Networking with former employee

I was looking through my directory and found that an alum worked at MBB for a good amount of time and got up to partner, but now works at a F500 company.

How useful is it to network with these kinds of people, when my goal is MBB, or a similar firm. No doubt he still knows people there, but is there much he could to do help me other than talk to him and use him in some behavioral "Why MBB?" questions? In other words, can a former employee help me land an interview, or is it pretty slim as he left the firm?

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Best Response

If he got all the way up to partner level at MBB, I'd be very surprised if he couldn't get you an interview if he wanted to.

Moreover, networking is about a lot more than just trying to get an interview. This seems like a really cool opportunity to talk to a guy who spent a lot of years at a firm you're interested in if you can get a phone call or a face to face with him. You should be looking at this as an opportunity to pick his brain, learn more about the firm, what it takes to be successful, why he chose the career path he took, etc. If your mindset is "I'm gonna talk to this guy just so he can help me get an interview", I think you run the risk of coming across as transparently self-interested. Take a genuine interest in what he has to say, and if he likes you, he'll do what he can to help you out.

 

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