Hi there,

This is indeed an interesting question which is probably relevant for quite a lot of users, so I am happy to provide my perspective on it:

• First of all, it is great to hear that you are already preparing your entry into consulting! A lot of candidates omit on doing so early on and try to receive referals too late in the process.
• Yet, while I think it is great that you did approach the networking sessions in a genuine, natural way, I would advise you not to “give homework” to your (heavily busy) counterparts to think about and come back with more contacts.
• Since with most consulting companies, being a successful referee comes with financial benefits, most employees do not mind providing a referral as long as it is meaningful (which it is since all of them have talked to you before). As such, I would advise you to rather end the networking conversations with something like “Thank you again for your time and insights on your employer. Would it be OK if I reached out to you in about 9 months before my applications. In the meantime, I would highly appreciate if you would give providing a referral for me a thought.”

In case you want a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare your referrals and application files in general, please feel free to contact me directly.

I hope this helps,

Hagen

Hi there,

First of all, you're kind of doing this wrong!  Asking them to put you in touch with somewho “who you think can be inspiring to me” is a wild way to do it!

Rather, at the end of the call, you should have made in clear you're interested in x office, x role, or x function/industry that they are not a part of. Ask them to put you in touch with someone in your area of interest!

In terms of referrals, you should “hint” at a referral. I.e., say you'll definitely be applying in the coming weeks, that this call has really re-confirmed your interest, and ask if they have any tips/advice for you.

Good luck!

Hi there. A few comments: 

• “it will be great if you can connect me with you colleagues who you think can be inspiring to me”. 
  First, this is the kind of request to do during your conversation, not in an email. 
  Second, this is not a good request. Inspiring is both a demanding and vague term. You ask for the best, but your purpose is not clear (and suggests you don't know if you are interested). I wouldn't know who would be inspiring to you, and I wouldn't know why I was asking them for their time. In other words, you are asking for the best, but anyone will do… neither is good option. 
  You need a more pragmatic approach (e.g. someone from your school, your nationality, a specific industry, etc.). 
   
• You should not be direct in your request for a referral. They already know what you are looking for. Instead, you should send them a “hint”. Tell them you will be applying soon and ask them if they have any advice to increase your chances. They may take the hint and refer you, or send you to talk with someone else. You can “ask” again (this same way) when you actually apply. 
   
• It is possible that you are not having the best approach during the conversations. It is good you are doing the “organic” way, but I'll share a “secret” with you. I received a lot of calls people asking me about my experience. But I knew they didn't want to know about my experience, they were just trying to have a nice conversation in order to get a recommendation. I understand why they do this, but this is not a good approach, as this is fake. And conversations were always a bit akward. 
  It is so much better to ask them if you have a good resume and how you could improve it, or improve your chances to get an interview, and make your call about that. By the way, people are more willing to do a big favor after they do a small one. 
  Then you can ask them about their experience and show interest in them as human beings (and interest on the company's culture), but it is much better to have a conversation on the real issue that matters to you than on something else. 

Hi there,

1) Should I just be upfront next time, say something like "I am reaching out, hoping to learn more about the company and your experience. And hopefully if you find me interesting and capable, you will feel comfortable referring me during the recruiting season"? 

You should not ask explicitly for a referral, that’s too pushy. You can hint for a referral in an indirect way though.

2) Should I just be honest and verbal about my end goal so I don't waste their time or cause confusion? How would you feel if someone reach out to you and approach the conversation like this?

Not great! The main problem of your current approach is that (i) you should ask for something during the call not after and (ii) the closing should be an indirect request for a referral. Once the call is done the probability that they will refer you becomes very low.

You can find more on referrals here:

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

Best,

Francesco