Rejected by McKinsey Riyadh Without Interview

Hi Meshal,

I hope you’re doing well!

I have both the local context of the office as well as the McKinsey background to support your consulting application.

There are a few things that come to mind looking at your CV and cover letter. The most major point is that it does not really touch upon the nature of work within consulting firms and reads as too technical for typical consulting roles.

It is likely that recruiters are unable to see the importance of the projects you worked on despite their relevance due to the language used in the CV. The cover letter also lacks the depth to really highlight your understanding of consulting and how your experience bridges with it. 

I hope this gets you thinking and I’m more than happy to support you for a more in-depth review.

Best,

Yousef

(edited)

Hi there,

Sorry to hear!

This could be related to two things:
 

1. Weak current demand. While McK Saudi is still hiring, they do so at a much slower pace. Demand for new consultants is low, yet the supply of candidates is very high as many are trying their luck in the region at the moment. As a result, your chances go down (see next point).

2. While you have a solid resume, there are a few things that potentially put you at a disadvantage compared to other applicants. A few pointers:

• No master's degree - many who apply have one
• A US university, yet no target school - many applicants come from Ivey League and other target schools in Europe
• Less relevant work experience and no big brand name company - quite technical, not focused on strategic and analytical topics

All the best,

Florian

Hi Meshal,

First of all, I am sorry to hear about the rejection from McKinsey!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your situation:

• First of all, although this may not be a comfort to you, the current hiring situation in the consulting industry (and any other industry) is not particularly good, not even in the Middle East.
• Moreover, I would advise you to have both your resume and cover letter reviewed by an experienced coach like myself. While they are both solid, there is still a lot of room for improvement.

You can find more on this topic here: How to deal with a rejection from a consulting company.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare your future applications, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

My take on this suggests the following reasons:

1. Slow recruiting in Riyadh right now
2. Not a target university
3. No “brand name” in your experience
4. Strong focus on technical issues, zero business experience, zero mentions of business-related topics, not even on the cover letter

I have 4 possible reasons:

• Low demand right now - companies are being choosy
• In which case, they would prefer more experienced candidates and you are weak on that aspect
• Referral vs no referral
• Can still improve the quality of the CV and CL to increase chances.

Happy to help out in sharpening your application for your future attempts. Let me know.

Both your resume and cover letter can be improved a lot. 

Happy to help you with this. Send me a message and let's talk.

Best,

Alberto