Firstly, you should never-ever-ever apply without a referral. Anybody capable of getting hired at McKinsey is capable of finding someone to refer them. It's a huge way to leapfrog a whole stack of resumes by using a personal connection.

If you were rejected, you need to try and get referred to a specialist recruiter whose opinion can often supercede a generic rejection. Agree that a partner-level referral can help.

There are no real rules here, but anytime you apply without a referall, you are making things harder for yourself.

Dear A,

I would recommend you to wait for some time, and nest time apply with strong referral and significantly improved resume. They have to see the changes.

Wish you good luck,

If you need any further help or advice with networking or next steps in your career path, feel free to reach out.

Best,
André

Yes it can. I referred a friend for a specific practice role although they had been rejected for the generalist track. But applying for the same role just with a referral this time might not be enough unless your referral is Partner level and a really strong one

Yes, give it a shot. But ideally you would have just done this from the get-go!

Hi Anonymous,

Without referral most likely it won't work out, especially considering the short time-frame since June.

What could work with a referral:

• Applying for a different role, since difference requirements go along with that
• Having a super-strong referral, ideally on partner level - most likely you need to have a strong proof why this person should refer you, so do your homework first and do all the steps required to ensure you developed yourself further meanwhile so it's worth interviewing you now.

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

Robert