Referral from a lower level

Hi there,

A referral is just a door opener such that the recruiting team will look through your application more thoroughly. Depending on the seniority, tenure and advocacy of the person referring you, you have a better chance of getting a first round interview. The more senior the person referring you is, the better. The longer the tenure of that person with the firm is, the better.

The reason is that such voices carry more weight than referrals coming from super junior or brand new people. They typically know the HR folks better and have been involved in recruiting activities for a while so it is usually assumed that they have a good grasp of what types of candidates with which sets of qualifications the firm needs.

Ideally, you get a referral from someone from the same office (or same country) you are applying to. However, a referral from someone within the same firm but different country organization is still better than no referral.

A direct rejection after the CV screening stage can still happen - even with a referral. In that case the HR team usually provides some feedback to the person having given the referral. So you should follow up with them to better understand the rationale in case that happens. 

And as always, factors such as economic conditions and headcount/budget planning of the individual firm also matter significantly in these decisions - but they are not within your control.

Best

"can", yes. Will the referral have much value? No.

The higher up, the more tenured and the stronger that person's in-house reputation, the more valuable the recommendation will be. A junior employee would typically not have any of these, so unless he/she already built a very strong reputation internally and/or really knows you, that referral will be just one data point amongst many. Still worth something though, so don't dismiss it.

Hi,

In general, MBB is hiring for Analyst / Associates roles. Can an analyst make a referral for an Associate? - Yes. Will it be valuable? - Yes

Manager applications are mostly outliers and rare cases and in these cases, you need a referral from a partner

Vlad

Hi there!

Yes, theoretically he can, but it will not have any sense. You need to have a strong referral from somebody who has a higher position than you. Only this type of referral can secure your interview invite.

Hope it helps
GB

 

Based on the specific range of entry-level roles you have listed, they can definitely make referrals, both formally through the firm's referral programme (which often involves a cash incentive) and informally by sharing the candidates CV with recruiting. This is true for any referral but it is much better if that person has been at the firm for a meaingful duration and have an established relationship with the recruitment team.