Hello,
I have a summer undergraduate internship at a top consulting firm in Dubai. Recently, Saudi announced that it will halt consulting contracts for some time.
Do you think return offers will be impacted or will it not matter that much considering returning interns start next year rather than now?
Also will it affect full time hiring for undergrads in Dubai?
Thanks
Hello there,
Congratulations on securing your consulting internship in Dubai — that’s already a significant achievement. Internships are often even more competitive than full-time roles, especially in a slower market, so you’ve already cleared an important hurdle.
In most firms, internship candidates are typically prioritized for full-time opportunities because they’ve already gone through the interview process and gained firsthand experience with the team and the work. That gives you a strong advantage compared to external candidates later on.
Of course, the current hiring freezes and delayed contracts may impact the pace of new hiring in the short term. But ultimately, firms still need consultants as long as projects continue to come in. In many cases, it becomes more a question of timing than a complete stop in hiring.
Overall, I think you’re in a very good position. Focus on making the most of your internship, doing consistently strong work, and building solid relationships with your team. That will give you the best possible chance of securing a return offer.
Wishing you all the best!
Difficult to tell; nobody has a crystal ball. However, my gut feeling is that interns with return offers won't be impacted, since firms cannot completely stop the hiring pipeline without creating long-term issues for the consulting hierarchy pyramid.
In my opinion, the most impacted areas are more likely to be external hiring, especially undergraduate full-time recruiting and senior lateral hires.
So I would expect firms to become more selective overall, but still try to preserve at least the intern-to-full-time conversion pipeline.
Hope this helps.
Best,
Franco
hey!
The Saudi freeze will slow some project work, but return offers for Dubai interns next year are usually safe because firms plan those separately from short‑term market swings. It may make full‑time undergrad hiring slightly tighter, but not dramatically, Dubai still has strong demand and can shift work to UAE, Qatar, or other GCC markets. Overall, it’s a soft headwind, not a crisis.
Best, Alessa
The Saudi pause mostly affects public sector and ministry work in Riyadh. Private sector and sovereign wealth fund work continues. Dubai offices serve a broader UAE and regional client base, so direct impact is limited.
On return offers. Return offers for summer interns are decided on individual performance. If you perform well, the offer is likely. The broader 2026 GCC market is tighter than 2023, so rates may be slightly lower, but still solid.
On full-time hiring for undergrads in Dubai. Tighter than past years. Saudisation pushes junior hiring to Riyadh.
Focus on execution this summer. Build relationships. Apply to other firms in parallel for full-time.
Good luck.
Impossible to say.
In most cases, freezes concern hiring new employees, not existing contracts or offers.
Even so, it's hard to tell. In difficult times, most firms try and figure out anything that they can do to ensure they survive.
You could look into fallback options in case the internship gets postponed.
You could also reach out to them to clarify whether they think internships will be affected by this freeze.
Best,
Cristian
