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Follow ups to a partner

Bain BCG Mck McKinsey RolandBerger
New answer on Sep 22, 2020
9 Answers
1.1 k Views
Anonymous A asked on Sep 21, 2020

I had an informational interview with a partner. He gave me mixed messages during the call, he complimented me for my unique mindset/presentation and also suggested to try to another office. At the end of the call he asked me to send him my resume and that he would let me know. The last week I sent the third follow up without any reply. What to do in this case? Thanks!

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Ian
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Sep 21, 2020
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Ah, unfortunately you've already gone a bit too far :/ Two followups is ok...3 is too much!

May I ask how far apart these followups were? Ideally you gave it a number of weeks before following up?

All this said, it's likely you didn't "do anything wrong" and that he simply became too busy to respond. That being said, this is really probably the end of this trail.

What you should do is:

1) Continue networking and searching for other referrals

2) Try to speak to the office that he recommended (did he suggest other offices)

3) Reflect on this call and next time also try to get put in touch with someone (I call this "Playing tag", whereby you look for something you spoke about such as another office, industry, background,etc. and ask if they know anyone who you could speak further to about that)

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Anonymous replied on Sep 22, 2020

Hard to judge without the context, but congratulating you for a unique mindset might also not have been a true compliment in a consulting context.

After a recommendation to apply to another office and 3 unanswered follow-ups, I would not expect a response anymore. Calling them will likely not yield in a positive result. If they were excited about you, they would have acted already. And on the contrary, it has the potential to make you the butt of jokes if they get the impression you're not getting the signals. This sucks, but it is what it is. Move on to the next opportunity.

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Anonymous B on Jul 21, 2023

There is no need to feel the pain of being butt of jokes, since no one has time to discuss each individual candidates within the office. And people who actually do that are real A*&holes and don't deserve any space within the firm.

Robert
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Sep 21, 2020
McKinsey offers w/o final round interviews - 100% risk-free - 10+ years MBB coaching experience - Multiple book author

Hi Anonymous,

As you can imagine, partners are extremely busy and honestly speaking potential non-senior hires are rarely on the top of my to-do list.

Especially emails are easy to ignore or move into a to-do-sometime-later-if-I-get-bored-Sunday-afternoon folder.

I'd suggest still waiting for 2 weeks after your last inquiry and afterwards just grab the phone and call the guy (that really means calling, not sending another email).

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

Robert

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Anonymous updated the answer on Sep 22, 2020

Dear A,

3 follow-ups is quite a lot. I would recommend you to wait for 2 more weeks and then call. Just imagine that partners are very busy.

Also, keep on networking, it will help you to take it easier.

If you need any help or advice with networking, feel free to reach me out.

Best,
André

(edited)

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Mehdi
Expert
replied on Sep 21, 2020
BCG | Received offers from all MBB & Tier 1Firms | Supporting you secure your top tier consulting offer

Hi there,

I would suggest you wait two more weeks to call/send a third message or ideally get in touch with his/her assistant and ask when you can have a 10 min call with him.

I hope this helps!

Mehdi

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Anonymous replied on Sep 22, 2020

Hi,

I would suggest that you should find an email of his/ her assistant and try to contact the assistant instead.

Partners are extremely busy and are overwhelmed with emails. As a results sometimes they might simply miss your email.

Good luck!

Anton

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Ken
Expert
replied on Sep 22, 2020
Ex-McKinsey final round interviewer | Executive Coach

I would just wait, especially if you have sent him three follow up's! It's clearly not top of his mind (for now) and he will act if he wants to.

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Francesco
Expert
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replied on Sep 22, 2020
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.500+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success (➡ interviewoffers.com) | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

Hi there,

Do you know why he suggested another office?

I agree with the other comments that 3 follow ups is quite a lot already. I would look for another referral at this stage.

Best,

Francesco

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Vlad
Expert
replied on Sep 21, 2020
McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Hi,

3 follow-ups is quite a lot. I would not expect a positive outcome (referral) in that case. Just continue networking

Best

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Ian gave the best answer

Ian

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