need urgent information to help decide on job offer
Hi everyone,
I just got a job offer to work in the qbri institute in Doha.
It sounds like a fantastic opportunity as this is a new research centre with a cancer unit which is my area of expertise.
The salary seems OK to me and they will arrange accomodation for me.
However,I was offered only a 1 year contract.
I'm a bit anxious as I have never visited Qatar before and find a move from UK with my fiance/husband quite a big step for 1 year.
- What are your experiences?
- Should we visit before moving?
- Does anyone have experience with/connection within the QBRI? I have tried to contact the person who interviewed me to get some answers to my many questions but have not had any reply in over 1 week now. The only person that I seem to be able to get hold off is someone within HR who can not give me much information.
- Is it common to get short contracts in Qatar or in other words is that their version of a probation period?How do the future prospects look like in Doha?
Any advice/tips are welcome as I need to decide by this Thursday.
Thanks everyone,
Julie
That sounds much better!
Mandi
Hi everyone,
Thanks for all your replies.
I finally got hold of someone within the Department and they informed the employer of my questions.
So I got a phone call this morning of the employer and he has been able to answer my questions and make me feel more at ease with the job offer.
The initial contract is a one-year contract but I was assured that I don't need to worry about continuation. Also the institute is still under construction and I would first start in his lab in Paris and then move to Qatar once the building works are finished.
Regarding my fiance,he asked me for his CV as he is also a scientist so who knows ... he might get an offer too.
So overall it looks like a go! :-)
in my own experience, i was offered a contract of 2 years (i was interviewed and hired in my home country), but, i was kept on being renewed of my contract every year... if you should ask your HR, then it's about the renewal..
And you MUST find out about the details involving your husband. He cannot come unless you are married and you have to be offered married status for you even to have housing and airfare that includes him. Be aware that the future for an expat in Doha is always uncertain. People come and go with stunning regularity.
Mandi
That is a little short. The actual probation period will be 3-6 months. Try to contact someone else in your department. You can find everyone's name on-line. Google and see if there are any other employees who have posted about QBRI. It's a relatively new facility. I'd be somewhat concerned that you weren't invited to Qatar for an interview, it might indicate that your job is lower level than you'd like.
Seize the opportunity. Good Luck and welcome to Qatar.
Generally the contracts are done for one to three years, and they are easily renewed before expiry.
However if the employer is working on project to project basis, and they have one year project, they would sign one year contract with their employees.
Pl mention the full of QBRI, in order to gather more information on them.