27.7%), a lack of funding (22.6%), a lack of experience (14.5%), poor company management (14.3%), a lack of work-life balance (10.9%), too much competition (5.1%), and fear of failure (4.9%).

“It is evident that job seekers in the MENA region are determined and inspired to seek more career opportunities and better professional development strategies,” Said Suhail Masri, VP Employer Solutions, Bayt.com. “The fact that83.7% of respondents will spend more time searching for jobs online and that the majority will be using online job sites over any other search method, highlight the value that Bayt.com offers to the region’s professionals. We have witnessed a tremendous growth in the number of professionals who use Bayt.com to access the career tools and information they need. In fact, job seekers in2017 are able to have daily access to over10,000 jobs announced on Bayt.com. Our poll points to the increased efforts on the job seeker side and we will soon be revealing the region’s hiring potential in the bi-annual Bayt.com Middle East Job Index survey.”

Data for the2017 Bayt.com ‘Career Prospects in the Middle East’ poll was collected online from December10,2016 to January13,2017. Results are based on a sample of9,934 respondents. Countries that participated are the UAE, Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Tunisia, Qatar, KSA, Yemen, and Others

  • Date Posted: 22/01/2017
  • Last updated: 22/01/2017
  • Date Posted: 22/01/2017
  • Last updated: 22/01/2017
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