Questions about recruiting/employee referrals

For those of you who work or have worked in IB or have been involved in IB recruiting, I am curious about the following:

1) How helpful is it to have someone (analyst) forward your resume along to HR? Particularly interested in schools with OCR.

2) How do referral systems vary at the different banks?

3) Would it beneficial to have them forward these resumes now or later, as recruiting for summer recruiting gets closer?

4) Do recent summer interns and new analysts have any leverage in recruiting? Can they send resumes/give interviews to people?

Know some of this information is scattered around and perhaps outdated. Thanks for your insights in advance.

 
Best Response

I think this largely depends on the size of the firm. If this is for a large bank, I don't think it will hurt you if you have 5ish referrals from various teams/departments. If it is a small firm/team, realize that word spreads quickly and you should stop after 1-2 referrals. However, think about it from an opportunity cost perspective... for instance instead of having 10 referrals for one firm, it would make more sense to spend the time speaking with 2-3 individuals from 2-4 different firms.

Whatever you do, DO NOT reach out to any more than two individuals on the same team. We had a situation over the summer where a candidate reached out to EVERY analyst/associate as well as multiple senior folks on our team. Suffice to say he did not get an interview despite having a great resume and proper qualifications. Just be smart about it and use common sense.

 

Referrals won't seal the deal for you. However, you can look at the process of getting an offer in 2 stages.

Stage 1 is getting on to the "closed" list (getting invited to a formal interview). The more people you have on what I call your "advocacy team" inside of the bank then the better your chances are of getting selected for an interview.

Stage 2 is the actual interview. Here, I don't think anyone who interviews you will care who your referrals are. However, you have to atleast get to this point to have a chance at shining in the final round interview so yes and no, referrals do and don't help. You need them to get into the process, but they won't get you much past the first round.

 

analysts typically screen resumes higher ups interview.

good chance but not 100% - also it depends if the analyst you got the referral from is screening or knows the person who is screening

-
 

To be honest in my experience its a crapshoot. Unless they are an MD in the group your looking for and they are willing to follow up multiple times on your behalf. I have gotten flagged and referrals from partners vps and associates and haven't received interviews.

 

That appears to be the consensus here. I have a 3.7 from a non-target with a legit PE internship, so while not an Ivy student, I'm not the worst candidate either. Did your interview schedule follow the OCR timeline (February) or were your interviews mostly early Janaury?

 

When I was a sophomore this is how I landed an internship at a small bank in the area. This is usually how they got most of their interns. Students at the bank would also know if they are hiring or not.

 

I have a buddy from a non-target who landed a GS SA S&T superday based on alumni referrals.

The problem with GS, in my experience, is that older alumni are not as helpful as they are at other banks. Again, that could just have been my experience.

 

Thanks for the info. Also: how long is the average the turnaround on response time? And how long should I wait before having a referral in a different department put in if I'm rejected / blown off?

Get busy living
 
dominatingtheT:
Firm name in the subject line, referral in the body.

Not sure if this is a serious reply or troll, but if the former, WTF are you talking about? OP said analysts are at the bank where his contact, the MD works at. And why would you EVER put their firm name in the subject line?

Keep the e-mail short and to the point. Do not babble. "My name is xx, a junior at xx university. I was referred to you by xx and wanted to reach out etc etc"

 

I don't see any problem with you asking to be introduced to one of the partners of MBB. Plus, you said that she is your mentor so you can just tell her that you are interested in consulting. It is in her discretion to do that for you.

Networking is an art. There are many ways to find connections with the consultants. In my case, I have met someone when I was traveling abroad that introduced me to an MBB Partner. In my experience, consultants generally love to give advice and share their experience. Keep in mind that you do not ask for an invitation for interview, you show them your interest and ask for their advice.

Best of luck!

 

Hi Awesome07

Thanks for your reply. I was wondering if you could help me with this hypothetical scenario: My mentor introduces me to a partner at an MBB and tells him/her that I am interested in the consulting business and would appreciate the chance to speak to someone knowledgable in the business. We set up an informational interview and talk about the consulting business. I leave a great impression on the partner. How can I leverage that to my benefit when applying for an internship at that respective firm? Do I apply online and let the partner know that I am applying? If so, what's the best way to word that (just wanted to let you know that I am applying? that's it?) ? Or do I let them know that I am interested in applying for an internship before I actually do so (and ask them more about the interview process and selection criteria-seems kind of careless since they're "officially" online for most firms)?

I am asking all of these detailed questions since I am planning to ask my mentor for help next week.

Thanks again!

Greed is Good.
 

I work at MBB. "Son of client" hires happen, and this is basically the same thing.

Concretely, I would suggest:

  1. Tell your mentor you are interested. Ask if she will recommend you and set up a meeting with consultants.
  2. Do the informational interview. Sell yourself, etc. Tell the consultant you are applying.
  3. When you apply, send a quick follow-up note to the consultant and your mentor, separately.

Basically, just be clear and open about what you want. The rest is up to the strength of the relationships involved.

 

No, I don't think that your relationship w the MD should be the deciding factor for which group you end up in. Pick the group that either interests you the most, you have experience in, that you click with best, that has best exit opps/highest dealflow, etc. Unless you told him during your meetings that you were interested in his group specifically, there's no reason you can't choose whichever group you want.

 

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Done with my third year. I have one full year left of my program and am taking an additional term the following fall to boost my grades. I have never failed a class, just haven't ended up with great marks,

Thanks for the responses.

 

You already had an MD guarantee you an interview and it has already been set up. Leave it alone and make sure to follow up and prepare for your interview.

Also start networking elsewhere to get more interviews lined up. I swear it's like common sense is lost on your generation.

 

If you ask that, you will be saying "I'm looking to leave."

Best way is to network yourself and not have them hold your hand through the process -- mainly because its risky if they say no, or worse. Even if you're friendly with them, it may make them feel betrayed or disappointed that they invested time and care into you for the long term. I'm assuming that you aren't part of a huge bank where analysts come and go nonstop, so this can easily happen. You'd be up the creek without a paddle if you ask that and there are no offers whatsoever (and not to mention, piss them off). Don't quote me, but I believe they have a right to fire you or hold your bonus after they sense that someone is interviewing or wants to interview elsewhere.

IMO don't use current superiors as a network for exit opps until you leave the firm. Unless you're REALLY close and friendly with them or they would not want to take you on (and its standard at the bank to leave after some time), you're basically crapping where you eat and its begging to backfire.

Hope that it goes well for you. Feel free to ask more questions.

 

Heard it can be significant too. Nothing to lose by asking but since you have no contract promising you the dough and you've forked over the applicant, what incentive would they have to pay you? Assuming of course that there was no mention of such a fee.

 

Would just be a gentleman's handshake. Know both of them quite well. If he's selected there would be significant savings from headhunter costs and employee time cost of going through a long recruitment process. $10k does not sound that high in light of that.

Headhunter fees range from 15% to 33%. Assuming $300k all-in comp this would yield a fee of $45-99k. Holy shite.

 

Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and let it go. You're stressing yourself way too much and anxiety over the past will dig yourself a deeper ditch. If he follows through and refers you to a contact, great-- count that as a blessing. However, don't be surprised if he doesn't because while it may just be a warm introduction, his ass is on the line and it'll make him look bad if you performed as you did with him.

 

yeah, that's what I was thinking. But I'm heavily leaning towards sending him an email tomorrow. No harm I guess?.. I've really got nothing else on the horizon & not working is driving me mad! Hell, I can't even do volunteer work cause the immigration guys don't allow it

 

Referral is tough because you are basically asking someone to put their name on the line for you when they have never met you. A difference between getting a referral and her passing your resume along to HR or the right person. I would see if you can get her on the phone and talk about her position. You have to remember that firms like this are huge and she may work in a completely different department. Your goal should be to leverage your network to speak to people within the IB department. Good luck.

 

Yeah senior guys its usually 10-20 minutes. Analysts/associates it can be as long as an hour especially if they're alum since you have a lot more in common and may end up spending 30 minutes talking about college/sports etc

 

Same question: What is a "mid-tier target?"

In my experience, it was easier to get on the phone with higher up people (AVP/VP) and if I ever asked them about specifics they recommended me to analysts. Also, definitely a higher up person will have more pull. Analysts will interview you - so again a good idea to reach out to them as well - but if a VP tells them to interview you, you will get the interview.

 

First off just to clarify ... The push will help your chances of getting an interview not landing the position. IME the push just ensures your resume actually gets looked at. If its been two weeks I think you can follow up

 

I wouldn't be blunt about it. As in I wouldn't send him an email saying "You said that you would push my resume through and I still haven't gotten a call, what's going on?" But something more along the lines asking if he knew what the time line looked like for the position for when they were going to start interviewing and everything like that.

make it hard to spot the general by working like a soldier
 

Talk to everyone and anyone. If they suggest someone at a more senior level, they probably liked you enough to think of them, or maybe the senior person had a similar career path. If you think it went well, though, it probably did.

Whatever you do, and whoever you speak with, make sure you're following up. Send out interesting/relevant articles every few weeks so you stay on their radar. I'd try to give your thoughts and then ask their opinion on the topic.You never know when an internship or job opportunity might pop up, and if you're on their mind and they get the sense you know what you're talking about, you might walk into an opportunity.

 

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