HOW TO ASK FOR A REFERRAL WITHOUT BEING SO TRANSACTIONAL?
Background: I’m a student at a semi-target with strong representation on the street. I’ve only just started to network actively.
So, I’ve had calls with alumni at two of the more “sought after” BB’s (regretfully, I started by shooting for the moon because yolo, right? Fuck.) Well, long story short, the calls went really well and I felt like the conversations were super genuine. Because of this, I completely folded and didn’t ask for referrals because I was afraid of coming across as merely transactional. I didn’t want either guy to assume I was immediately using them as a means for my sole end after having such good convo. Although I never asked, both guys made sure to tell me that I could reach out whenever I needed anything (one of them even telling me to text him.)
I’m not actively pursuing a position/internship just yet, so what should I do now? Should I wait until I am to contact them again? When the time comes, how do I ask for referrals?
Wait a few months and when you follow up ask for the referral.
should this follow up have to be via email or phone? thanks for the help!
email
Don’t ask for a referral, ask for “advice” after stating your interest in the firm. If they’re gonna give you a referral, they will do it at the moment.
When you start shooting out apps to their firms email them, let them know you applied, that you'd love to speak with more people from the firm, and ask if they could connect you with anyone else they think would be beneficial to speak with
Could also do this before applying up to you but may be overkill
I think it’s best to reach out before you apply. If you apply first and get auto rejected for some reason, it’s a lot harder for the hiring manager to undo.
bump
I think it depends on what point you are in college. I do best by trying to build up relationships and contacting connections every so often to ask something I'm curious about/have a general chat but I only just finished freshman year. What you ideally want is being able to somewhat casually text them every so often but you can't force that at all. My experience has been that people help you out recruiting wise without you even asking directly when you have a very good relationship. Also, usually ask at the end of the initial call if they know someone you should talk to. Sounds like you're still early too as you said you aren't pursuing an internship yet.
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