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when to follow up with referral contact?

and Bain BCG internship McKinsey Referral Summer Internship
New answer on Oct 17, 2021
7 Answers
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Anonymous A asked on Oct 08, 2021

Hi all, I am an undergrad regruiting for MBB summer internships (2022) and had a referral from a manager at one of the MBBs via successful networking. I have not heard anything from this firm since applying [on the deadline] over 3 weeks ago. Should I reach out to this contact and see if there's just a hold up with decisions or wait it out? Thanks!

(edited)

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Hagen
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Oct 09, 2021
#1 Bain coach | >95% success rate | interviewer for 8+ years | mentor and coach for 7+ years

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the referral!

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:

  • Contradictory to what other coaches said, I would advise you to not wait any longer to follow up with recruiting and politely “reassure” they have received your application files and ask about the current status. Either way, the recruiters had more than 3 weeks already to make the screening thus I would consider it valid to reach out to them.
  • However, I would advise you to contact the recruiters right away since they are your primary point of contact, not the referee (he/ she will most probably not have any details on your application anyways).

In case you want a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare your upcoming MBB interviews, please feel free to contact me directly.

I hope this helps,

Hagen

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Cristian
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Oct 09, 2021
#1 rated MBB & McKinsey Coach

Hello!

I'd give it another week and then reach out to HR instead of your referral contact. If HR doesn't get back within 1-2 weeks then I'd reach out to the contact. It's nothing unusual. Sometimes it just takes longer to process the applications. 

Best of luck!

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Ian
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Content Creator
replied on Oct 09, 2021
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Hi there,

If you have yet to reach out to the manager, I don't see any harm in messaging them for a light followup. My advice is to send this followup on either Tuesday or Friday morning, for the optimal chance of hearing back.

1-2 weeks from now, if that manager hasn't gotten back to you, I would reach out to HR.

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Francesco
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replied on Oct 09, 2021
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.000+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success (➡ InterviewOffers.com) | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

Hi there,

I would wait one more week, then rather call HR with the excuse to “verify they received everything”.

I did exactly that for one of my applications, 4 weeks after being referred, as I had not heard back, they look at the CV while we were talking and scheduled an interview on the spot. No guarantees this will work in your case, but there are no disadvantages if you contact them.

Hope this helps,

Francesco

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Eric on May 13, 2022

How did you convince them/ get the recruiter's phone number? It seems like lots of places have recruiters who are based not out of one office necessarily.

Francesco on May 13, 2022

Hi Eric, in my case I called the local office where I applied to (I googled for the number). I did not need to "convince" them, just mentioned I applied 4 weeks before via referral and they checked the CV on the spot. Hope this helps! Francesco

Antonello
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Oct 10, 2021
McKinsey | NASA | top 10 FT MBA professor for consulting interviews | 6+ years of coaching

Hi!

Definitely send a follow-up email!

Good luck,

Anto

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Pedro
Expert
replied on Oct 09, 2021
30% off in March 2024 | Bain | EY-Parthenon | Roland Berger | Market Sizing | DARDEN MBA

It seems a bit early as internship recruiting usually happens later in the year. I would give it a few more weeks.

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Anonymous A on Oct 09, 2021

The deadline was 3 weeks ago, if that makes a difference. Totally fine waiting though!

Agrim
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Oct 17, 2021
BCG Dubai Project Leader | Learn to think like a Consultant | Free personalised prep plan | 6+ years in Consulting

You have 3 options - you can do either of them (but not more than 1 of them)

  • Reach out to your referee and ask for a status check. Referees can in turn reach out to the HR they have applied to and get you an update.
  • Reach out to HR directly - if you know the exact person and they ID
  • Wait for a week or so - and then do any of the above steps. Typically a wait of a month is not abnormal.
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