Interviews via referral

Hello there,

Referrals forms a priority list within the recruitment pipeline of consulting firms. As such, the majority of the referrals will made its way into PST / interview phases (over 70-80% in APAC), as the HR team put trust on consultants evaluation of the candidates that they refer.

Essentially, it will allow the candidate to skip over the long queue of CV screening and go immediately for the PST test or interview, depending on the role that they are qualified for.

Kind regards,
Nathan

Hello,

I can`t tell you a percentage, but a referral can be a great instrument that helps you secure an interview invite.

However, it is not a 100% guarantee that you eventually get an offer because some points and effort must be given from your side as well.

The question is: How much do you really want to get the job? Of course, it is better to provide yourself with a referral for the targeted firm. Otherwise, you can not even get invited.

Was this helpful?

GB

Referral can help improve your chance for sure. But candidates need to be clear of 2 points also: (1) Your CV/resume still need to be up to standard. If your CV/resume fails, referral might not be able to save you from being filtered out (2) Who refers you makes a big difference. When junior consultant refers you, your file could still go into the screening batch. When senior people refers you, then it can potentially lead to an interview directly. It is always good to have referral compared to no referral, since there is no down side. But it is not 100% guaranteed you'd get interviewed, depending on the above 2 factors.

Best,

Honestly, it's pretty important (but not must-have). Regardless, you can't change this and the answer is hypothetical and company/city specific. Instead of worrying about this, just focus your energy on getting those referrals! There's no cost!

Hey A,

First of all, I need to say that referrals are absolutely essential in order to maximize your chances of being invited to the real interview.

I have already helped many candidates with referrals to get their invites and, consequently, turn them into job offers. One of my mentees just thanked me on Monday - he got an offer and decided to join Strategy & Dubai.

I would like to explain you the mechanics how referrals usually work:

My mentee sends me the documents (CV and cover letter) for a specific company.

I have a very wide network of friends, former colleagues and ex-mentees on high positions in consulting (partners, principals and managers) across the world. I chat with them individually praising your competences and skills. Afterwards, I ask them to follow your documents on their behalf directly to their HR ladies while putting a word for you.

In that way you may get your “partner referral” which normally brings you in the pole position for the interview. You may compare it to “skipping the line for business class” at the airport.

If you have any questions or need help to get interviews and convert them to offers, just let me know ?

Best,

André

Hi,
it strongly depends on the office. E.g. NYC, SF and London more than 80% of the interviews pass through referrals. In most of the other offices, it's not strictly needed (of course it helps).

Best,
Antonello

Hi Anonymous,

there are too many variables that can influence the percentage of successful referrals in an office:

• Type of office – some offices are more competitive than others, even if you have a referral
• Strength of the connection with the person offering a referral – if you know well the person he/she could follow-up with HR/try to underline your points of strength more
• Position of the person offering a referral – partners referrals are more effective than analysts ones

Even without knowing the exact percentage though you should always try to get a referral as this increases the probability without downsides. You can find more on referrals at the following link:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/hey-everyonehope-all-is-well-3176

Best,

Francesco

Hi,

It really depends on the office. In New York or London, chances are high that they will not even check your resume without a referral

But nobody knows the rates other than HRs

Best

Hello!

Do you mean, how many of the total interviews that happen in MBB come via referral?

To be honest, I don´t think anyone outside HR can answer that.

However, how is it relevant? Wouldn´t it be better to know how many of the referrals do indeed get an interview? (since what you are trying to measure, I asume, is how effective it is to have one). Unfortunately, don´t know either.

Best,

Clara