‘UAE experience required’: Viral post spotlights hiring barrier for expatriate professionals

On 16 May The Financial Express picked up a LinkedIn post by Indian HR professional Acacia D’Souza lamenting repeated rejections from UAE employers because she lacked “local experience.” Despite seven years in multinational firms, D’Souza’s applications were routinely dismissed, and some interviewers advised her to accept substantially lower salaries. Her story quickly resonated with job-seekers across social media, reigniting debate about whether the UAE labour market undervalues foreign expertise that has not been earned in-country. While not an official policy, the “UAE experience” filter is common in recruitment adverts and can complicate corporate relocations. Global-mobility managers report that even sponsored transferees are sometimes asked to prove local market familiarity before being considered for client-facing roles, extending lead-times and occasionally derailing moves. Talent consultants argue that the requirement is a proxy for cultural fit, regulatory knowledge and existing professional networks, but critics say it perpetuates a catch-22: candidates can only gain experience by first being hired. The issue affects sectors from construction to financial services and is particularly acute at middle-management level, where employers have many on-the-ground alternatives. For employers the publicity is a reminder to audit job descriptions and ensure criteria are defensible. Overly restrictive filters can shrink talent pools, inflate costs and undermine diversity goals. Mobility teams should prepare talking points to reassure potential transferees and may need to negotiate role definitions in advance. Some companies are responding by pairing newcomers with local mentors or offering short “market immersion” programmes to satisfy the experience gap without excluding qualified talent. The episode also highlights the soft-skills dimension of immigration strategy: securing a work visa is only half the battle; social acceptance in the labour market can be just as decisive for assignment success.