McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company 🐠
Please advise: I’m about to apply for a junior associate role in my home country (European) but I’m going to be moving to the Middle East at the end of the year.
Should I hold off and just apply in the Middle East or how would this type of transfer go down after only 3-6 months in the firm?
Might be getting ahead of myself as I haven’t got an offer yet but don’t want to burn a bridge by applying and having to leave in less than a year. TIA!
This is a pretty tricky situation. Is there a reason why you're not waiting until your move is imminent before switching jobs? You also mention that your move might be in 3 months - the interview process and time until your start date could easily take that long.
You're not allowed to apply for a transfer until you've been at the firm for over a year barring extreme circumstances (and depending on your start date, could be longer because it depends on review timing), and international transfers are tricky and often require sponsors in your new office to advocate for you. Given that, I'd say you should apply for the Middle East. Though I'll note that the firm has pretty strict rules at the moment for working in a country that's not your home office, so continuing to live/work in Europe once you start might not be an option.
Pro
Thanks for the response.
I’m targeting September/October for the move but if needed I could go sooner. No idea of recruiting timelines but would love to have a job secured before I leave my current role!
I’ll apply in the Middle East and see what happens so!
Thanks again, really appreciate the detail!
Couldn't you maybe apply directly for jobs in the middle east? A lot of places have WFH until end this year
Pro
True yes, I’m imagining the hurdle to transfer offices is much lower than initially getting into the firm.
Definitely concerned about burning bridges by seeking a transfer so soon after joining.
Pro
Reason for the move of it matters: my SO has a job out there so would be moving with them for ~2 years
I’m confused. Why are you applying for a job that’s not in the country you are moving to? If you do get the job in Europe, will you move there right away and leave your SO?
Pro
I’m from Europe and we live here now but are moving to the Middle East for a few years.
If I get the job in Europe (home country) I’d work from home for a while and request a transfer then. Otherwise I could apply straight to ME firms and hopefully secure a role out there.
European as well. I applied in my home country and in the middle east. Here’s what I experienced:
- I received some interview invites from T2s in the middle east but not in my home country from the same ones.
- The recruiting process in the middle east was much longer and more cumbersome. I had to follow up several times just to know the status quo and the interview was postponed several times (in the end I withdrew my application after 3 months without an interview because I had already started a job in my home country)
- Compensation in the middle east is so much higher than in most of Europe, mostly due to tax advantages
- I had a few networking calls with other consultants from my country working in the middle east. It was super helpful to understand the differences in the consulting life before just blindly moving to a new country.
I moved from the ME to the US and took a 52% after tax paycut when I was an Associate many years ago.
If you don’t speak Arabic good luck at getting a junior position in McK ME
Pro
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