THE PEARLS OF THE MIDDLE EAST What overseas luxury clubs can offer and how to be selected

This article is for you fellow trainers out there! If you are a superstar fitness professional who are constantly seeking for growth opportunities and life beyond "business-as-usual", this article is for You.

What the Middle East has to offer for top coaches

 ·      Carrier: working in a premium club is great for your CV, within international teams you will pick up plenty of new ideas and methods from all over the world.

·      Financial gains: earning potentials are extremely competitive amongst the region. In most cases, your income is tax free and banks are stable with good interest rates.

·      Fun: many of the worlds’ top airlines operate in the region, from Qatar and Dubai you can easily reach 150+ destinations right away, often on a discounted price.

·      Comfort: full expat packages contain paid fully furbished accommodation (or allowance), flights, paid leave, transport and health insurance. 

How many coaches are working in the region?

In short – plenty. Why? It would be unfair to compare the earnings in GCC with Western Europe. While there is a growing number of clubs opening each year, more and more trainers realise they are ready for a better opportunity. 

While competition is arising, applicants have to be able to demonstrate exceptional skillsets during the hiring process. Being able to highlight your personalities and unique selling points is key, to determine those you need to know your strengths. Where there is a competition, you need to be better than the crowd.

Where to start?

1. Build a lean CV

While you could say you are not a business executive, it is an important to have a tidy CV as it reveals much about you. It is one of the most significant documents to have, your life’s summary and deserves to be treated accordingly. Your personal info section should contain your full mobile number including country dialling code, current location/ time zone and your Whatsapp number. Cut out irrelevant info, use a stylish format and treat it with pride to attract great opportunities.

(Bonus tip: irrelevant stuff in your CV is considered to be junk. Since you’re applying for a fitness post, no need to display your grade schools, non-job-specific work experiences and job responsibilities as a coach, which does not add value to your application. What is even worse while you take other peoples’ time to try processing all this excess data, it might results important info to be overlooked.)

2. Be friend with (social) media

Since fitness job is pretty physical, it would be impossible to determine how you teach a class just by looking at your resume. This is when technology comes handy - you got the perfect tools to highlight your skills and impress your future employer! Take a few short videos about the different classes you teach. Think about the duration of 2-3 minutes/ video which is long enough to give an idea and easily can be transferred. Also be mindful about the overall quality of your recordings: you should be visible and audible at all times. Members do not agree with being recorded? Show off your problem solving skills and invite over friends (or colleagues) to have some fun. 

(Bonus tip: it is always easier to keep recording training videos while you are not in a hurry. Make it a habit to run a social media class once a month, and you will have authentic fun videos handy when needed!)

3. Show your colours

In our industry, personality plays a key role. Show yours! We all are unfinished life stories, how you interpret yours and interact with others’ will determine your growth together. Besides the obvious, ?training since our child hood” and ?being enthusiastic about fitness”, we all consider ourselves ?really good instructors”. The more you can highlight what makes you different from the rest of the crowd the more opportunities you are about to get!

(Bonus tip: if you are just there to please everyone, you will only make people bored. And what is even worse, you will make yourself burned out. We are naturally attracted to those who we can learn from, who has integrity and “personality”. Dive into your core and find your pearls to share with the world!)

4. Have a story to tell

We all learn life through our stories. What is yours? You came so far - being a fitness coach is no easy game. You probably burned out and had to pull yourself up multiple times, while working long hours at the gym you created unique ways to stay motivated. Did these challenges make you a better person? If so, how?

(Bonus tip: if your life was a movie, what kind of movie would it be? What are the treasures you found during the process? What fundamental life lessons made you stronger? Please note your interviewer might not going to ask you these questions. But literally go though them, you will feel empowered and regain integrity.)

5. Stay mindful, rather then mind-full

Sometimes the less is more. In an interview situation, always think about delivering value. If you just keep repeating the obvious ?I love my job” and ?I am a really good trainer” or ?I can teach everything” you did not get the concept of what an interview is about. There is no such instructor who can teach ?everything”, and if you say you’re a top trainer, you better be able to explain why. Your interviewer wants to hear what makes you different, rather than what makes you the same.

(Bonus tip: good trainers certainly know about the importance of breathing. If you can keep your heart rate under 115, your brain will be functioning more efficiently, accessing more data and finding the "right" answers. Take a few deep breaths, make yourself cantered, prepare some water next to you and, know your worth!)

6. Bonus Bonus tip

If you’re in a ready-for-a-challenge or job seeking situation, the better you know yourself the better you will impress others in therms of highlighting your talent, values, and natural gifts. Take a day out with yourself, have a mindful break and think about your life. Have a walk, have a self talk. 

Ultimately, it is not about to impress others, it’s about You.

Natasa Szoke