Which consulting firms are still recruiting in Middle East

Coronavirus covid19 Middle East recruiting
New answer on Mar 30, 2020
5 Answers
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Anonymous A asked on Mar 30, 2020

Hi Community,

I wish to understand which consulting firms are still recruiting heavily in Middle East market - given the COVID crisis. If someone has an insider view, then that would be absolutely wonderful to understand.

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Luca
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replied on Mar 30, 2020
BCG |NASA | SDA Bocconi & Cattolica partner | GMAT expert 780/800 score | 200+ students coached

Dear anonymous,

There is no company that is recruiting as much as before the COVID crisis. I know that BCG is still trying to move forward with the interviews, using video calls, and that is one of the most active (in Italy they have also started some personalised recruiting campaign for the quarantine period).
Anyway I would suggest to apply asap, the only risk is to be added to the pipeline. Waiting will not increase your chances to get an interview, since the effects of the COVID will last for at least some months and the pipeline of candidates will be huge after these months without interviews.

Best,
Luca

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Clara
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replied on Mar 30, 2020
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

The only thing you can know for sure at this point is that all processes have been moved to VC, and this will continue to be like this for weeks.

This said, for recruiting, the landscape is changing daily.

Touching base with colleagues and coachees, there is not a hiring freeze for MBB in ME. However, interviews are being rescheduled and pushed back -not cancelled.

Do you alredy have an interview scheduled? Or are you trying to assess your posibilities of MBB in ME vs. other geographies that could be less affected?

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

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Anonymous A on Mar 30, 2020

Thanks for the answer. Trying to assess the possibility of interview in ME.

Daniel
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replied on Mar 30, 2020
McKinsey / ex-Interviewer at McKinsey / I will coach you to rock those interviews

Hi! 2 insights for Dubai from my coachees:

  • My BCG coachee for Dubai was successful in the first round and the second round had to happen ~2 weeks ago –> it got postponed until further notice (no date specified)
  • My McKinsey coachee for Dubai had to have an interview ~3 weeks ago –> also got postponed until further notice (no date specified)

The Middle East seems like one of the most conscious regions in terms of recruiting freeze –> other regions slowed down the recruiting, but it seems like the Middle East almost stopped it completely.

Best,

Daniel

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Anonymous A on Mar 30, 2020

Thanks for the answer. Looks like no recruitment in Middle East now.

(edited)

Anonymous replied on Mar 30, 2020

Hey A,

Over the past 6 weeks I helped several mentees to receive several from BCG, Bain, Strategy & (2 mentees) and RB in Dubai.

So here is the latest information I have:

All companies have slowe down the hiring efforts at the moment and moved the hiring to the online format - Skype interviews and phone calls.

  • BCG: still hiring, but the number of opened positions reduced significantly. March interviews got postponed to April-July
  • Strategy &: contniue hiring but with a reduced effort. Interviews postponed to May-June
  • Kearney: interviews still take place even with some delay
  • Roland Berger: currently assesses the situation. Promised to get back to the candidates by mid April with new dates for the interviews
  • Oliver Wymann - all interviews postponed until further notice
  • McKinsey - hiring freeze, current interviews postponed until the further notice
  • Bain - very slow hiring continues

My recommendation at this moment - speed up, utilize your network or network of others to get referred and secure your interview asap!

I am happy to help you with referrals and preparations to your online interviews.

Cheers,
André

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Anonymous A on Mar 30, 2020

Thanks for the answer. Good to learn about each company separately.

Anonymous on Mar 31, 2020

if you need deeper insights, let me know. I am closely monitoring this market and have latest news

Anonymous B on Apr 09, 2020

How about Monitor Deloitte?

saleh replied on Mar 30, 2020

Hi,

I just had my 3rd interview with Kearney today. My process started in Feb and after my interview with the partner today I asked the question on recruitment and he mentioned that there will be some sort of delay either in the process or starting dates but is directly correlated with the response from the region on whether projects are merely paused or cancelled.

So far he mentioned projects are just on pause with some still carrying on with activity that can proceed without being on the ground. He didn't mention anything specific about my situation but I proactively mentioned that I wouldn't be able to start till Sept anyway.

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Anonymous A on Mar 30, 2020

Hi, congrats on completing the interviews. This inside information really helps - thanks for posting. It feels more like wait and assess situation right now

Luca gave the best answer

Luca

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