Aala’a Alsheddi

“Consultant and athlete passionate about sports, wellness, and pursuing meaningful personal and professional growth.”

McKinsey Office: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Hometown: Dammam, Saudi Arabia

MBA Program: London Business School

Undergraduate School, Major: Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University, Finance

What was your favorite thing about your MBA program? My favorite part was the diversity of nationalities at the school. I was able to learn from and befriend people from all over the world, so now I have friends from every continent, spanning many countries.

Can you describe your proudest pre-McKinsey accomplishment? In what area(s) do you have considerable knowledge or expertise? My proudest accomplishment was automating one of the most tedious routine tasks in my previous role. It went from taking 15 minutes multiple times a day to a one-click process. It was satisfying to see how much easier it made my colleagues’ work.

I specialized in the planning, budgeting, and financial and resource management side of drilling wells. For most of my career at Aramco, I worked on planning, budgeting, and controls for offshore wells. I also contributed to new business development for Upstream operations and took on multiple automation and software development related projects, collaborating with developers to simplify those planning processes.

Why did you choose McKinsey over other consulting firms or other industries? I chose McKinsey for three reasons. The type and level of impact the firm has delivered is inspiring, and I wanted to be part of that. Second, McKinsey works across both public and private sector projects, while many other firms focus mainly on either the public sector or private sector, and I wanted to keep that variety to maximize the breadth of my learning opportunities. And third, it’s truly a global firm, offering the chance to work with colleagues from around the world. In a sense, it still feels like I’m doing my MBA, being able to constantly learn from and collaborate with a diverse set of bright minds. My opportunities are not limited by my geography either, which adds to the richness of working at the firm.

What were you most excited about when you accepted your full-time offer? What is something you didn’t know to be excited about then, but you are now? What excited me most was starting this new career. It felt like a new adventure, with the opportunity to explore different industries and practices.

What surprised me was the level of dedication people at the firm had, and not just towards their work but also towards their own and each other’s development. Everyone is self-driven in a way you don’t see anywhere else. Everyone I’ve met goes the extra mile even during challenging times.

I think people need to research what it really means to be a consultant before joining. The work is exciting and might even look glamorous, but it also comes with high expectations and a demanding pace. It’s important to picture what your day-to-day life would look like as a consultant and make a well-thought-through decision.

Can you share a time you received mentorship while at McKinsey? How has it made you better? I’ve been mentored since the day I joined the firm. It comes from colleagues at all levels: peers, people more junior, EMs and partners.

Once a partner told me about the importance of speaking up more during problem-solving sessions and meetings. That everyone has an obligation to dissent because, no matter how little value they thought their contribution would add, it’s still important to hear everyone’s perspective. It will inevitably enrich the conversation, contributing to shaping better, more thought-out solutions. After I adopted that mindset, meetings became much more engaging and interactive.

If you could go back in time and give your younger self one piece of advice during the interview process, what would you say? I would tell myself to relax and genuinely try to connect with your interviewers. The interview is not only about solving a problem. It’s a chance to connect with the people from the firm, people you will potentially be spending many long hours with – and what’s important for everyone is the ability to be good company.

I always found it helpful to look up the interviewer prior to the interview, to see if there was something we had in common. The ability to connect on something in common can change the dynamic from interviewer versus interviewee to more of a collegial kind of conversation which makes everyone feel more relaxed and will in turn help elevate your interview performance.

What’s something you’ve learned here that you know will be useful for your entire career?

Three things stand out:

1) Participate in every conversation. You can still contribute, even before having 100% understanding on the topic. The more you engage, the faster you learn.

2) Structure your thoughts. I’ve learned how to break down complex problems so I can solve them more easily and more creatively.

3) Resilience. Working under pressure for clients with high expectations has helped me develop thicker skin.

What’s an example of a time when a teammate challenged you, inspired you, or pushed you to think bigger or go further than you would have on your own? On one project, even though I was early-tenured, I was given more responsibility than was typically expected of someone at my tenure. The team recognized this, and I received a good amount of mentorship and recognition, which motivated me to keep going. I didn’t realize until later how taking on so much made me grow tremendously fast.

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