Hi there,

Great to hear you were invited to do the assessment game and especially the networking call - usually they keep these to high-potential candidates given the consultants' limited capacity.

It's only been two weeks since you applied, and you had the networking call in between, you're moving at the right pace and following up accordingly which is great. It's normal cadence as the recruitment team is going through a long hiring backlog in these uncertain times.

Just keep (1) preparing for the case interviews, and (2) applying elsewhere until you get an official interview invite. I recommend following up once it's been two business weeks since your last interaction/follow-up.

Hope this helps!

Rami

Hi there,

I applied to an MBB summer internship two weeks ago - should I follow up with the recruiter now? I haven't been offered an interview or any further steps yet (except for the assessment game which I have completed). Any insight into when interviews are called for would also help.

I would not follow-up yet. I would wait another 1-2 weeks. Remember that you following up isn't really going to change anything (it's an illusion of control). But, if it helps you to know and have clarity, then you can still do it! 1-2 weeks from now is about right.

Also, I had a networking call with a consultant (different firm) - I sent a thank you email afterward with a request for a referral. It's been about a week since, is this something I should follow up on?

You should have “requested” on the call (in a tactful way). Asking via email is awkward. You can try to follow-up, but they've already “responded” by not answering.

In general, if you could provide any tips on how to assess whether a situation is good to follow up on or to just leave it, that would be much appreciated!

It's honestly all situation/circumstance based. You'll learn as your career progresses!

Basically, you need to assess whether your email will have positive or negative impact. If you email too soon (before a reasonable time period for them to action something), you become annoying. If you email too late you may have lost momentum. It's all a balance!

If you have a coach they can help you on a case-by-case basis.

(edited)

Hi there,

Two weeks is not a lot of time and you were already invited for the game. So something actually happened! 

Did you do this game/assessment yet? The results may or may not be taken into consideration for inviting you to the interview. Hence, I would give it a couple of weeks from doing the assessment before following up with HR.

As for the consultant, it’s really important to build a relationship or at least some decent rapport before asking for “support” (would keep it broad) during a conversation. Sending a thank you note with a ”request for a referral” doesn’t seem like very good style and is something I might have ignored in the past as a McKinsey consultant. Besides, referral means that a consultant files the application in your name. Since you have already applied, you can’t technically get a referral. However, they could drop an endorsement note to HR (hence, better ask for support, which is broader and includes this for example).

Hope the above pointers help for next time - but of course I hope you’ll be successful this time around :)

Best of luck!

I applied to an MBB summer internship two weeks ago - should I follow up with the recruiter now? I haven't been offered an interview or any further steps yet (except for the assessment game which I have completed). Any insight into when interviews are called for would also help.

A. Yes ideally 2 week is a good wait time for follow-up 

Also, I had a networking call with a consultant (different firm) - I sent a thank you email afterward with a request for a referral. It's been about a week since, is this something I should follow up on?

A. You should not follow-up in this case, a referral is a means of endorsement, it is an employee saying I vouch for this candidate. Most consultants are not comfortable doing this irrespective of the financial incentive (referral bonus) unless they know the candidate quite well atime for follow-up

Also, I had a networking call with a consultant (different firm) - I sent a thank you email afterward with a request for a referral. It's been about a week since, is this something I should follow up on?

A. You should not follow-up in this case, a referral is a means of endorsement, it is an employee saying I vouch for this candidate. Some consultants are not comfortable doing this irrespective of the financial incentive (referral bonus) unless they know the candidate quite well and have an assessment of their fit and competence

(edited)

Hello,

Regarding your application: I think 2 weeks is a relatively short amount of time, unless you know that many of your peers have gotten interview invites. I would wait 1-2 more weeks before following up. 

Regarding the referral request: I agree with my fellow experts on this, a referral is usually something for which you have to build a solid relationship first, where the consultant feels like they can really vouch for you given your competencies, interest, and fit. This is probably quite hard to do off the back of 1 intro call. I would keep networking, build up stronger relationships with people, and look for a referral elsewhere down the line.

Hi there, 

As a general guideline, if you're worried about not having received an answer, give it up to a week more and then reach out. There's nothing really that you're risking aside from seeming to be an eager beaver and nobody really got kicked out of the recruitment process for that. 

Best,

Cristian

Hello!

You mention that they did send the assessment, did you do it already? If so, they will follow up with you and tell you wether you pass or not. 

Regarding the follow up, since you already did send a thank you email a week ago, I think it would be too much. 

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara

Should you follow up with the recruiter? No. Following up doesn't change your situation, and 2 weeks is a quite reasonable ammount of time. You may contact them when you are close to the 1 month mark to understand whether you should expect an interview or not. 

Regarding the referral, you may follow up ONCE, and that should be sent between 1-2 weeks after the initial email. If you get no reply again, that is your answer.