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Bain & Company To consultants at MBB’s, Roland Berger, OW, Kearney, Arthur D.Little. When does the openings starts for Junior position.
As I’m checking out for vacancies, I can’t see any at the moment. Usually there’s a timing for when do they open. Any idea? Bain & Company McKinsey & Company Boston Consulting Group Kearney Roland Berger Oliver Wyman Arthur D. Little Limited
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Bain & Company Hi all, I am interested in making the move to the Middle East, however starting from august/September. What do you think are the prospects for the future in the region? Do you envisage a hiring freeze or are companies still going strong? Thanks!McKinsey & Company Boston Consulting Group Kearney Bain & Company
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Been in KSA for 11 years now, 6 of those with my current employer (also ex client). Couple of things to add, you have visa insecurity in many countries including the US and UAE. Until late 2022 there was no back up plan like the security the UAE golden visa now provides. Before then you were effectively out if you lost your job also in the UAE.
Saudi recently put forth the Saudi Premium Residency, I have it now but for the vast majority of previous years I did not. Now with respect to your question if you feel threatened? No. It’s not as rational of a fear if you break it down.
Now above others saying Saudi is less stable…well now yes in the current time- but from 2015 to now going into 2026 (years I’ve been close to Saudi) vast majority of those years it was quite a secure place to be- job wise.
What is more of a concern is that compared to the UAE, it still lags behind from a ‘family infrastructure’ perspective. When I had joined, it was still possible to double your comp from UAE to Saudi but nowadays it has come down to like 10-20% of an uplift. How much of an uplift are you willing to price in as your minimum for this risk? I’d make the decision based off of that.
Thanks for your detailed response. If I may ask which industry are you in? I’m going to be in banking where I see banks have 93-98% saudization already and are targeting close to 100% by 2030.
Being new in the country would mean I won’t even have network to rely on. That’s why I’m evaluating if the stress is worth taking the chance.
At a senior level I’d say you’re okay for now, saudisation will impact junior-manager level roles first. If you’re coming as a director now, you’ll likely never be impacted
Saudi is the worst for job security in the GCC. It’s best avoided if you dont have other options.
Could happen anywhere you aren’t a citizen even in the USA as u can see
The difference is in Saudi you can lose your job, residency, bank account, kids schools and have to leave within a month. In the US or Europe, all of this is not based of a single employer, so you can lose a job, look for another, not as disruptive to one’s life.
Add to that the growing saudization targets, and high unemployment rate for Saudis, this becomes a quite fragile bet.
If you live or lived in Saudi, you definitely heard from friends and connections losing jobs and packing constantly. I do hear theses still although i’ve left Saudi.
I don't think this is a rational fear. Saudi is on the contrary, trying to attract foreign talent and want to keep international talent in.
You shouldn't be worried.
This is compounded by the fact that you are a senior resource. You should be good to go in my honest opinion.
I would still not be worried, as most of those positions are low to mid level positions. The top positions are already taken by locals or experienced foreigners. The mid-to-high positions, will remain bastions of expertise, and I don't think it's likely people there will be canned out of the blue.
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You survive the same way you survive working for your employer who can kick you out anytime in the name of “difficult market” “bad economy”? Etc
But your employer doesn’t kick you out of the country. That’s what I was referring to as added stress.
With a semi-senior role, you can apply for Prem Resi which will include you as part of their Saudization % (you are counted as a national) amongst other benefits (no exit/re-entry fees)