Hello! Does anyone know if McKinsey is hiring for its Dubai and Riyadh offices nowadays?

Hi there, 

Middle East offices are hiring, but your intuition is correct - they would first contact you for the office where you are based in / where your home country is. 

You can of course say you are exclusively interested in Dubai or Riyadh, but undoubtedly your best chances of getting into consulting, in your case, would be in Pakistan. This is something I would also double-check with the recruiter if I were you (and it is a fair question to ask). 

So it is a matter of trade-offs on what matters more and risk appetite (location, but lower chances or the job itself). 

Hope this helps, 

Ariadna 

Hi there,

Yes, I have candidates for both offices in the pipeline at the moment. They are hiring yet the process is a bit slower than usual.

It's likely a combination of both factors you mentioned though as demand for Middle East offices is currently higher than the supply of jobs.

I would engage the local HR and discuss the situation openly with them. If they only offer you a position in Pakistan and you still want to move to the Middle East, you might have to play the long game and start first, and make a move later.

All the best,

Florian

ME is hiring at the moment and I have candidates that I am coaching for Dubai. So if they're redirecting you to Pakistan, it's likely because they want to encourage local hiring, and the Pakistan office has more capacity now than the Dubai one (which is perfectly understandable since everybody is applying to Dubai these days). 

Hope this helps

Cristian

Hi,

I can echo the other voices here in the sense that ME offices are still hiring. Since that is by now widely known, this is also the area where a lot of people apply to, increasing the competitiveness even further. 

Check with your recruiting contact if they only see you as an applicant for Pakistan so you can base your decisions on the information. In any case, if ME was your longterm goal, you could still start out in Pakistan for about two years and then try to push for an internal transfer to your desired office location within the company.

Good luck

Hi there! 

First, congrats on getting into the McKinsey process!

Now to answer your question, McKinsey is still recruiting for both its Riyadh and Dubai Offices, albeit at a much slower rate as the consulting market in the Middle East has slowed down this year with several companies laying off consultants.

Depending on your situation, I would encourage you to apply to the office you have the highest chance of getting into at the moment, keeping in mind the opportunity for transfer is always there.

Hope this benefits you!

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the invitation from McKinsey!

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

• First of all, McKinsey is still hiring for most of its Middle East offices, and I am currently helping coachees of mine for both Dubai and Riyadh offices.
• Moreover, as you rightly guessed, McKinsey actively encourages local hiring in the Middle East. If you feel that you do not want to work in the Karachi office, I would advise you to discuss this openly with the recruiter.

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

Best,

Hagen

Yes, those offices are recruiting. But they always prefer (or at least try) that you apply to your home office. This doesn't mean you will be rejected if you say you don't want Pakistan, but your chances are of course lower if you go abroad.