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Referral: location vs seniority

Hello,

Is it better to get a referral from an engagement manager/partner in the same country where my target office is or from a senior partner from a different continent?

Thanks!

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Ken
Coach
am 20. Jan. 2021
Ex-McKinsey final round interviewer | Executive Coach

Why not just go for both! :) If you had to choose then I would go with the local EM/partner who the recruiters of the local office know and will take the referral more seriously. Additionally, I wouldn't make a difference between a partner vs. senior partner, unless they are super senior (e.g., regional head, global industry head, etc.) at that firm.

Florian
Coach
am 20. Jan. 2021
1400 5-star reviews across platforms | 600+ offers | Highest-rated case book on Amazon | Uni lecturer in US, Asia, EU

Hey there,

In that case, I'd put a  bit more weight on the local referral because people might know each other, and that is a benefit. However, as Ken already said, there is no reason not to go for both at the same time.

The more

  • referrals
  • senior
  • diverse

the better will be your chances to move to the interviews/ aptitude test stage of the application.

Good luck!

Cheers,

Florian

Dennis
Coach
am 5. Apr. 2024
Roland Berger|Project Manager and Recruiter|7+ years of consulting experience in USA and Europe

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 (manager level and above) 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. But any referral is better than no referral.

Ideally, you get a referral from someone from the same office (or same country) you are applying to. But again, 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. On the flipside, you can still get an interview invite when you just apply online without a referral - the probability is just lower on average.

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

am 21. Jan. 2021
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.500+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success: ➡ interviewoffers.com | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

Hi there,

If you have already secured them I would go for both – just be transparent with the second person that you got another person referring you as well.

In terms of prioritization, I would consider 1st the local partner or the senior partner abroad (weight will basically be the same unless the senior is really very senior) and 2nd the local EM.

Best,

Francesco

Denis
Coach
am 20. Jan. 2021
Goldman Sachs Investment Banker NYC | Ex-Bain 5 yrs| MBA Chicago Booth | Passed > 13 MBB > 20 IB interviews

I d go for both!

Here more thoughts - also depends on the country and especially on the "money pool" the partners are connected to. E.g. in Germany, despite MBB having multiple offices across the country it would absolutely be OK to go for office A with a referral from a partner from office B (because there is one centralized Germany or DACH HR). This would of course look very differently in the US.

Best,
Denis

Gelöschter Nutzer
am 20. Jan. 2021

Try both. If you'd have to decide between two, the local EM is preferable IMHO.

3
Ian
Coach
am 20. Jan. 2021
Top US BCG / MBB Coach - 5,000 sessions |Tech, Platinion, Big 4 | 9/9 personal interviews passed | 95% candidate success

Honestly, I'd just be happy with any referral!

That said, I would take a senior partner over anybody anywhere. If it's below senior partner, then I'd prioritize same country/region

Vlad
Coach
am 20. Jan. 2021
McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Hi,

You can get a referral from anyone in any country for McK and BCG. It's not the case for Bain where you need a local referral.

  • Having a referral from the local office is better (since the person can ping HR or get some informal feedback)
  • Having a referral from a senior partner is better since it'll have more weight

Best

Clara
Coach
am 20. Jan. 2021
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

Congrats for that networking fruits. 

In theory, all of them weight the same. However, if I had to choose, I would choose seniority. 

However, why choosing at all? I would ask for both of them, that cannot harm

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara

Gaurav
Coach
am 21. Jan. 2021
#1 MBB Coach(Placed 750+ in MBBs & 1250+ in Tier2)| The Only 360° coach(Ex-McKinsey+Certified Coach+Active recruiter)

Hi there, 

I'd go with a local one but it doesn't make much of a difference - a referral is a referral - i. e. any ( and both) of them will work.

Cheers, 

GB

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