Hi there,
Ok, so simply by coming to Sharm you are almost guaranteeing a busy dive centre with plenty of experience, which is great. I came out here over three years ago with the intention of doing my IDC followed by a few months' intensive experience... as I said that was three years ago... I simply stayed! The main dive centres are as follows:
Ocean College
Emperor
Sinai Divers
Red Sea College
Camel
Colona
Verna Lau
and
Oonas
There are of course many many more however you will find the smaller the dive center, the less inclined you will be to work for them if you get my drift. All the big centres follow an accepted level of dive safety (set out by a board called the CDWS) and adhere strictly to the PADI standards instruction-wise (I know everyone is meant to, but have heard stories to the contrary, not that I have witnessed it myself).
I would come out armed with a good financial buffer as you probably won't get work straight away. Most dive centres don't recruit ahead of time, although I would strongly agree that by dropping them all a line with your credentials you can at least introduce yourself ahead of your arrival.
As for work permits, these are a grey area, yes everyone is meant to have them, but they are a little like gold dust, and I would say that many of the foreign instructors here simply have a resident's visa which can be bought in El Tor (about an hour away) within the first month of your arrival. Most people can buy a month's tourist visa at the airport on arrival, which will suffice initially, while you find your feet.
Have you been to Sharm before? It really is quite an amazing place. The diving outstanding (if a little too popular on occasions) and the season lasts all year. We have no monsoon, and even the winter, whilst challenging and cool (for us), can provide some excellent diving. The sun shines most days (with a few cloudy ones in winter, and even a few hours of rain each year) and facilities here are pretty comprehensive, with plenty of wifi cafes if you are unlucky enough to have one of the apartments without broadband.
As for the languages, yes you will find it much easier if you do speak more than just English, but some centres do have mostly English guests, so not everyone requires multilingual instructors.
If you want more info, feel free to pm or email me. Good luck.