McKinsey - Strong referral one month after the application

Question

Hi everyone.

I applied for a Business Analyst role at McKinsey in Europe and completed the test in early December. I haven't heard back since then (officially, my application is still “in progress”)

In the last couple of days, I was lucky enough to be introduced to a partner at McKinsey who referred me through their internal platform.

Could someone please explain to me how does this work? I wasn't even aware it was possible to refer someone AFTER the application was sent. The referral is very very strong, but I'm not sure whether it can help at this point of my application.

Also, (in general, not in my specific case) does the "effect" of a referral end after you get the first interview? Or does it still give you some credits during the following steps?

I'm just wondering, this is my first referral and it's not completely clear to me how the referral system works in MBB.

Thank you all in advance!

Answer 1

Hi there,

Exciting times!

You’ve ask a couple of good questions. Let me try to answer them together.

At some point, the firm needs to take N number of applicants and distil them down to Y number of interviewees. There are a number of inputs to help them do so, such as the quality of your application package (e.g. CV + CL), your test scores, referals, etc.

If you put yourself in the shoes of the firm, they need to skim the cream of the applicants off the top and they need to do this after reading a huge number of high quality application packages, so any differentiated data points are gratefully received.

The point I’m making is that after reading the same type of CV and cover letter over and over again, a note from a Partner A saying that they met with Applicant B and were impressed by them puts strong upward pressure on their application vs everyone else. I’d rather put forward an applicant, who a partner vouches for, than an ‘anonymous’ applicant who for all I know might just be good at writing CVs and nothing else.

In summary, referrals are very helpful to augment your application package but they cannot mitigate a poor application package, so treat referrals as an ‘and’ not an ‘or’.

Hope that helps.

B.

Answer 2

Hi there,

1) Could someone please explain to me how does this work? I wasn't even aware it was possible to refer someone AFTER the application was sent.

This might depend on the office. In general, you can still be referred after the application but (i) the person referring you normally doesn’t get the bonus, if present, and (ii) if the referral comes after a decision has been made (even if not communicated yet), in theory it won’t affect the decision.

2) Also, (in general, not in my specific case) does the "effect" of a referral end after you get the first interview? Or does it still give you some credits during the following steps?

In theory, a referral should help just to get the interview and not with any of the following steps.

Best,

Francesco

Answer 3

Absolutely, happy to clarify.

The referral process differs from region to region. In some regions, there's actually a referral system where the Partner would submit the referral, and you'd get an automated invite to apply (plus, HR would be notified). In other offices, it's more informal, and it consists of the Partner just sending an email to HR, saying that they spoke with you and that you'd be a great applicant.

So, what I would do if I were you is to reach out to HR and say that you have an application in progress and that you received a referral, and you just wanted the two to be matched together. And that's it.

Then, in terms of how the referrals help, it's only for the screening phase. As in, it doesn't matter once you get to the actual interview rounds. Then it's only about your actual performance.

Best of luck and congrats on getting the referral!
Cristian

Answer 4

Hi there,

Thanks for sharing your context.

More and more people are reporting to be in limbo at the moment at different stages of the McKinsey recruiting process it seems. There are more reports here on PL but also the people I have spoken to over the last two weeks.

It seems like there is some lack of clarity at the moment about hiring goals across different offices.

Now to your questions:

1. Yes, it can have an impact since you are still in the screening stage. At the very least, the recruiter should expedite your current status, at the very best they might push you through to the interviews

2. Once you are in the interviews, the bar resets, and the evaluation is purely merit-based. The referral carries no wait at that point.

Fingers crossed for a positive outcome!

Cheers,

Florian

Answer 5

Hi there,

Nice networking!

Did you tell the Partner you had already applied and completed the test? (I hope so).

If so, then the Partner knows what they're doing. Ideally, they should have gone into the system and found your application, as well as spoken with the recruiting team about your application.

If they don't know you already submitted the application then this is a bit of a problem.

Answer 6

Hi there,

Your referral could be considered if you are lucky and the recruiting team puts all the pieces together in time before making a decision on your application documents in conjunction with your test score
A referral will have impact on the likelihood of you getting a first round interview. After that, everything is based on how you perform during the interviews. If you don't solve a case, a prior referral won't help you.

Best of luck

Answer 7

Hey,

Usually, referrals are made before the application. That way the person who refers you can receive a referral bonus if you succeed in an interview, get an offer and successfully pass the probation period. In this particular case, if the referral was made after the application, I doubt the partner would get a bonus if you succeed.

Since you mention in one of the replies that the interviewer saw your application and pinged it in the system, I think that the interview invitation chances are good. A referral won't give you any advantage during an actual interview, though. You will still be treated as every other candidate.

Good luck!
Nick

Answer 8

Hi there! Sorry to hear about this complication. Basically, the way it works in practice is that your first option o... (read entire answer)

Hi there! Sorry to hear about this complication. Basically, the way it works in practice is that your first option office is the one that receives your application, and they de... (read entire answer)

Answer 9

Hi there, I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question: First of all, it's great that you have a referral f... (read entire answer)

Hi there, I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question: First of all, it's great that you have a referral for BCG. I would advise you to follow the new process as ment... (read entire answer)

Answer 10

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Hi Hannah, Short answer, yes :) That said, YOU should not “shut down” over Christmas. Make sure you're using this time to case prep! Also, please, for the sake of your sanity, s... (read entire answer)