How to Pass a Job Interview in Dubai (What HR Actually Wants) | Jihan ElSaghir - HRBP, Bayer MENA

Hiring for diversity is often misunderstood. It’s not about ticking boxes or lowering standards. It’s about building a fair process that still hires the best person for the job. In this episode of Out of Office, Jihan ElSaghir, Regional HRBP - Bayer Middle East, shares an honest perspective on how diversity and inclusion actually play out in hiring decisions across the Middle East. From unconscious bias and skills-based hiring to why structure matters more than good intentions, Jihan breaks down what fair hiring really looks like and where organisations often get it wrong. Mark and Jihan talk about: ↳ Why fair and inclusive hiring is harder than most organisations admit ↳ How bias shows up long before candidates even reach interview stage ↳ Why HR insists on diverse shortlists and panel interviews ↳ The tension between diversity targets and hiring quality ↳ Why “gut feel” is one of the most expensive hiring tools ↳ The interview question candidates struggle with most and why honesty matters If you’ve ever questioned why you didn’t make it past an interview or wondered whether you were being considered as a diversity quota, this conversation will change how you think about hiring in the Middle East. Chapters 00:00:00 Opening: The Skills Revolution - How Middle East Hiring Escaped Stereotypes 00:04:00 The DNI Evolution: From Gender Quotas to Industry Diversity 00:06:20 The Diversified Pool Mandate: Starting Right to End Right 00:10:17 Beyond the CV: The Three-Person Panel That Eliminates Bias 00:14:22 The I vs We Problem: When Team Players Can't Show Individual Value 00:16:34 The New Skills Checklist: AI Fluency and Change Resilience 00:18:16 The Compromise Trap: When Desperation Leads to Bad Hires 00:19:11 AI in Recruitment: Human Judgment Over Robotic Screening 00:21:07 The Gen Z Challenge: Purpose, Flexibility, and 10,000 Euro Education Budgets 00:25:26 Closing: The Professionalism Surprise - When Gen Z Outperforms Millennials Listen on: Spotify: Apple:  Connect with Jihan:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jihan-elsaghir-76a40139/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jihan_elsaghir/ Follow Our Host: Mark Timms: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marktimmsgrg/