Hi there,
A referral is still useful, even if you are from a target school. The reason is that you can distinguish yourself from other good candidates from your school who don’t have one.
I coach a lot of candidates from target schools (eg INSEAD) and always recommend they look for referrals – exactly because there are still many candidates from target schools they compete with.
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To find a referral, you should follow three main steps:
- Identify the people that can help you
- Write them a customized email
- Have a call and indirectly ask for a referral
As general tips:
- Don’t use LinkedIn for your communication – emails work better. You should target 30% conversion for your messages; if you are not achieving that, there is space for improvement
- When sending emails, your goal should be to organize a call, not to ask questions – you can then use the call for the questions
- You need to close the call with an indirect request for a referral – don’t leave that to chances. There are specific ways to phrase it
You should prepare three main things before the call:
- Your own pitch. 3-4 lines should be enough
- 3-4 questions on the personal experiences of the person. Avoid to ask questions about the company
- A closing question for the referral. It should be an indirect request to avoid being too pushy
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You can find more on how to get referrals here:
▶ How to Get an MBB Referral
Best,
Francesco