BCG Referral by an Associate

Having a referral is better than not having one, of course. Whether it's from an Associate or higher doesn't make much of a difference. It's an important aspect of growing any firm, including MBB.

However, in order to be invited for interviews you need to have the right CV to back up any claims and justify the referral. Hence, make sure you deliver at the highest level regarding application documents. This is important for your own application and also for your referee, who is taking a chance on you.

Bottom line is that it's hard to say what your absolute chances are because it depends on your application documents, competition, etc. Referrals strengthen your application but are in no way a guarantee to be invited for interviews.

Hi there,

First of all, I am wishing you a happy new year as well!

This is indeed an interesting question which is probably relevant for quite a lot of users, so I am happy to provide my perspective on it:

• Generally speaking, a referral is always helpful yet the extent may highly differ on the following aspects:
  • Country: For some countries, it is almost required to have a referral (e.g. US), while for other countries (e.g. most continental European countries) it merely is nice to have.
  • Seniority: Obviously, the more senior the person providing the referral is the better. Still, in your case, it should still be fine that it is an Associate.
  • Familiarity: In case you turn out to be a doubtful case, chances are high the person that provided the referral will be contacted about his/ her impression about yourself. Obviously, if he/ she would actually know you, this would be beneficial for you.
• Based on your brief description though, I would advise you not to worry too much about it since I would assume you would be invited either way.

In case you want a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare your upcoming BCG interviews, please feel free to contact me directly.

I hope this helps,

Hagen

Agree with Moritz below, would just add from personal perspective that, at least in my office, a referred person backed up by a good CV / Cover letter would be at sure advantage vs. blind applications (consulting companies are “risk-adverse” in hiring and referral gives more confidence)

1) Make sure to talk to your referral (Associate) about

- What could the perceived strengths/weaknesses in your profile, according to his experience in the office

- Which specifics of the firm / Office (practices coverage, …) in your CV and cover letter to maximize your chance to be selected for interview stages

in order to maximize the match between the BCG office needs and your profile.

Hope this helps, too.

P.

Hi there. I'd say a referral will increase your chance of getting an interview by at least 50% (intuitive estimation). Without referral, your resume can be easily ignored due to the large amount of applications. However, with a referral, it is guaranteed that a recruiter will read your resume so interview invite or not, you'll get a fair assessment.

Hope this helps!

Hi there,

A referral greatly improves your odds of being interviewed. This is especially true if you have a strong resume to back it up.

It sounds like you have a good shot at getting an interview, though of course I can't put specific odds to it.

Feel free to send through your resume and I can let you know what I think!

Hello!

Referrals always are welcomed, since it puts you in HRs radar. Hence, no matter how junior de person is, don´t underestimate it. 

Furthermore, it seems that you check the boxes for being invited to an interview, so it can only increase your chances. 

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara

As mentioned by others, it is always better to have a referral because it shows that you have good networking skills, that someone can vouch for you and that you are personable enough to get a referral to begin with.

You have everything going for you in order to score an interview invite based on what you have written, all the best!

You are qualified to get an interview - but you are not qualified enough to get an interview in any scenario. In other words, with your current profile, you may get it or not, it's a matter of luck.

So yes, you would benefit from that recommendation in order to increase your chances.