Does this count as a referral?

Question

I had a networking call with an MBB partner the other day, and he asked me for my CV without mentioning why. Shortly after the call, HR sent me an unprompted invitation for the online assessment, with the standard copy/paste message most applicants get when invited for these things.

There was no reference to the partner in the email, and I haven’t made any sort of formal application through the website.

Answer 1

Hi there,

Q: Does this count as a referral?

It seems you have indeed been referred by the partner to HR.

It is not clear if they added this as an official referral in the system. In any case, you moved to the next step, which is the best outcome a referral can provide, so that's what really matters.

Best,

Francesco

Answer 2

Hi there,

In my view this is a referral.

A Partner at the firm basically told HR to send you the online assessment.

Who cares if they uses some IT system or not to “officially” refer….they're pushing your application and getting your foot in the door…literally the same thing a referral does!

Well done and great networking!

Answer 3

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the invitation!

I think this is an interesting question that may be relevant for many people. I would be happy to share my thoughts on it:

First of all, since you can clearly see the outcome of his actions, this is a referral.
Moreover, I would highly advise you not to worry about it anymore, though. It does not really matter whether you have been sent a separate link or anything else, but what truly matters is that you obviously convinced the partner enough to provide the referral.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to address your specific situation, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Answer 4

Hi

From my point of view it doesn't count as a referral because it was the first time you were in contact with partner.

Nevertheless, the most important is that they seem interested by your profile and they want you to start the process.

Referral is usefull to get into the process so at this point it doesn't matter any more :)

Answer 5

Hi there,

yes, clearly a referral, as the Partner triggered the process for you internally. Doesn't matter whether there is a reference in the email or whether you submitted formally - referrals can, circumvent the latter (although it becomes less common nowadays).

Hope this helps.

Regards, Andi

Answer 6

Hi there!

Certainly!

Sounds like you had a good conversation.

Make sure that you apply before the invite expires.

Best,
Cristian

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