How does a referral work?

Hi guys, hope everyone is doing well! Just was wondering for SA programs, how do referrals work? Do they explicitly tell you that they’ll push your resume or move on with you? Or, do they not explicitly tell you but still vouch for you where you can get an interview? Heard many mixed thoughts, please let me know!

8 Comments
 

So honestly you just have to cast a wide net and hopefully you get first rounds? Do they normally all hop on a call and go through resumes and if people like you they will vouch for you? But obviously the more senior, the more pull so it’s better to talk to vp, director, md right? Also, how many calls do you think you should do bare minimum to get atleast 5 first rounds?

 

Wow i see, I’ve heard that some banks do that. Do you have any tips to make someone stand out in a coffee chat? Heard it’s best to be personable and to ask good questions, but sometimes when the banker just doesn’t seem enthusiastic it feels like i’m interviewing them. I always feel like i have better calls with analysts since they’re closer to my age compared to associates/vp’s

 

This is my general go to normally which is to break the ice such as like how your weekend was or any plans for the weekend, then going straight into my tmay and then ask them to give a background and their path to the firm. After I just ask my questions that I had and that’s about it. But, you’re saying that for each question I ask, after I should provide some input like I really relate to that…. And so that brings me to my next question. Kind of like that?

Did you see any past kids do something very well or help stand out for their coffee chats compared to the rest? Anything would be appreciated!

 
Most Helpful

I mean when you talk to your friends you don’t just rapid fire questions to them each time they finish talking right. Like obviously you want the bankers to do most of the talking but give us some room to breathe. Also in terms of chats we have optimized everything. The only thing you get from us is a rating. Potentially you might get a warm intro so the n of your ratings is higher but no one below MD has the power to just say “must interview”. This is how it works for us everyone else is different 

 

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