Is Dubai the Florida of the investment banking world?

4 March 2008

2 minute read

Is Dubai the Florida of the investment banking world?

Elsewhere in the world, bankers over the age of 35 might be considered past it, but could they find a happy home in the Middle East?

Latest figures from UK financial services recruiters Joslin Rowe reveal that only 18% of people changing jobs in the City of London are aged 35+ and a mere 0.5% are aged 56+.

Perhaps banks in the UK aren't that open to hiring older folk, but in the Middle East - home of fledgling capital markets and burgeoning derivatives - experience is at a premium.

Recruiters regularly tell us banks are looking for 10-15 years' experience for senior roles in the region. The subtext might be that they want battle-hardened Westerners willing to roll out new desks and start ventures from scratch.

At the other extreme, the Gulf admittedly has an equal thirst for highly skilled new talent willing to scale the greasy pole in temperatures that regularly exceed 40°C in the height of summer - it may simply be therefore that the marzipan layer of mid-ranking, middle-aged bankers is missing here.

Is the Gulf a happy home for bankers entering the twilight of their careers? Or is there a secret cache of 30 year-olds hanging out somewhere hidden from sight? Let us know your thoughts.

AUTHORPaul Clarke

Mr
Mrs. H
7 March 2008
When you talk about Dubai, you also have to remember that despite its fascination for the West, it is still an middle-eastern country. Seniority is an asset in their culture. So, if London thinks you're 35+ and useless...let London lose and Dubai win!
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to
to recruiter
6 March 2008
TO RECRUITER : mate, don't try and pull the wool over our eyes, I know the likes of you very well. Dubai is what it is, and if you don't understand that because it hurts your trade of recruitment too bad. Otherwise, get a reality check.
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Fr
Francois
5 March 2008
Personally, I think the reason most bankers over the age of 35 don't make the move is because they have a pretty solid position by that time. Dubai should be offering these people some decent money to make the move. God knows any place in a similar position needs experienced people to shove it along.
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Re
Recruiter
5 March 2008
i assume, since you are so well qualified to comment, that you have both worked here? does that put you in the same "past your prime, fired, broke and uneducated" or "washed up old farts" categories?
or maybe you haven't worked here? best to reserve your comments for topics you are qualified to address.
dubai is full of bankers, young and old. it does not have the reputation of london or new york, but neither does it have serial whingers like yourselves. people are here because they want to be here.
last time i checked you had to get older with experience, and experience is exactly what the gulf is after.
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he
hedgie
5 March 2008
all this means is that dubai is a destination for the crap that can't make it in the real world. If you are past your prime, fired, broke and uneducated, then the arabs will like to have you on board. and Dubai thinks it can have a reputation like London and New York? Dubai isn't the florida, it is the Disney land of the Ibanking world.
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