Sheena Cheekhooree : prevailing over hurdles to reach top position in Dubai 

After searching and trying to find her way, she finally found her true profession two years back. Sheena Cheekhooree has been working as Human Resource Manager in a luxury hotel on the world renowned Palm Jumeirah Island, Dubai. Having at heart employees’ welfare, she decided to settle in the country. She shares with us her successful pathway, life and job prospects in Dubai. 

Nothing is achieved by sitting down and crossing one’s arms. It demands courage, sacrifice and hard work to fulfil your dream and find your true calling. Since she was a child, Sheena always tried to search the vocation she was made for. “Growing up, I did not really have a specific job in mind. I wanted to be a doctor at one point and then a baker and have my own cake shop, but clearly, that did not happen,” she utters. 

Following her secondary education in Mauritius and her finance degree in the UK, Sheena came back to the motherland to pursue her career in banking. However, she soon realized that she was not made for the finance and banking world. “I came across Vatel Mauritius (International Hospitality Management School) and decided to pursue my Master’s degree in a totally different field. Vatel’s program was very interesting whereby every six months, you need to complete a 6-month internship to validate your academic (theory) classes. That was very appealing to me. This is how I got my first internship in Dubai and I loved it so much that I eventually ended up going back to the same place,” she shares.

The young lady decided to do her Master’s in International Hotel Management. It is when she started her internships that she discovered and developed a greater liking for the human resource field. “I even tried Revenue Management but then switched back to Human Resources when I realized that this was really where I wanted to be. This was one of the biggest advantages of my studies considering I really got to experience the different fields within the hospitality industry before making a final decision.”
Before permanently settling in Dubai, Sheena had the opportunity to work in Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah. It’s been two years since she took the job as Human Resource Manager in a luxury hotel on the famous Palm Jumeirah Island. “The hotel I work for has different branches all over the United Arab Emirates (UAE). I started my career as HR Assistant and then moved up to HR Manager with hard work and dedication within three to four years.” She shares that everything has been going great in her work so far. “There is never a dull moment when you need to handle 34 different nationalities within a staff comprising 400 members. You keep learning everyday about the different issues and laws which are very specific in UAE and how to go about them and how to tackle each situation individually.”

Achievements and challenges

Sheena reveals that one major achievement in her career so far is her currently working on the pre-opening of the Residences of the hotel she works for. “We are acquiring another 80 rooms and I am in charge of recruiting around 100 people by the end of February 2019, with room and board and arrange everything to make them feel most welcomed and comfortable. It is also my responsibility to book their tickets, make their visa arrangements and make sure it all complies with the Dubai laws. In addition to this, another achievement is that I have built a team that I really like to work with. I know I can trust them when the pressure gets intense and I am quite proud of that.”

The Human Resource Manager states the one of the biggest challenges that she has faced in her career is handling the difference in work culture and ethics of the various nationalities. “As Mauritians, we are used to a certain level of work and we can differentiate easily when something is right or wrong ethically. Being in the HR field in Dubai, you can often come across some cases whereby choices and decisions made go entirely against what you believe in or what you have learned. Each case is different and needs to be treated accordingly. The key is to listen first and try to understand how the other person is thinking and what are the factors which can lead them to take a specific action. The more you deal with those kinds of situations, the better you get at handling them. I can confidently now say that I am now comfortable in dealing with different situations involving people from various nationalities, while making them feel at ease.”

She adds that her profession has enabled her to learn an important value, which is treating people with dignity and respect. “They always say that you should treat people the way you would want to be treated and I think that this is very accurate for me. I deal with a lot of people, from pot washers to General Managers and I am proud to say that I give the same treatment and respect to everyone in the organisation. I have learned that everyone in an organisation plays a crucial role and this allows the hotel operations go as smoothly as possible and to effectively achieve our ultimate goal, which is making guests happy.” 

Besides her job as HR Manager, Sheena also has an entrepreneurial flair. She has set up a soap business with her life partner Freddy de Brou. “Living in different countries throughout my life has made me realize that Mauritian products are mostly inexistent on the international scene. By creating Colour Soap, which is a 100% Mauritian brand, with my husband, we really want to change this. It is a project which is very special to us in so many aspects. We really believe that we can make a difference and make Mauritius better known for its craftsmanship and not just as an exotic destination. We have so many talented people with exciting ideas and projects. We really need to push this side of Mauritius more towards our international audience and I think Colour Soap is promoting this.”

Job prospects in Dubai

The Human Resource Manager shares that Dubai remains one of the most attractive countries when it comes to the job market. However, she explains, “it is important to know that there are mostly entry level to mid-career jobs which are available, especially in hotels. As HR in hotels, we recruit mostly people with 1 to 2 years of experience for entry level positions. For managerial positions, we absolutely need people with UAE experience and with around 4-5 years of experience in the specific field.”

Sheena reveals that good paying jobs in Dubai are relative from person to person. “For example, for a position as receptionist, hotels normally offer around Rs 18,000 as basic salary. That does not include up-selling incentives and tips. On top of the basic salary, we also provide everything else for you such as accommodation, transportation from your accommodation to the hotel and vice versa, all your meals in the staff canteen, health insurance and return air tickets back to your home country every 1 to 2 years, depending on your grade.” 

When it comes to the most demanding job type in Dubai, the Human Resource Manager explains that jobs within the operations are the most in demand. “Guest facing jobs such as waiters, receptionists, guest relations agents and so on are normally what we mostly look for. There are obviously jobs within the administrative departments but they are rarer and require compulsory UAE experience.” 

What field does she advise the young Mauritians to choose if they dream of working in Dubai? Sheena underlines that it is very difficult for a youth to choose a career path as soon as he/she finishes school. “We are not well equipped to decide for our whole lives just at 17- or 18-years-old. I myself got into different careers before finally settling on what I really wanted to do. I would advise the youth to choose whatever makes them happy and not choose because of what your parents want you to do or because you will always have a job in a specific field. At the end of the day, you need to choose something fulfilling, something you will not be bored with 3 to 4 years down the line.”

She does not hide that Dubai is indeed one of the most expensive countries to live in. She reveals that there is a good standard of living but one really needs to be careful to not live excessively. “Dubai is designed for you to earn good money but also for you to spend that money. If you are not careful, it is very easy to spend your whole salary and not make any savings. You also need to know that there is no pension scheme available there. What you make now is what you get when you retire. It is therefore very important to save for the future. Apart from this, Dubai has a very easy life. Everything is so easily available that everything from your laundry and even your groceries get delivered to your door within two hours, maximum. It is easy to get used to this lifestyle but again, you need to really differentiate between real life and what seems to be a fairy tale,” she utters.