Should I apply to a delivery role at McKinsey Riyadh as an alternative entry point?

Question

Hello, I applied to a generalist role at McKinsey ME around two months ago but haven’t received any response. From what I understand, not hearing back within two to four weeks of submission often suggests that the application may be on hold or deprioritized.

Given the uncertainty around next steps and not wanting to remain idle, I’m considering applying to a delivery role in the same office as an alternative entry point, with the long-term goal of transitioning into a generalist consulting role. Note: I have several years of specialized experience.

My question is, do you think this is a sensible approach? And if so, would applying to a delivery role have any impact on my previous generalist application or raise concerns with the recruiting team about my focus or clarity of career goals?

Alternatively, I might be interpreting the delay incorrectly, so I’d appreciate your input.

Answer 1

Hi there,

I understand how frustrating it might be for you to not hear anything on your application for the past two months. However, this is not a sign that your application has been deprioritized but might be a delay related to everyone being pushing to close their projects before ramp-down by end of year. Usually projects would be suspended by the last week of the year as all consultants take a mandatory vacation during xmas/new year holidays and then resume again by 2nd week of January. For all I know, your application might be queued for processing awaiting picking up by a recruiter in due time.

Applying for a delivery consultant role would not impact your integrative consultant application, but you need to understand that this is usually a different job with a focus on implementation and not strategy.

Having worked in McKinsey Riyadh office for 4 years as a Sr. EM and having been involved in the recruitment process across the region, I would be happy to share more insights with you.

Please reach out if helpful.

Sherif

Answer 2

That waiting game is brutal, especially in the ME where recruiting cycles can be highly volatile based on local project demand. You are interpreting the delay correctly: if two months have passed since your initial generalist application with no communication, it is extremely likely that the submission has been dispositioned, meaning it was filtered out in the initial review or placed on an indefinite hold due to current headcount limits.

Applying to the Delivery track now will not negatively impact your previous Generalist application because that file is effectively closed for the current cycle. The more critical question is whether Delivery serves as the back door you hope it is. The reality inside the firm is that Generalist (core consulting) and Specialist/Delivery roles exist on completely separate career tracks with distinct management, compensation, and promotion paths. While a transfer is technically possible, moving from a Delivery role to the Generalist track is exceedingly difficult—it almost always requires the candidate to re-apply and pass the full generalist interviewing process, often waiting 12-18 months just for the opportunity, and the success rate is very low.

Therefore, applying to the Delivery role is only a sensible approach if you are genuinely committed to the responsibilities and career trajectory of that specialization. If your non-negotiable goal remains core generalist strategy consulting, then taking the Delivery track is usually a multi-year detour that rarely leads to the target destination. I would strongly advise using this time instead to strategically apply to other MBB or Tier 2 firms that have a more immediate need or to dedicate time to mastering the case interview methodology for your next attempt at McKinsey's generalist track in a different region or in the next cycle.

All the best!

Answer 3

Hi there,

If your goal is to get into McK and the role is less critical, then applying to Delivery role is sensible.

But do note that delivery role and strategy role are 2 separate different tracks, and it is not easy to switch from delivery to strategy (technically possible, but low success rate). So if your goal is to do the strategy type of role, then this path might not be the best.

Best,

Emily

Answer 4

Hey there!

I am sure it will not harm your generalist application, and recruiters usually don’t see it as a lack of focus. It is a different track, though, and moving from delivery to generalist is possible but not guaranteed, so only choose it if you would genuinely be fine starting there. A slow response on the generalist role in ME is very common, so the delay alone does not mean a rejection. If you want, you can reach out to recruiting to check your status before submitting another application.

best, Alessa :)

Answer 5

Hi,

Personally I would not go down this route. I had initially considered it (given I came from a non-traditional background and had zero internship experience in college), but I was glad I did not. On hindsight and after several years supporting recruiting efforts in MBB, it is much better to try and land a consulting/generalist role, even if it is in T2.

That was actually the path I took: T2 -> MBB.

All the best!

Answer 6

Hi there,

Not hearing back that quickly can be pretty normal, especially in the Middle East where timelines move slowly, so I would not assume a rejection yet. Applying to a delivery role can make sense if it genuinely fits your background and you would be happy doing that work, but it is not always viewed as a straightforward stepping stone into a generalist role. Recruiters mainly look for clarity and consistency, so as long as you can clearly explain why the delivery role also makes sense for your experience and goals, it usually is not a red flag. If possible, it might also be worth checking in with recruiting to ask where your generalist application stands before submitting another one.