The Saudi job market is unique and special in a way. Despite online job applications ruling the roost, the traditional forms of applying for jobs still works, even in corporates.

As the Saudi job market is getting more and more saturated and many companies putting a cap on external hiring, getting a job right now is not the easiest of things. However, as the growth outlook for the overall economy improving especially in the non-oil sectors, many opportunities are bound to rise.

So for whatever reason you may be looking for a job right now here are a few tips to help you land a job in Saudi Arabia.

1. Classifieds

By classifieds I don’t mean newspaper classifieds, I mean dedicated web classifieds like expatriates.com, olx.sa.com etc. They have so many jobs being posted on a regular basis, most of them, however, are for entry to mid-level career jobs.

2. LinkedIn

There are so many headhunters on LinkedIn and all you’ve got to do is what everybody does on LinkedIn – connect with the right people. You can’t just have an account on LinkedIn and expect yourself to start getting offers. Being connected to people who post jobs regularly helps, but what helps, even more, is being active on the social network website.

3. Wasta (reference)

This is one of the most effective methods. Look for friends/family who sit at upper managerial posts, tell them that you’re looking for a job and hopefully they’ll handle the rest if a vacancy arises in their company.

4. Online Job Portals

Bayt.com is not the only one, so remember to upload your CV and regularly look for jobs on other websites like Naukrigulf.com, Monstergulf.com and the likes. There are dedicated job portals as well that are limited to particular industries like oil & gas or hospitality. So looking at international job portals of your target industry can also help.

5. Cold Calling

You’ll be surprised but in some rare cases, cold calling has helped job seekers land jobs. It doesn’t mean that you have to call the customer care team; just call the head office and ask to be directed to the HR department and they’ll let you know if they have any vacancies or not. So just open the telephone directory of your city and start dialing.

6. Newspaper Ads

While you may be applying on tons of jobs, from personal experience I can say that the companies that are often interested in hiring on an immediate basis are the ones that advertise in newspapers. A useful website in case you don’t want to buy newspapers is gulfjobsbank.com, which accumulates newspaper ads from all around the Gulf. You just have to click the date and the newspaper and it will list out the newspaper ads posted on that very day.

7. Personal Visits

The good old way of carrying your resume and knocking on doors of companies does help. Visit the HR department, hand them over your resume and they’ll let you know if there are any vacancies. Try meeting department managers who have positions to be filled in their departments.

8. Consultancies  

Many recruitment agents and consultancies based in Saudi Arabia hire employees for their clients mostly on a yearly contract basis. Though they do take a good chunk of the salary on a monthly basis, they have a decent amount of jobs to offer. There are some international ones as well, mostly based out of Dubai that have many clients in Saudi Arabia to which job seekers can apply for online.