Hi Anonymous,

In principle nothing different than earning a referral from any other person.

Please note that I did not say "getting" but "earning" on purpose. I don't know any legitimate to definitely get one, that's why I'd recommend more looking at the situation on how to earn a referral.

Earning implies a kind of process earning trust from a human being, which takes time. The partner needs to be sure he doesn't recommend a jerk in plain words speaking, so whatever instills trust in the communication is good to use.

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

Robert

Hi aa!

(a) you don't need reference from a partner. Getting reference from a more junior person is as powerful to land you the interview as that from a Partner. And beyond that, both are worthless.

(b) to get references in general, impress people. There is no way to force it, but networking with a handful of people in a targeted way (don't blast the office with requests for coffee chats on Linkedin - they'll know that you're wasting their time). Tell your story and impress them with your wits, ambition and humbleness. In order for them to recommend you, they'll need to trust you, so of course it's always best to build on commonalities: start with friends and acquaintance, then alumn from the same school or club, then strangers.

Not much more you can do - as I said: you can't force it.

1) LinkedIn - Reach to 2nd degree connections, alumni etc.

2) HR - Speak to HR at the offices you're interested in

Some general rules:

1) Never ask for a referral upfront - it's rude. If they were interested, they might not be anymore. If they weren't, well now they definitely aren't. You let them offer, and you let them know you're interested in applying. That's it

2) Play tag - If you can hopscotch across people, that's the best way to land on a good conenction (don't be annoying about it though). What I mean is, if an alumni at x office agrees to speak to him, but you're fundamentally interested y office, let him or her know at the end of the call, and ask if they know anyone you could speak to to better understand that office. Same goes for other industries!

Some great Q&As already here:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/consulting-firm-referral-strategy-6015

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/no-alumni-and-network-in-the-firms-i-want-to-apply-how-could-i-find-referrals-6760

Hello!

Look for networkings posts in this Q&A, there are many that are super super detailed tht will help you very much.

Cheers,

Clara