Are referrals necessary for MBB recruiting in Australia?

Hi there,

Referrals hold a ton of weight for recruiting in any country. If you have a valid work authorization, Australia might be less competitive than other countries (e.g., US, UK); however, Australian MBB recruiters still get tons of resumes and need to find a way to filter candidates. 

That said, a referral will impact much more if you are an entry-level candidate than an experienced hire with peculiar experience (in the second case, you might just try to connect with recruiters first). Hard to say if they are truly "necessary", that depends on how unique your resume is.

Typically, you get a referral by networking on Linkedin with Uni Alums, or personal connections, or people that share something with you (e.g., an interest in an industry). You can find more tips here: https://www.preplounge.com/consulting-forum/referral-tips-24730 :)

Hope this helps, and good luck on your journey!

Best,
Tom

Short and clear: referrals help in Australia, but they’re not required. MBB Sydney/Melbourne treat referrals as a nice‑to‑have signal, not a gatekeeper, so you can get interviews purely on CV strength, tests, and story. The easiest way to get one is through light LinkedIn outreach, alumni chats, or campus events,  but you don’t need a referral to be competitive.

Best, Alessa

Hi there, 

No, you can get past screening without them as well. 

But they do increase your chances of passing screening, so I would encourage you to try and get them. 

If you're not familiar with the process, you might want to have a look at these two guides I built on this topic:

Expert Guide: How To Handle Networking Calls and Get Referrals

Expert Guide: How To Get Referrals Via LinkedIn?

Best,
Cristian

Referrals aren't strictly necessary in Australia but they really do help.

The Aussie market is more meritocratic than somewhere like the Middle East. MBB Sydney and Melbourne run proper campus recruiting from target schools and they do accept strong direct applications. But honestly, a referral gets your CV in front of a human instead of getting filtered out, and it flags you as someone worth a look. Can definitely tip borderline cases.

Where they help most is experienced hires, especially if you're from a non-target school.

How to get them. Just hit up alumni from your school or industry on LinkedIn. Big tip though, don't ask for a referral in the first message, that almost never works. Build a real conversation first, then ask once you've chatted. Also worth attending any firm campus events, using your uni career services, and applying to diversity programs if you're eligible.

Good luck.

They’re not strictly necessary, but they definitely help.

In Australia, McKinsey & Company / Boston Consulting Group / Bain & Company still recruit heavily from structured campus pipelines, so strong candidates absolutely get interviews without referrals.

That said, referrals and networking can:

• help your CV get more attention
• give you insight into the process/culture
• sometimes help if your profile is slightly non-traditional

The best way to get them is usually not:
“Hi can you refer me?”

Much better approach:

• speak with alumni / people from your university
• attend office events
• ask thoughtful questions
• build a real conversation first

Then, if the interaction goes well, referrals often happen naturally.

Also, don’t focus only on “getting referrals.”
For most candidates, interview performance matters much more than the referral itself.