Regional hype, the desire to attract talent, a commodity hiring mentality and intra-regional 
rivalry throws up many barriers to advancement.

On the face of it you may very well think that in the spirit of harmony, there would be ample 
opportunity for moving throughout the region taking up new roles that offer challenge and 
satisfaction. 

Although there are collaborative alliances driving growth and expansion, this region does not 
behave in a similar way to the EU for there is no common platform for intra-country transfer and
each country still applies its own restrictions on freedom of movement. When you consider that 
the majority of pay-rolled senior decision makers are expatriates, then we have a problem. 

The tenure of an expatriate manager will be ephemeral, either by choice or by situation but 
nevertheless, their roles are of finite duration. Often, career path planning is influenced and 
subject to external factors that quite often cannot be controlled, often without remedy. Having 
a contract prematurely terminated because there has been a change of mind or a switch to a lower
cost base alternative can happen unexpectedly. A career path is cut short, the company says it 
is making the person redundant and yet replaces them with someone else. Who said back luck 
comes in threes? 

Piece by piece we complete a somewhat amorphous jigsaw puzzle, where each component represents 
the manifold components that represent: the individual, their career related matters, personal 
issues that have an impact on career path planning such as family commitments, choice in 
companies, business environment, local barriers such as hiring legislation. Add to this the 
ever increasing combinations of factors called market conditions and it is clear that many 
unrelated factors conspire to make career transitions so difficult. 

An analogy that helps demonstrate the enabling components that allow transition strategies to 
be successful is drawn from the concept of 'dualities', where diverse systems such as mechanical,
fluid, thermodynamic, electronic etc are related through the differential equations that govern 
their behavior. 

Experience developed within one functional role has components that are transferable and of 
relevance to others and this is the 'duality' that makes career transitions workable. 

It becomes increasingly difficult when attempting to move within a market where many companies 
do not recognise what it is that the individual has to offer and, are unable to align available 
talent with business needs. This 'conflict dichotomy', often drives the desire to recruit people
that have the wrong experience. 

Over the past 18 months the region has drastically transformed to create a trading bloc that 
one day will compete with the EU and Asia. If it aspires to this then change is needed to ensure
that a spirit of fair play for itinerant staff and, most importantly, domestic legislation 
underpins the employment market laying down and defending a code of practice for expatriates. 

Turbulence from within the region creates openings and also throws up barriers for many 
expatriates. Often, messaging about flag-ship projects implies a level of maturity that attracts
talent. Sadly, the actual status often lags perception and this illusion inadvertently misleads 
the career seeker into believing there are senior opportunities. This can quite unnecessarily 
drive people into job-hunt mode and, waste a lot of everyone's time in the process. 

Uncertainty within a market that is in expansion mode stimulates rumour. If the rumours are 
negative then this has a counter effect on things as word spreads that things are illusory. 

For some involved in complex deal structures, their tenure and opportunity to advance seems 
certain, and often they are able to negotiate a career package that supports their level of 
accountability. Their experience is required, a lot depends on making the right caliber hire 
and companies are willing to pay for talent. However, there are some issues outside the control 
of the new incumbent and the employer and they are affecting career decisions and influencing 
the ability to attract talent. 

Sadly, good talent has left the Middle East and not only because of security scares. Often the 
many difficulties faced on a daily basis including: package erosion, a continuing increase in 
the cost of living resulting in less liquidity, uncertain career prospects, intra-regional 
rivalry often creating barriers to movement, lack of legislative protection for the individual 
and domestic barriers that prevent transfers, has made it very difficult for families to justify
remaining here. 

If this region is going to be successful in securing the right talent, talent necessary to 
drive the many initiatives and complex business alliances over the next decade, then the Middle 
East has to be seen as a natural path through which one would traverse. There needs to be passion
to want to come to this region, people need to feel that this place has a lot to offer and that 
time spent here is considered an investment in the overall career strategy. 

Importantly, we need to recognise that keeping what you already have and allowing it to flourish
is the first step in the process.
Source: http://www.ameinfo.com/64150.html1