bain riyadh - spooked by coffee chat

Hi there, 

I wouldn’t let one coffee chat scare you out of applying. I’d treat what you heard as useful information about how competitive the office may be, but not as a reason to self-reject.

What I would do is run two tracks in parallel:

• Maximise your chances through the online application anyway. Refine the CV as much as possible before applying. Make sure the strongest signals are immediately visible: academic performance, recognisable employers or institutions where relevant, leadership, quantified impact and anything that makes your profile distinctive. If someone only spends 20–30 seconds on it, they should immediately understand why you are a strong candidate.
• Keep networking until you get a stronger internal connection. Don’t stop after one consultant. Reach out to people across different seniorities and backgrounds in the Riyadh office. The objective is not simply to collect coffee chats, but eventually to build enough rapport with someone who knows your profile well enough to support your application internally.

A few practical points:

1. Don’t ask for a referral in the first message. Have a real conversation first. Ask about their path, the office, recruiting and what profiles tend to do well. If the conversation goes well, the referral conversation often becomes much more natural.
2. Prioritise quality over random volume. Ten highly personalised messages to relevant people are usually better than fifty generic ones.
3. Try different seniorities. Consultants can give you recent process insight, while Managers/Principals may have a different perspective and potentially more influence internally.
4. Do not wait indefinitely for a referral before applying if there is a real deadline. Improve the CV, continue networking aggressively and apply when ready.

So I would not conclude “I have almost zero chance.” I would conclude: the office may be very selective, so I need both a very strong application and better networking than the average candidate.

That is a much more useful problem to solve.

Best,
Carlos

While I cannot speak to the Riyadh office in particular, a lot of what he says holds true. In the age of AI, anyone can submit hundreds of applications regardless of whether they qualify for the role or not. With this context, many companies largely rely on outreach or on applying severe filters on their inbound interest to only filter for specific names/educational institutions etc. 

It is a wise idea to network and leverage personal connections when applying for roles to ensure you get maximum traction.

Best,

Udayan

Strategy Consulting is very competitive since forever. They are very professional so you should hear back from them within the communicated time frame. So it is the same as it was many years ago: prepare your CV, focus on that in a first them. Do not think about the Case yet. Too many people train cases without even having a spot in the process. So obsess about your CV and start as early as possible to curate it.

Hi there, 

I can see why you would be spooked. Sorry to hear about this interaction. 

I can't validate whether it's true or not. But what I would recommend you to do is speak with others from the office. 

That, and making sure that you have an application strategy that is designed in a smart way and takes into account your chances of passing screening with specific offices.

Sharing here a guide that might help you with thinking through this:

• • Expert Guide: Build A Winning Application Strategy 

Best,

Cristian

Hey there :)

I wouldn’t take one consultant’s experience as a definitive picture of the entire hiring process. Referrals can certainly help your application get noticed, but that doesn’t mean applying through the website is pointless. I’d still apply if you’re interested in the office and make an effort to connect with a few more people.

Regarding the comments about nationality and hiring pauses, I’d be careful about drawing conclusions without confirmation from recruiting. You could reach out to a recruiter directly and ask about current hiring needs and eligibility for your profile.

I know this can be discouraging, but I wouldn’t rule yourself out based on one coffee chat.

Best, Alessa :)

Hi,

What is true is that the region has cut intake quite heavily over the last months, so Riyadh is much tighter than it was; Doha is the office that looks a bit more active right now.

On the nationality point I have no way to confirm it, but I would not turn one comment into a hiring policy.

Best of luck,

Franco