I'm also from the UK but have been working saudi for the past 4 years.
Yes it is normal for QP to take ages with the recruitment process. My experience with QP was not a pleasant one.
In my case, the whole process took 7 MONTHS ... with the initial offer coming about 1 month after my interview.
As they refused to specify the precise salary and package being offered before or during my interview, I rejected the first offer and then spent the next 4 months negotiating a better deal with them.
After a very long frustrating and annoying 4 month period of sending emails back and forth, I did finally get a reasonable offer (Approx 32K per month including all allowances plus the standard Grade 14 indefinte contract package). However, by this point I was just so pissed off with them that I decided not to bother joining QP.
I was really looking forward to taking on a job with them, but I was constantly thinking that if the HR & Recruitment people are this incompetent and unprofessional now ... at a stage where they should be trying to convince me to sign ... how could I expect them to be helpful after I joined, in terms of finding housing and getting my kids into schools, etc. Based on the way the QP Recruitment team had dealt with me I just felt I could not trust anything they said.
Another reason why I turned down the offer was because I felt the cost of housing is likely to rise by at least 10% per year, if not more. This coupled with the fact that QP are not likely to increase salaries in line with the annual increase in cost of living.
Basically all things considered, for me it was not worth the upheaval for a job offering the same as I am currently earning.
Hi Zani,
Good luck with your job with QP.
I'm also from the UK but have been working saudi for the past 4 years.
Yes it is normal for QP to take ages with the recruitment process. My experience with QP was not a pleasant one.
In my case, the whole process took 7 MONTHS ... with the initial offer coming about 1 month after my interview.
As they refused to specify the precise salary and package being offered before or during my interview, I rejected the first offer and then spent the next 4 months negotiating a better deal with them.
After a very long frustrating and annoying 4 month period of sending emails back and forth, I did finally get a reasonable offer (Approx 32K per month including all allowances plus the standard Grade 14 indefinte contract package). However, by this point I was just so pissed off with them that I decided not to bother joining QP.
I was really looking forward to taking on a job with them, but I was constantly thinking that if the HR & Recruitment people are this incompetent and unprofessional now ... at a stage where they should be trying to convince me to sign ... how could I expect them to be helpful after I joined, in terms of finding housing and getting my kids into schools, etc. Based on the way the QP Recruitment team had dealt with me I just felt I could not trust anything they said.
Another reason why I turned down the offer was because I felt the cost of housing is likely to rise by at least 10% per year, if not more. This coupled with the fact that QP are not likely to increase salaries in line with the annual increase in cost of living.
Basically all things considered, for me it was not worth the upheaval for a job offering the same as I am currently earning.
I hope you have a better experience than mine.
Let us know how you get on.
Cheers
AA