Referrals

Hello there,

You needn't worry about coming across some kind of way - it's pretty normal and consultants typically understand.

One key differentiator is that in your outreach message, you can request a brief chat and specify 2/3 questions that cannot be answered on Google / Preplounge / etc. 

By the way, it's fine if you don't get a response from some individuals. It can be a numbers game sometimes.

Fathu

Hi there,

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question:

• I would advise you not to worry about that. Consultants are used to this, most times even get paid if their referrals are successful, and were in the same situation as you in the past as well.

You can find more on this topic here: How to succeed in the final interview round.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare for your upcoming interviews, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hi there,

A referral is just a door opener such that the recruiting team will look through your application more thoroughly. In order to get a referral, you need to at least develop some form of professional relationship with the person because they will not just refer someone they barely know. After all, they would be putting their name and reputation on the line. There is some literature on here on how to best approach such networking attempts.

Depending on the seniority, tenure and advocacy of the person referring you, you have a better chance of getting a first round interview. The more senior the person referring you is, the better. The longer the tenure of that person with the firm is, the better.

The reason is that such voices carry more weight than referrals coming from super junior or brand new people. They typically know the HR folks better and have been involved in recruiting activities for a while so it is usually assumed that they have a good grasp of what types of candidates with which sets of qualifications the firm needs. However, any referral is ultimately better than no referral. 

Ideally, you get a referral from someone from the same office (or same country) you are applying to. But again, a referral from someone within the same firm but different office or country organization is still better than no referral.

A direct rejection after the CV screening stage can still happen - even with a referral. In that case the recruiting team usually provides some feedback to the person having given the referral. So you should follow up with them to better understand the rationale in case that happens. On the flipside, you can still get an interview invite when you just apply online without a referral - the probability might just be lower - unless your CV is “stellar” on a standalone basis.

And as always, factors such as economic conditions and headcount/budget planning of the individual firm also matter significantly in these decisions - but they are not within your control.

Best

Hi there,

Don't worry too much about how you come across.

Consultants get a ton of these messages and they understand your ambition/goal - they were in your shoes before and HR always tells them to look out for great candidates.

Cheers,

Florian