CaseClimbMost people who break into consulting without a family contact or a well-connected university club do it with a strong CV, a set of practised cases and a handful of well-run conversations. This guide covers what those conversations can and cannot do for you, who to contact and in what order, two sample messages you can adapt, how to run a 20-minute coffee chat, and how to move toward a referral without asking for one outright.
What networking does in consulting recruiting
From the hiring side, networking helps you in three ways. You learn how a firm differs from its competitors in ways the website does not show: how staffing works, what a first project looks like, which practices are growing. You turn that knowledge into a sharper answer to "why this firm", a question interviewers ask in most fit rounds and one most candidates answer with lines anyone could copy from a brochure. And in some cases, a consultant who has spoken to you puts your CV forward with a short note, which can earn it a closer read from the screener.
Plan around the limits. A referral gets your CV looked at; it does not lower the bar for the case or the fit interview. If your CV is weak or your cases are untested, spend the next hour on those. A candidate with twenty coffee chats and five practice cases is in a worse position than one with five chats and thirty cases, because interviewers decide the offer on the five skills a case interview tests.
Who to contact, and in what order
Start with people who have a reason to reply. The list below runs from warmest to coldest, and most candidates get more replies working down it than scrolling through LinkedIn search results.
- Alumni of your university or school now at the firm. A shared institution is the most common reason a stranger answers, and many careers services keep alumni directories you can search by employer.
- Former colleagues, for experienced hires. Someone who worked with you can speak to your work, and a consultant gives that more weight than a first meeting.
- Second-degree connections. Ask the person you know for a short introduction instead of messaging the consultant cold; a note from a mutual contact tends to get a reply where a cold message does not.
- Recruiters and consultants at events. Campus presentations, case workshops and online information sessions put you in a room with people whose job that evening is to meet candidates.
- Cold contacts with something in common: same home city, same former employer, same sport, same first degree.
Aim for two or three conversations per firm you care about, with people at different levels if you can. An associate tells you what the work feels like day to day; a manager tells you how staffing and progression work.
A cold message and a follow-up that get replies
Keep the first message short enough to read on a phone between meetings. Name the connection, make one specific request, and make it easy to say yes. A LinkedIn note to an alumna might read:
"Hi Sarah, I'm a final-year economics student at Leeds and saw you joined the Manchester office after the same degree. I'm applying to strategy consulting this autumn and trying to understand how the work in Manchester differs from London. If you could spare 20 minutes for a call in the next few weeks, I would be grateful. I'll work around your diary, and a no is fine if things are busy."
If you hear nothing after a week, send one follow-up, by email if you can find the address or as a second LinkedIn message. After that, stop. A follow-up might read:
"Hi Sarah, following up on my note from last week in case it got buried. I'm preparing for first-round interviews in November and would value 20 minutes on how projects get staffed in the Manchester office. Any time over the next three weeks works for me, including early mornings. If now is a bad time, I understand, and thank you for reading."
Each message states who you are, why this person and what you want, in under 90 words. Neither asks for a referral, a job or comments on an attached CV. Most busy consultants leave those requests unanswered.
How to run a 20-minute coffee chat
Treat the call as a short interview in which you ask the questions. Open by thanking them and stating your situation in two sentences. Spend most of the time on three or four prepared questions, and finish two minutes early.
Good questions get answers you could not find online. Prepare three or four from this list:
- Ask about the first project they were staffed on and the part that surprised them.
- Ask how they chose this firm over the others, if they had other offers.
- Ask which kinds of work the office does most of, and which practices are growing.
- Ask what separates a strong first-year consultant from an average one.
- Ask how feedback and staffing work in practice: who decides, and how often people move between projects.
- Ask what they would change about their own preparation if they were applying again.
- Ask who else you should speak to, at a different level or in a different practice.
Avoid questions you could answer with a search, and questions that put the consultant in an awkward spot:
- Salary, bonus or exit opportunities in a first conversation.
- A direct request for a referral, which puts them on the spot.
- Requests to review your CV or run a practice case on the call, unless they offer.
- Questions about how hard the interviews are or how many candidates pass. Most consultants do not know, and the question signals worry where you want to show curiosity.
Take notes during the call or straight after it. Write down one specific detail you can use later, such as a project type, a staffing practice or a phrase the person used about the culture. That detail is the raw material for your "why this firm" answer, and the fit interview guide covers how to build it into a full answer.
Asking for a referral without asking outright
Most consultants who refer a candidate do so because the conversation went well and they chose to offer. You make that offer more likely by being specific about your timeline and leaving a door open. Near the end of the call, say where you are in the process and ask for advice on the next step. A line that works:
"I plan to submit my application in the next two weeks, and I'd welcome any advice on what to do before then."
Many consultants answer that with an offer to pass your CV to recruiting or to mention your name. If they offer, thank them, send the CV within a day with a two-line summary they can forward, and tell them when you have applied. If they do not offer, accept the answer, thank them anyway and keep the relationship warm.
Keeping track and following up
Keep a spreadsheet with one row per person: name, firm, office, level, how you found them, the date of each message, the date of the call, the details you learned, and the next action with a date. Without it, candidates send duplicate messages and mention the wrong office in an interview.
Send a thank-you note within 24 hours of the call and name one thing they said that you will act on. Then send one short update later, once something happens: you applied, you got an interview, you got an offer or you did not. Two or three messages across a recruiting season is enough.
Networking as an experienced hire versus a student
Students network into a structured process. Firms run campus events and publish application windows. Your conversations help you choose between firms and feed your motivation answers.
Experienced hires network into a less predictable process. Many firms hire experienced candidates against specific needs, such as a practice that wants people from banking or healthcare, and those roles may not appear on a careers page at the moment you look. Your best route runs through people who know your work: former colleagues now in consulting, clients who hired consultants, partners you met on the other side of a project.
Lead with your sector knowledge. A partner in a practice that serves your industry has a reason to speak to you that an associate in a general office lacks. Expect to be asked, in that first conversation, which practice you would join and how your background helps the firm's clients. Keep salary and level out of the networking stage; you discuss those with recruiting once you are in the process.
What interviewers hear when you name-drop
Some candidates open a fit answer or close a case by listing the people they have spoken to at the firm. From the interviewer's chair, most of us hear a list of names as a request for credit for meetings. The interviewer has no way to check what those conversations covered, and no interviewer scores the case higher because of them.
You do better using what you learned than naming who you learned it from. "I spoke to two consultants in the Manchester office, and both described working across sectors in their first year, which is the reason I'm applying here" gives the interviewer a reason they can test. If an interviewer asks whether you have spoken to anyone at the firm, answer with first names and offices, then move to what you learned.
Avoid naming a senior partner you met once at an event as if they back your application. Interviewers sometimes know the person, and if the partner does not remember you, you lose credibility.
Common questions
Do I need to network to get a consulting offer? No. Many candidates get offers through an online application, a strong CV and good case performance. Networking helps you choose firms, write better motivation answers and sometimes get a referral, so treat it as useful and limited.
Is there a right number of people to contact? For each firm you plan to apply to, aim for two or three good conversations. Send more messages than that, since many will go unanswered, and stop once you have what you need for your applications.
Should I attach my CV to the first message? No. Send it once someone offers to pass it on or asks for it. Most consultants read a CV attached to a cold note as a request for a referral before you have earned one.
Is it too late to network once applications are open? No. Conversations in the weeks before a deadline still help with your motivation answers, and some consultants will still refer you. Keep the request small, one call, and state your deadline so they can decide whether they have time.
Networking gets you a better-informed application and, in some cases, a closer read of your CV. The interview comes down to how you handle the case, so put most of your hours there, starting with a timed case on the practice page.
