Lesson 1 of 2 Last reviewed 28 September 2026 10 min

The Gulf market and how hiring works

The market, the firms, how and when they hire, and the formats you may see.

Firm processes and online tests change from year to year and differ by office. Use this to prepare, and confirm the exact current steps on the firm's own careers page.

Key takeaways

McKinsey, BCG, and Bain, with offices in the main Gulf cities.
Strategy& (PwC), which has one of its largest regional businesses here.
Kearney, Oliver Wyman, Arthur D. Little, and Roland Berger.
Many firms hire on a rolling basis rather than in one fixed campus season (reported).
Some firms run campaigns instead.

Checked on 2026-09-28

This lesson was checked against the sources listed at the end, official pages first. Firm processes change between offices, roles, and years, so use it as a guide and confirm the details in your invitation and with your recruiter.

Independence

So What Club is independent. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any firm named in this library. Firm names are trademarks of their owners and are used only to describe publicly available information about how these firms hire. We never reproduce any firm's test or share confidential interview material.

The market

Saudi Arabia is the largest consulting market in the Gulf. In May 2025, Source Global Research forecast that the GCC consulting market would grow about 12 percent to more than 8.3 billion US dollars in 2025, after Saudi Arabia's market reached about 4.3 billion US dollars in 2024 (reported). Spending has since tightened; see the recent events in the next lesson. Much of the demand comes from government programs linked to Saudi Vision 2030 and from companies linked to the Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Firms with regional offices that candidates often target

McKinsey, BCG, and Bain, with offices in the main Gulf cities.
Strategy& (PwC), which has one of its largest regional businesses here.
Kearney, Oliver Wyman, Arthur D. Little, and Roland Berger.
Deloitte (Monitor Deloitte), EY-Parthenon, KPMG, and PwC.
Redseer, which runs its Middle East work from Dubai.
Riyadh, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha are the main hubs (reported). Check each firm's office page for current locations.

How and when hiring happens

Many firms hire on a rolling basis rather than in one fixed campus season (reported). Graduates of regional and international universities usually apply online.
Some firms run campaigns instead. For example, BCG lists January 2027 as the application window for Associates and Visiting Associates in Dubai, Doha, Riyadh, and Abu Dhabi, and says these offices work in English.
Some firms recruit for the whole region through one process and assign your office after the offer. Strategy& Middle East is reported to work this way.
Firms run targeted recruiting for Saudi and Emirati nationals, linked to the rules in the next lesson (reported).
MBA candidates are often hired through events at international business schools (reported).

Formats you may see

The same case and fit interviews as in other regions, held in English.
Written or presentation cases at some firms and offices, for example a reported Arthur D. Little final round in Dubai with 30 minutes to prepare slides.
Arabic is not required for most roles, but it is a clear advantage for public-sector client work, especially in Saudi Arabia and Qatar (reported).

Entry titles by firm (what the firms call the first consulting job)

Entry titles by firm (what the firms call the first consulting job)
Firm	Bachelor's or master's entry	MBA entry	Where we checked
McKinsey & Company	Business Analyst (fellow and intern roles also exist)	Associate	mckinsey.com student career pages
BCG	Associate (Senior Associate for many PhD students)	Consultant	careers.bcg.com early-career and job pages
Bain & Company	Associate Consultant	Consultant	bain.com hiring-process pages
Roland Berger	Junior Consultant	Read the job posting	rolandberger.com job postings
EY-Parthenon (US)	Associate Program	Consultant Program (check eligibility)	ey.com US EY-Parthenon career pages
KPMG (UK)	Strategy Graduate Programme (per a 2019 KPMG brochure; check the current posting)	Read the job posting	kpmgcareers.co.uk
All other firms here	Varies by country and team	Varies by country and team	Read the job posting for your office

So-what

Titles differ by office and country, so always read the posting for the office you apply to.

Last reviewed: 2026-09-28. Sources, official pages first. "Reported" means a secondary source, not the firm or government itself.

Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development: second phase of localizing consulting professions (official government source): https://www.hrsd.gov.sa/en/media-center/news/250320241
UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation: Emiratisation targets (official government source): https://mohre.gov.ae/en/guidance-and-awareness-portal-new/emiratisation-targets
UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation: targets for companies with 20 to 49 employees (January 2024) (official government source): https://www.mohre.gov.ae/en/media-center/news/2/1/2024/mohre-begins-implementing-emiratisation-targets-on-over-12000-private-companies-with-20-49-employees
Strategy& Middle East: Our offices (official): https://www.strategyand.pwc.com/m1/en/about-us/our-offices.html
Redseer Middle East (official): https://redseer.com/redseer-middle-east/
BCG: International opportunities, application timing and languages by country (official): https://careers.bcg.com/global/en/locations/united-kingdom/international-opportunities
PwC Middle East Economy Watch, May 2026 (official): https://www.pwc.com/m1/en/media-centre/2026/middle-east-economy-watch-may-2026.html
Reported (news): Consultancy-me, May 2025, GCC consulting market forecast for 2025: https://www.consultancy-me.com/news/11464/consulting-market-of-gcc-to-grow-by-12-to-over-8-billion-in-2025
Reported (news): Consultancy-me, May 2026, Saudi government freezes and delays consulting spend (includes the Ministry of Finance response): https://www.consultancy-me.com/news/13502/saudi-government-freezes-and-delays-consulting-spend-amid-war-driven-fiscal-tightening
Reported (news): Semafor, 21 May 2026, Saudi Arabia freezes consultancy payments: https://www.semafor.com/article/05/21/2026/saudi-arabia-freezes-consultancy-payments
Reported (news): Consultancy-me, PwC inaugurates regional headquarters in Riyadh: https://www.consultancy-me.com/news/6352/pwc-inaugurates-regional-headquarters-in-riyadh
Reported: Mayer Brown, updates on Saudi Arabia's Regional Headquarters Program: https://www.mayerbrown.com/en/insights/publications/2024/04/updates-on-saudi-arabias-regional-headquarters-program
Reported (news): Arab News, February 2026, contracting exceptions for firms without a regional headquarters: https://www.arabnews.com/node/2633989/business-economy
Reported (news): Bloomberg, PIF blocks PwC from advisory work for one year (February 2025): https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-28/saudi-wealth-fund-blocks-pwc-from-advisory-work-for-one-year
Reported (news): Semafor, PIF ends PwC consultancy ban (January 2026): https://www.semafor.com/article/01/26/2026/saudi-pif-ends-pwc-consultancy-ban
Reported: RoadToOffer, Consulting firms in Saudi Arabia: https://www.roadtooffer.com/blog/consulting-firms-in-saudi-arabia
Reported: PrepLounge forum, recruiting for Strategy& Middle East: https://www.preplounge.com/consulting-forum/recruiting-for-strategy-middle-east-23408
Reported: Hacking the Case Interview, Arthur D. Little case interview: https://www.hackingthecaseinterview.com/pages/arthur-d-little-case-interview

Sources for this lesson (18)

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