Why ‘We’re a Family’ Is the Biggest Red Flag at Work
Chat with Khushi Mallya about moving from agency to client-side PR, navigating Dubai’s job market, company culture, buying property at 24, and personal finance.
In the latest episode of The Dollar Diaries, Khushie Mallya joins to talk about life in PR, moving from agency to client-side roles, navigating the UAE job market, and the financial decisions that helped her buy a home at 24. The conversation is an honest mix of career advice, practical tactics for networking and job hunting, and hard-won lessons about money, credit and work-life balance. Khushie’s story is a reminder that careers rarely follow a straight line.
Agency vs. Client-Side: Two Worlds, Different Paces
One of the episode’s clearest contrasts is the difference between agency life and client-side PR. Agencies are fast, chaotic and deadline-driven. Account teams juggle multiple clients who each feel their news is urgent — particularly around seasonal moments like Ramadan, Eid, or key holidays in the hospitality and retail sectors. That creates a kind of beautiful chaos: high energy, high stakes, and constant context-switching.
Moving to a client-side role, especially within a large organization, brought Khushie a different rhythm. Client-side roles can offer more breathing space because PR work is coordinated through external agencies; you spend less time pitching and more time aligning messaging, coordinating events, and handling cross-functional communication inside one business. The trade-off is less day-to-day contact with journalists and the media, which agency work tends to provide.
Key takeaways:
If you crave variety and a steep learning curve, agencies expose you to many industries and crisis-management scenarios.
If you prefer deeper domain knowledge, closer alignment with business objectives and steadier hours, client-side roles may suit you better.
Maintain media relationships regardless of your role — connections are currency in PR.
Timing, Networks and Job Hunting in the UAE
Khushie and the hosts dig into what makes the UAE job market unique: timing and networks are everything. Companies hire according to their own financial calendars. In many cases, hiring spikes toward the end of an organization’s financial year, making LinkedIn a valuable scouting tool if you know when to look.
But timing alone isn’t enough. Khushie and the hosts emphasize the primacy of connections in Dubai’s ecosystem. While many professionals in other markets swear by cold applications and optimized ATS-friendly CVs, in the UAE — like in many relationship-driven markets — introductions, mentors, former professors and ex-bosses open more doors than mass applications.
Realities and pitfalls:
LinkedIn can be opaque: many applicants are ghosted, and responses are inconsistent.
Networking is not just social nicety — it’s strategic. Reach out to people from target companies, identify hiring cycles and build relationships before roles open.
Beware of exploitative practices: unpaid trial projects, commission-only roles without a safety net, or companies that use temporary trial tasks as free labor are sadly common.
Practical tips:
Follow target companies on LinkedIn and note hiring patterns.
Use directed outreach: connect with hiring managers or team members in the department you want to join and ask about timelines and openings.
Prioritize relationships: one strong mentor or sponsor can change your career trajectory more reliably than 100 cold applications.
Visas, Salaries and the Cost-of-Living Trap
Khushie and the hosts discuss a blunt but vital truth for new arrivals to the UAE: don’t convert salaries into home-country currency and be misled by the apparent largesse. A salary that looks generous when converted to rupees (or other local currencies) may not meet the cost-of-living or visa expectations in Dubai. Many new migrants accept lower pay because they compare to local purchasing power at home — but such decisions can lead to precarity in an expensive city.
UAE employers also optimize costs by hiring people without visa expenses or benefits. Visa allocation — sometimes tied to office space — can restrict hiring even when companies can afford more staff. This makes the job market competitive and, at times, unfair for newcomers who accept lower pay.
What to watch out for:
Always assess salaries against local living costs, not foreign exchange conversions.
Ask about visa, health insurance and other benefits before accepting roles.
Beware commission-only models without a base salary. They may be lucrative, but they’re risky.
Financial Savvy: How Khushie Bought a Home at 24
One of the episode’s standout revelations: Khushie bought a one-bedroom apartment in Dubai Science Park at age 24. The path wasn’t magic — it was a combination of consistent saving, early work experience, family support and smart use of rental income.
She began working at 18 on modest pay and prioritized saving. Over time she saved a substantial down payment; her mother contributed to close the gap. They bought the flat and initially rented it out — the two years of rental income were then used to offset costs, allowing Khushie to move in later.
Lessons here:
Start saving early, even in small amounts. Compound effects and consistent discipline matter more than big, one-time deposits.
Family support can be a legitimate and ethical way to enter home ownership; treat it like a financial partnership with clear terms.
Renting out a purchased property can help service EMIs and provide breathing room until you decide to occupy it.
Credit, Buy-Now-Pay-Later and Financial Education
The hosts and Khushie explore credit cards and BNPL (buy-now-pay-later) apps like Tabby. Their consensus: credit can be an excellent tool when used responsibly — to earn points, build credit history and access perks — but it’s also a risky instrument if payments aren’t managed. BNPL schemes can feel tempting and appear harmless, but they alter the way banks and providers process transactions and can complicate cash flow when linked to credit cards.
More importantly, the conversation highlights a widespread gap: financial literacy. Even educated young professionals may lack clarity about taxes, credit mechanics, loan interest and long-term planning.
Practical points:
Use credit cards for perks and to build a credit history, but pay in full and on time to avoid interest traps.
Treat BNPL options cautiously; know whether they post as withdrawals or credit transactions and how fees/interest accrue.
Seek curated learning: start with a short reading list (The Intelligent Investor was recommended) and consult trusted analysts or booklists rather than relying on scattered online information.
Work-Life Balance, Social Life and Making Friends in Dubai
A recurring theme is social energy and loneliness in a transient city. Dubai’s cosmopolitan mix is both a blessing and a barrier: while you’ll meet people from everywhere, deep, lasting friendships can be harder to form because many residents are busy, transient or scattered across different neighborhoods.
Khushie’s experience of changing schools constantly as a child made meeting new people easier — but it didn’t eliminate the difficulty of forming long-term bonds. The hosts discuss community apps like Meetup and TimeOut’s social events, board game nights and niche clubs that help forge connections through shared interests.
How to build social capital:
Seek structured meetups (games nights, hobby groups, shared classes) rather than hoping to bump into friends organically.
Prioritize a few quality friendships over many superficial ones. Even amid transient social networks, a handful of meaningful relationships matters.
Set boundaries and protect downtime. PR and client-facing roles demand social energy; recharging is a necessity, not a luxury.
Mentorship, Company Culture and Red Flags
Towards the end of the episode, Khushie stresses the outsized importance of mentors and healthy company culture. A mentor who invests time and provides specific, constructive feedback can accelerate growth far more than generic praise. Conversely, micromanagement, managers who lack domain knowledge, or workplaces that romanticize “we’re a family” can be major red flags.
Green flags include trust, autonomy, honest feedback, and managers who take responsibility for mentees’ growth. Red flags include excessive micromanagement, performative culture talk that masks poor systems, and leaders who are disconnected from the work.
Career strategies:
Seek managers who give responsibility and constructive feedback.
If joining a company, ask about mentorship programs and career paths.
Watch for signs of micromanagement and whether promotions or growth are actually supported by training and sponsorship.
Build skill, save money, and invest in relationships
Khushie’s journey — from an agency lifer to a client-side PR professional who owns property and continues to invest in learning — is a clear blueprint for thoughtful career-building. The episode blends practical tactics (follow hiring cycles on LinkedIn, don’t confuse foreign currency value with local purchasing power, use BNPL and credit wisely) with deeper advice about the social architecture of success: mentors, networks, and timing.
For young professionals (especially internationals) moving to the UAE, the episode offers a grounded reminder:
Be strategic and patient in job hunting. Timing and connections matter.
Guard your finances: learn how credit and loans work before you lean on them.
Invest in relationships: mentors matter more than you think.
Prioritize well-being: work in PR is social energy-intensive, and protecting downtime will help your long-term performance.
Khushie’s story is less about a single triumph and more about compounding choices — small daily habits, consistent savings, and the courage to reach out and ask for help. That combination, more than luck, explains how she was able to buy a home at 24 and establish a steady career path. For anyone building a career in PR or navigating life in Dubai, this interview is textbook: keep learning, keep your networks active, and treat money as a set of tools, not magic.