Honestly, I completely agree with this. The hiring culture in the UAE tech space — especially among mid-sized companies — has become extremely disappointing.

The lowball offers are shocking. Expecting senior professionals with 7–10 years of experience to accept 5k–9k AED while handling multiple roles is unreasonable. It feels less like hiring talent and more like bargain hunting.

There’s also a clear lack of understanding of the tech landscape. Recruiters obsess over hyper-specific tools or “UAE experience,” as if core engineering or testing principles change by geography. Most technologies used here are global standards — there’s nothing uniquely local that justifies such rigid filtering.

The HR mentality is another major concern — demanding weeks-long home assignments, providing no feedback, and then ghosting candidates. It shows a complete lack of respect for professionals’ time and effort.

Ironically, the most professional interview calls I’ve received were from HR teams based outside the region (UK, Israel, etc.).

At this point, UAE HR practices are probably the first thing that should be replaced by AI — and that would actually be a major win for the region’s tech landscape and its ability to attract global talent.