The on-boarding process for expats is highly disjointed. It starts with an interview or virtual meeting with several managers who use grand language but often make little sense. Following this, there is typically a long period of silence lasting weeks or even months. When contact is finally re-established, the recruiting team will request transcripts, diplomas, and a substantial amount of paperwork. After submission, there will be another prolonged silence. If selected, you might receive a lowball offer. Communication with the hiring department is cut off, as they claim to be too busy. You will then be sent to an Aramco-funded medical office for “extensive” health checks, which will be repeated upon your arrival in Saudi Arabia. Can’t have you bringing in any se-----y transmitted diseases. Because a lot of the local men at HQ will solicit women.
You will be flown out in economy class. Upon arrival, a disoriented individual may greet you at the airport and transport you to the compound. Your accommodation might have working air conditioning, though it will likely break down regularly. Basic food items like bread and milk may be provided, but essential appliances such as a fridge, stove, plates, cutlery, and cups might be missing or non-functional. Repeated calls for assistance often go unanswered, and you may have to purchase these items yourself. The furniture is old and moldy, the carpet is dusty, and there is no washing machine or dryer. The curtains are transparent, the bathroom moldy, and the toilet frequently malfunctions.
The compound has different types of housing, with the relatively new Jebel Heights houses being the most desirable. The Jebel apartments are semi-acceptable but have issues with air circulation and mold. Older homes on the main camp are mostly allocated to white Westerners, with many Americans from the LDS church residing near the Sixth Street gym. Homes on Mango are often given to single women and have seen multiple ceiling collapses in recent months. Overall, the housing does not meet global health and safety standards.
Every day, you will see workers dressed in blue trimming trees or cutting grass, often in dangerous heat without adequate water. These workers, mostly from Bangladesh, appear dispirited. In the office, they also serve as janitorial staff.
The challenging living conditions might be bearable if the work experience were better. However, you may be moved into different roles than what you were hired for, which could be grounds for an HR lawsuit elsewhere. Expect to be placed in a small workspace and assigned meaningless tasks. In most cases, your managers, directors, and VPs will be inexperienced Saudis focused on internal politics rather than delivering quality work. They often issue rude requests with unrealistic timelines. If you can put together something to make them look relatively good you will be liked until they forget and move on.
Meetings are frequent and often involve inaccurate quarterly reviews. The locals are almost never on time to meetings. They will answer their phone multiple times in the middle of presentations and discussions. While English is the working language expect them to switch over to Arabic when they want to remove you from the discussion. In loss prevention, you may encounter underreporting of accidents and casualties, as the company is not required to report certain deaths to the government. Lower management often misreports leaks or accidents to avoid disclosure. If people die in accidents off camp they will find ways not to report it.
Expats be warned. Do not go to Aramco if you are looking to grow in your career. There are few who stick it out and eat sh-t for years only to be made a supervisor. You will see most ambitious people leave. What is left is usually white American middle aged men because they want to retire in place to get their exit amount and their health insurance. Not worth it whatsoever.
Saudi as a country has come a long way to becoming a modern country but until Aramco shakes the tribal politics and brings in experienced people to report up to executives continue to expect being treated like 3rd world help.