Referral to other office at McKinsey

Hi there,

Usually a referal works much better if it is in the same office or region (e.g. Southeast Asia). For cross-office, to increase the odds, either the referal has to come from someone senior e.g. Partner, or your friend shall know someone in the India office recruiting team.

Is starting with Singapore and then transfer to India office an option for you? TBH, a lot of consultants in India office would jump on the opportunity to move to Singapore...

Best,

Emily

Hi Bhavish,

Needless to say, the ideal scenario is a referral from a partner or director within your target office - that will definitely secure your interview slots.

Based on my experience, second best option is already a referral on partner/director level from another office (still better than from engagement manager from same office).

So main question is actually the rank of your referral source!

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

Robert

Hi there,

when I applied to BCG I got referred from a partner of a different office and got invited. This could still work if the connection is not a partner though although the probability to be invited will be lower.

It could make sense in your case to check for internal connections in McKinsey India first and apply as second step via your friend if you cannot find any strong one, you can find more on referrals at the link below:

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

Best,

Francesco

Hi,

Yes, it works!

There are certain criteria for the referral:

1. The consultant makes you a reference in the system and uploads your resume. Usually, he has to indicate why he thinks you are a good candidate
2. You skip some steps in the recruiting process (CV screening at McK, Test at Bain)
3. The consultant gets referral bonus ($) if you get a job offer

Best

Hi! the best way is to get the referral from a partner (even better – a partner from the office you want to apply to). This will almost certainly secure you an interview.

A referral from anyone other than partner doesn't guarantee anything these days. So, if your friend is a partner, then you are good. If she/he is not a partner, ask them to introduce you to a partner they know well, so that this partner can refer you.

Best,
Daniel

Hi A,

Yes, it works for different region. But much better to have partner referral and in your region. If your friend isn't a partner, ask him/her to contact you with a partner.


If you need any help, feel free to reach out.


Best,


André

Referrals definitely help and even more if they come from a senior member of the office (e.g., partner or senior partner). However, more than the role, what I believe matters the most is having a referral from someone who works at the office you are applying to. It can also be an associate or a manager, but he/she: 1) needs to know the HR quite well, 2) needs to have credibility in the office, 3) even better if he /she has been involved in recruiting previously with high success rate.

Hi Bhavish,

1) Yes, have them refer you (but ensure he/she indicates for which office)

2) Leverage their network to get put in touch with someone in India (for example, get them to put you in touch with HR).

Good start. Good luck!

Hello!

You should not have any problem at all.

What a referral guarantees is that the CV gets safe to the HR desk, so they can offer you an interview -normally, skipping the preliminary test, etc.-.

Hence, a partner from another office would suffice here. The rest -interviews, etc.- you need to meet the bar, regardless of who referred you.

Best of luck!

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Hi,

in addition to the well-explained criteria above from other coaches, I would only like to recommend proceeding with it: the referral - especially in this covid period - can really accelerate the process or make it happen

Best,
Antonello

Hello,

The probability of success of your friend's referral depends on his tenure and on his connections with India office.
The referral mechanism is really easy: someone refers you and your CV has priority in the HR screening process.This will be the only advanteage, during the case interviews you will be evaluated only on your perfomances. If you will receive an offer, your friend will get a bonus.

Best,
Luca