I liken it to screaming into the void. Maybe one day I'll be lucky enough to hear something back.

So did you get a senior manager role or director?

Same here. I applied but nothing from their side I have a PhD and have 10 years of experience in data analysis and supervising projects.
hanabellsx Good luck

tl;dr: The hiring process is long and arduous. Hang in there.

Hi all,
Based on some of the posts, it seems like this might be a good time for a summary of how hiring works as viewed from inside Neom. Some of this may be helpful, some of it maddening, and some of it may be unique to my BU, but at the very least, it should give you some idea of what to expect.

· First, job postings – I’d say just about all positions that are available are on https://careers.neom.com/careers. There may be a few high-level positions that are only going through headhunters, but on the whole, everything is on the site.

Everything that is posted is posted with good intent, meaning we aren’t posting any positions that haven’t been approved with head count at the time. When a hiring manager has HC approved, they will send the job description to recruiting who will have a quick call and go over the JD and what the hiring manager is looking for. All of the attributes discussed get entered into the system to help search applications. While it might not be in the description, the HM will tell the recruiter that the role might have to do a lot of presentations or travelling, while the candidate may need exposure to a larger sample of programs or projects, the ideal candidate may need to have more experience in one or two, so weight will go behind those.

o As a note, looking for or hiring only males as one poster suggested, is a great way for the hiring manager and the recruiter to get --if not fired -- put on a PIP. The company’s drive for a diverse workplace is taken quite seriously and monitored closely.

The responses to these positions are typically overwhelming. Every position I’ve posted has gotten 100’s of applications a day the first few days. The longer the position is up, the number of responses goes down, but there are still 20-30 new applications a day. This makes any kind of contact a real challenge. Please don’t take it personally.

The recruiter will review the search results of the candidates that meet the posted and unposted attributes the HM is looking for. Sometimes there will be a follow up with the HM to make sure these are the types of candidates the HM wants, sometimes the recruiter will just invite those candidates to take the psychometric test and forward everything to the HM to approve or reject.

o Note about the psychometric test – It will neither help nor hurt your application. It is just a tool to get a little insight into a candidate. Some HMs I know look at these results, some HMs I know don’t.

Approved candidates usually have a screening interview with the recruiter to confirm the information given in the application and to make sure the candidate will fit into the job band and salary band for the position.

o Quick note on salary and job bands. The job bands have been outlined elsewhere on this site. We all have visibility to that and understand how a posted role fits into those bands. Typically, none of us have any visibility to salary bands or budgets for a position. For most of us, it is a complete black box that we don’t even see on our department budgets. HR handles all salary work.

· Now to Interviews -- These vary a lot between teams and departments. Some require tests and multiple interviews, some it is just one interview, for some, its two. These vary.

I seem to remember one poster who was surprised in their interview because their interviewer hammered on about how this is a difficult place to work. I strongly agree with this approach and use it myself. Neom can be a very challenging place to work. Yes, the scope and ambition of the project is incredible and really captures the imagination, but most of the company works at an almost frenetic pace against deadlines that were made well before there was in depth discussion with vendors about feasibility and resource availability. Additionally, we do this in an environment with shifting priorities and budgets. And, oh yeah, we do it in a remote spot where after a long day, you go home to hang out with your colleagues. This really isn’t for everyone.

Last I heard, the average amount of time a new hire spends in this company is between 7-9 months. A lot of the reason for that is many hiring managers let applicants keep their rose-coloured glasses on for too long and they are shocked when they arrive.

This is a great project, and we are doing something very cool, but it is hard work in a hard place. Many people discount that until it is too late. This isn’t meant to be discouraging, just a heads up.

· Hire/Don’t Hire – This is where things get a little dicey. After interviews, the HM will select a candidate and send that person to recruiting. There, the onboarding process begins with offers, and then the actual onboarding process. A position is usually not closed until a candidate is onboarded.

This is done so if something goes wrong in onboarding, we can check down to the next candidate with limited fuss or muss. It isn’t a great practice, but it happens. This is a big reason that a lot of candidates get radio silence for so long.

· Offers – When we decide to make an offer, the recruiter will reach out with an informal offer. They will ask for paperwork to confirm current salary and employment, then give the projected salary offer. If the candidate accepts this, then they are forwarded to HR for approval and a formal offer. This is processed, and if approved, will go out to the candidate and the formal onboarding process where visas and degree verifications will be done.

Everything is great here, right? Unfortunately, not always. The recruiting and interviewing process can take a while. In that time, business needs can shift. Especially this year as the company’s strategy was reviewed and adjusted. Each BU has a firm HC for the year. These are allocated at the beginning of the year but change. As a result, a position that was posted may lose its HC. There are situations where an informal offer may be given and then the HC is frozen or withdrawn. It stinks, but it happens. I can assure you that no one wants this. While it doesn’t happen often, it does happen. Just be aware of that.

· Onboarding – There are plenty of posts about onboarding here, so that’s pretty well covered.

o Quick note about resignations. I’ve seen some posts over the years where people want to resign their current position as soon as they get an offer or sign their formal offer. While, obviously, it is your choice; I suggest that you don’t. Onboarding can take some time. The visa process, while more streamlined than it has been in the past, it can still take some time. My best advice is that you shouldn’t resign until all of your paperwork is in and your visa agent can give you a good idea of when you will get you visa.

So that’s the quick overview of hiring on this end. I know it can be quite frustrating. I hope people don’t take the process personally. It is a pain, but it is an indiscriminate pain. This is just an incredibly bureaucratic process that will take exactly as long as it takes. My hiring process took eight months from first interview to first day in the office. It was incredibly frustrating at times, but for me, it has also been worth it. Hopefully for those of you somewhere along in the process, this helps ease a little anxiety and answers some questions.

Good luck to all!
BMH

Very well summarised BMH. I would support everything you have written based on my experience and what I've heard from colleagues who are HM.

One thing I don't understand how it happens are comments/anecdotes that Neom pay them less than what was agreed. I can't see how this is the case. To be clear to readers the offer is written and agreed before you are mobilised. The contract is then submitted to a digital government system, there is no room for manipulation. The same goes for payroll.

hi all i am quite junior in my career and nowhere near ready to apply but I am curious to know if anyone has any tips on what I can do now to become more employable in KSA and a huge project like neom - apart from the obvious getting 10 years of experience.

im nearly a qualified accountant (ACA) for context

Gastro90

Thanks! I hope you get something too. I worked on his cv and made it exactly the same or very similar as the job spec. I reckon they use ATS to scan relevant keywords or similar phrases and choose people based on that. The role he actually got called back for was incredibly similar to his cv and what he actually has done - the ones he got rejected for/no response were slightly different but could be done easily. You seem highly skilled with a PHD so its a no brainer, maybe reapply using exactly the same descriptions on your cv. Make it at least a 99% match!

hanabellsx Thank you for your suggestion. I will rework on my CV and try to match it.

Hi i am at the last stage of onboarding and my bachelor degree was not attested by Saudi embassy on account of distant learning but was apostilled. I went with Saudi embassy first as Apostille service was not available previously and though the Apostille and Degree is from country part of hague convention Neom is refusing to accept it on account that Saudi embassy didn't accept the degree. The consequence is they are now asking me to sign degree exemption letter under which i can never move my young family to Saudi. I have other degrees like Chartered Accountant Australia and ACCA UK as well which can be easily Apostilled but they are refusing to accept these. I have checked with other friends in Saudi who are accountants in PwC, KPMG and PIF and they say Chartered Accountant and ACCA is equally valid and they have all used them to come to Saudi with family very recently as well. Has anyone been in this situation with Neom where the Government affairs refuse to accept anything and are being extremely rigid. It is very difficult for me to base the family in nearby GCC country like Dubai as i have very young kids and they haven't lived like this before. My plan was to bring them over to RIyadh for the first year till accommodation in NC1 gets sorted and then move them to Neom. Please help and guide

Hi ,

1. how much is the Head salary at Neom?
2. how long does it take after BRYQ to interview?

Hi.
1. It depends on what you made in your previous role. Offers are based on an uplift of your current salary.
2. Taking the BRYQ doesn't guarantee an interview. It is just an indicator that the recruiter thinks that you may be a candidate the hiring manager may want to interview.

Good luck!

Thanks, do you know which grade for the Head position will be?

Hi everyone, I will be starting at Neom in September. Anyone knows if salaries are adjusted every year? If so, how? Thanks in advance!

Hi. Head isn't a formal job level. It conuld be manager, sr. manager, or director. It depends on the team or department you would be heading. They will probably go through that in the interview process.
Cheers

Hi. There's an annual merit increase that is based off your evaluation. THere are more detailed posts in here that outline when you have to start by to be eligible. I'd suggest you give the NEOM threads a search to see.
Good luck and welcome (soon).