13/12/2025
We do not just manage operations. We hire teams, train staff, develop SOPs, calculate and control costing, manage facilities, negotiate with vendors, oversee maintenance, develop recipes, train kitchen teams, lead marketing and sales, manage customer relationships, and execute events. In many cases, one professional handles the work of five departments.
Yet, despite this breadth, the hospitality skillset is often undervalued—when in reality, it is one of the most complete business educations in the market.
If UAE experience is mandatory, how does anyone get UAE experience?” If professionals from outside the region are not given opportunities, how are they expected to gain regional experience in the first place? And if references are truly decisive, why is “UAE/Middle East experience” still listed as a mandatory condition?
These are the questions the Middle East job market still struggles to answer.
Across the UAE and wider Middle East, references are often treated as the real qualification. At the same time, job descriptions insist on “UAE or GCC experience.” That creates a closed loop where talent outside the region never gets the first opportunity—no matter how strong their background is.
Let’s talk facts.
According to global hospitality reports, over 65% of hospitality professionals globally perform multi-functional roles—operations, HR, procurement, costing, customer experience, and even marketing. In restaurants and hotels, one experienced professional often replaces 3–5 corporate roles
In my world (Hospitality) - restaurant and hotels - Our roles are deeply underestimated.—we:
1. Hire and train teams
2. Develop SOPs and operational systems
3. Handle food costing and profit control
4. Manage facilities and maintenance
5. Negotiate with vendors and suppliers
6. Develop recipes and train kitchen staff
7. Lead marketing, sales, and promotions
8. Manage customer relationships and events
This is not “just hospitality.”
This is end-to-end business management.
And about CVs:
Changing your experience to “fit” a job description is not strategy—it’s dishonesty. Your real experience is your strongest asset. It reflects years of pressure, decision-making, and accountability.
The real question for employers is simple:
Are we hiring experience, or are we hiring labels?
Because talent grows when opportunity exists—and opportunity grows when hiring becomes open, fair, and skills-based.
I would genuinely like to hear from:
Recruiters
Hiring managers
Industry leaders
Do you believe regional experience should outweigh proven capability?
Let’s discuss.
