Referral from Tier-2 firms

Hi there,

A referral is just a door opener such that the recruiting team will look through your application more thoroughly. 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.

Ideally, you get a referral from someone from the same office (or same country) you are applying to. However, a referral from someone within the same firm but different 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 HR 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 is just lower.

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 Anonymous

In summary - your need for a referral is linked to the strength of your CV and achievements. If you have consistently out-performed your peers and have well recognized academic and professional brands on your resume - then yes chances are you will not need a referral for tier 2 consultancies

I would suggest have an expert go through your CV and give you an honest perspective. In most cases you will still benefit from a referral but if you struggle with getting responses from consultants you can go through a third party recruiter as a lot of tier-2 consultancies use them. If you want I can advise about London recruiters and consultancies

Best

Dear A,

Referral will definitely maximize your chances for being invited for the interview. But referall it's not a magic ticket, so your CV and cover letter should be fine and polished. 

If you need any help with resume or referral, or any further career advice, feel free to reach me out. 

Best,

André

Hi Anonymous

I agree to your overall summary - a referral in tier-2 firms is less important than for MBB, since competition is usually a bit less.

At the same time, a good referral will never hurt - so to maximise your chances I'd still recommend that also for tier-2 firms (better be safe than sorry), and also important you can clarify many detailed issues (which otherwise might be hard to get information on) also easily within your network.

Hope that helps - if so, please be so kind and give it a thumbs-up with the green upvote button below!

Robert

Hello!

Yes and no. 

It´s true that referrals in MBB perhaps make a bigger difference, given that competition is fierce. 

However, for sure a referral is ALWAYS being to be useful, one of the most useful things! For any company. 

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara

Hi,

A referral can be a great instrument that helps you secure an interview invite.

However, it is not a 100% guarantee that you eventually get an offer because some points and effort must be given from your side as well.

The question is: How much do you really want to get the job? Of course, it is better to provide yourself with a referral for the targeted firm. Otherwise, you can not even get invited.

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GB