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Post by infoneeded on Jul 6, 2014 15:50:20 GMT
I will soon be visiting Houston for a face to face interview with a panel of Saudi Aramco professionals for positions in Finance. Any words of advice from the one who has been there and done that will be highly appreciated.
Thanks in advance !
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Post by pinkfloyd on Aug 3, 2014 23:05:31 GMT
infoneeded - Hope your interview went well! I have FTF interview in coming weeks for a finance role. Could you please share your experience/ question they asked you?
Thanks
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Post by wombatbob on Sept 21, 2014 23:04:49 GMT
Hi guys. I have a F2F next month for a finance position. This will be about an hour long with people from the KSA. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Also, how many rounds of interviews are there typically at Armaco?
Thanks in advance
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Post by CanuckGuy on Sept 22, 2014 14:17:43 GMT
Hi WombatBob,
I went through a similar interview for a Finance related position a couple of months ago. The interview process was very quick and straightforward. My interview was held in Houston with three professionals visiting from KSA, and took about 45 minutes in total. I was verbally offered a position immediately following the interview, and received the written offer three days later.
The interview was more technical than others I have attended, and was broken down into three parts:
1) My background and experience
2) Technical questions
3) Questions that I wanted to ask
All three Aramco people interviewing me were knowledgeable and professional, but were also very friendly.
I hope this helps, and please let me know if you have any other questions.
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Post by poncho on Sept 22, 2014 15:30:22 GMT
Hi CanuckGuy,
Did you accept the offer?
Poncho
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Post by CanuckGuy on Sept 22, 2014 15:46:26 GMT
Hi Poncho,
I did accept the job, and am at the final stages of the process. Our passports were sent to the embassy in Ottawa a couple of weeks ago, and we are just waiting for the visas to be stamped.
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Post by poncho on Sept 22, 2014 15:58:33 GMT
Congratulations! What's your job le and dept you'll be working in, if don't mind me asking?
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Post by CanuckGuy on Sept 22, 2014 16:28:07 GMT
poncho,
Thanks! The offer is to join the Finance/Treasury group to assist on the M&A and project finance side. The exact role is still unknown as I applied for one position, received an offer for another and had a third le assigned to me in some recent correspondence. I spoke to the recruiter and the relo. advisor and both said that the exact role will only be determined once I actually get to KSA.
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Post by poncho on Sept 22, 2014 16:40:52 GMT
I was there for a little over 5 years and worked in the controller's org (AP&SD). We returned to the states about a 1.5 year ago due to a family circumstance, which has been resolved.
Now we're trying to get back because we miss it dearly! I believe I left on good terms and working my contacts. Finance has a ton of open positions, so crossing my fingers.
You have kids? They tell you where you'll be living?
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Post by CanuckGuy on Sept 22, 2014 17:39:09 GMT
Poncho,
I'm delighted to hear that you enjoyed your experience so much that you are seeking to return! I wasn't sure what to expect once I arrived, but your comments are definitely comforting.
Out of curiosity, how did you find the level of professionalism as compared to American companies? What about the workload and level of support offered? I hope things work out for you.
We have two kids who are excited about the move. Unfortunately we don't know where we'll be living, but the advisor has indicated it will likely be Abqaiq or Rakah.
Good luck!
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Post by poncho on Sept 22, 2014 18:47:09 GMT
You'll experience the same professional as you do in typical US Fortune 500 Company. However, keep in mind Aramco is a very large company that is owned by the govt, so you can image it can very bureaucratic, policy driven and moves very slow at times.The finance org I believe is one of the better organizations to work for as an expat. Although it predominately Saudis, as of all organizations at Aramco, it is expat heavy relative to other areas in the company. I know several guys in Treasury and is a good group.
I consider going to Aramco a life style choice more than a career choice. Although you'll be doing similar work as you're doing now and making good $$$, your decision for going is the expat life style appeals to you and your family i.e., travel benefits, more family time (work life balance), and of course the $$$. It's a great place to raise young kids!
If we are fortunate to get back, we plan to stay until I retire. I'm 44 now.
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Post by wombatbob on Sept 23, 2014 0:33:08 GMT
Hi Poncho, thank you so much for the information.
Glad to hear that it's a very reasonable process.
If you don't mind me asking, how technical were the questions?
Were they dictionary definition-type questions, or calculation exercises/brain-teasers, or industry issues/trends, or more about important considerations for specific (or hypothetical) transactions? (or something else entirely?)
Apologies in advance if this seems intrusive.
-WB
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Post by wombatbob on Sept 24, 2014 0:11:52 GMT
Hi Poncho, thank you for the informative posts.
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Post by KSAhopeful on Sept 24, 2014 0:23:30 GMT
CanuckGuy,
Congratulations on securing a position! Based on what I have been reading on this forum, your timing with respect to offer/passports/etc appears to be on the faster end.
When do you think you may be landing in Saudi? It sounds like your interview was about 3 months ago. I am trying to gauge how quick all of this could happen should everything move fast.
I understand if you don’t live in Dhahran, the kids would need to be transported there (for school) by bus from your home compound, which may be longer than 30 minutes one way. Have you heard anything with regards to location of schools in either of the camps your relocation advisor referenced as the potential site of your new home?
I am also from Canada, and after the winter we had last year, I can’t even imagine walking outside in shorts during January.
Congratulations again on your new job!
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Post by CanuckGuy on Oct 1, 2014 13:44:05 GMT
KSA Hopeful,
Thanks for your wishes! Our process was fairly quick, but we unfortunately our passports have been stuck at the embassy in Ottawa for the last 3.5 weeks. Given the upcoming Eid holidays, I doubt we will get our visas stamped for at least another week, which means we won't be able to leave until early November.
So far, it looks like we will be housed in Abqaiq, and there is a school there for the kids. All our Relo Advisor has said is that our kids have been granted admission into the Abqaiq school, but this can be easily transferred if we are housed elsewhere.
I hear you about the winter! We are quite keen to get out of here before the first snowfall!
Good luck to you through the process, and please let me know if I can be of any help.
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