Hi PrepLounge community,
I am a second-year MBA student at a US B-school. I am wondering if McKinsey or BCG offer full-time headcounts in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, etc., as normal years?
If there are FT headcounts available, does MBB Middle East recruitment require a heavy networking process like the MBB US offices?
What about the application due dates?
Many Thanks.
(edited)
Hi there,
generally speaking McK and especially BCG have been hiring fairly aggressively across those offices, as project demand has been strong to date. Note that total numbers are not as strong as say 1-2 years ago, as there have been significant amounts of internal (temp) transfers from places like US (business not doing so well) and Russia (MBB offices closed down). Nevertheless, hiring still healthy.
For Bain, I see they have cut down hiring more significantly, but still see some candidates / my coachees going through the funnel successfully.
In terms of networking - would always suggest you come with strong referrals, especially when the firms are not on your campus + you try to switch geography. Is it a MUST? No. Will it help significantly? Yes.
In terms of deadlines - if the ME offices recruit at your school, will need to stick to those deadlines. If not, there are not fixed deadlines.
Hope this helps. Feel free to reach out for a chat, if you'd like to learn more about how to best tackle this in your case. Have a few similar cases to yours in my portfolio at the moment.
Regards, Andi
Hello,
I'm not totally sure what you mean by full-time headcounts here - are you asking for the total number of full-time employees / consultants? If so, you could probably find that information or some estimates thereof on the firms' websites.
If you are asking whether those firms are currently recruiting for full-time positions, you should also see that information on firms' websites and application boards. Application due dates would be posted there as well. But yes, MBB ME offices are hiring in this cycle.
Regarding networking, the answer is yes - networking is an important part of the recruiting process in ME offices just as it is in US offices.
Thanks Sofia, yes I mean the number of associate level positions open for recruitment.
Hi Philip!
About a third of my applicants target ME so happy to provide a perspective.
Yes, ME offices are still hiring - I have several candidates interviewing there at the moment.
What is changing though (in response to regulatory chances in the area) are in terms of the nationalities they are willing to hire. They are getting stricted about hiring foreigners at below manager roles.
I'd recommend you start networking with consultants in your target ME offices and figure out if the nationality topic is likely to be a problem. This conversation can also get you a referral. Sharing a guide below on how to have this chat:
To clarify your point from above - no, ME is not as intense with referrals as the US, but it still helps to have a referral.
Aside from this, make sure that you apply broadly to diversify against this risk. This has to do with the number of firms you apply to, where, when and how. More on this below:
Best,
Cristian
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You won't find public headcounts, but networking can unveil a sense of this.
