They are looking for Argentinian professionals to work in luxury hotels and restaurants for the Qatar World Cup: they pay up to $ 1,200

Carlos Díaz returned to his native Mar del Plata two years ago. He defines himself as a human resources professional with more than two decades of experience in the hospitality industry in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. He claims to be an international recruiter, head hunter and multicultural management specialist. He had spent four years in Equatorial Guinea, West Africa, with two hotel openings for the Hilton and Kempinski chains, before arriving in Qatar as director of human resources for two luxury hotels. He now works from home looking for candidates for his portfolio of clients in the Middle East..

It has active projects in Doha, the capital of Qatar. Also in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Dubai and Kuwait. But in Qatar, in a year, two months and 27 days, the World Cup will begin. In the commercial projections of luxury hotels and restaurants, time is running out. The prospect of strengthening your staff is ambitious and immediate. The trial has already started. For now, they need a quota of 50 professionals. By the middle of next year, on the eve of the World Cup, there will be more jobs available. Díaz is encouraged to predict that in 2022 they will ask him for between 300 and 500 positions to fill, at least.

“What we are looking for now are initial positions in what gastronomy is: waiters, waitresses, restaurant receptionists, hotel receptionists, kitchen stations, chefs. We are looking for people who want to go to work in the Middle East. We do not work with three and four star hotels, only with luxury and five star hotels to find out where our candidates are going, ”explained Carlos.

The profile is precise: It doesn’t matter if it’s a man or a woman, neither age. It must be, yes, people traveling alone. Therefore, applicants are generally young people. The exclusive requirement is a very good command of English. “Although the official language of these countries is Arabic, the language used in all areas is English. In the supermarket, on the posters, everything is written in Arabic and English, ”he said. The other determining condition is professional experience: a minimum of two years of verifiable practice is required in high-level companies..

“These are formal jobs, not temporary,” said Díaz. These are open-ended jobs: one year minimum and three years maximum, which is what people usually stay in one place. It is a formal job in which contracting companies cover everything: visa, round trip tickets, accommodation, meals, uniform and round trip transportation to work. The candidate does not have to invest in anything, it is enough to have his passport up to date and to present a negative PCR before taking the plane”.

The working hours are nine hours with lunch, six days a week. Salaries vary from $ 600 to $ 1,200 (plus tip), depending on the position to be held: “These are salaries excluding charges, net salaries,” he said. With this amount of money, one could live well since the company covers the rest of the expenses. They are expensive places to live. Then it’s up to everyone to decide how they manage the money ”. The recruiter suggested that what professionals usually do is put in years of work to save and capitalize.

Since he founded his consulting firm PHRS (At first it was called People HR Solutions) Two years ago Carlos Díaz had already recruited at least fifteen Latin American citizens. The visa process takes thirty days, so each applicant would emigrate recently within two months, but not before receiving training on the tasks and behaviors to be performed in a different society and culture.

Díaz, who started his career as a receptionist at the Sheraton Hotel in Mar del Plata and who also worked at the Costa Galana in the seaside resort and at Llao Llao in Bariloche, now focuses his agenda on finding Latin American profiles. He says there is a great demand for professionals from Central and South American countries. “Throughout the region, there is a strong culture of international tourism. All Latin American professionals are very well trained through experience and academic training, and they also have a very good level of English. But the most interesting are the behavioral characteristics that we Latin Americans have in terms of the warmth with which we serve customers and the empathy we generate with the customer. I say this from experience, having been on the other side of the office to select staff: this is not seen in other cultures. He saw the differences with the Asian or European candidates. Latin America has a different way of connecting with the customer. And that, today, is in great demand, ”he analyzed.

Because? The reasons are due to the way of being and to the expansion of the gastronomic offer of its customers: “They choose us for our culture and our idiosyncrasies. Wherever you go in Latin America, you will feel right at home. The attention is very good. In other cities around the world, attention is correct. There is no such heat as we show. In addition, all the luxury hotels in the Gulf countries have Latin American restaurants, whether Peruvian, Brazilian, Argentinian or Mexican. Latin American cuisine is very fashionable ”.

Latin Americans, he warned, are coveted in the hospitality and food industry, but they’re not the only foreigners working in Gulf countries. In his experience as a director of human resources for hotels in the Middle East, there were a thousand employees of over 50 nationalities. In November 2022, the month of the next FIFA World Cup, a window of multiculturalism will once again be inscribed in Qatar.

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