I’m trying to break into consulting and I keep hearing that networking and referrals are everything, but honestly I have no idea where to start. I’m not from a target school, I don’t have family connections in the industry, and cold LinkedIn messages feel like they just disappear into the void. I’m wondering if there’s an actual playbook for this or if I’m just supposed to stumble through it. Like, how specific should your initial outreach even be? Should you immediately ask for a referral, or does that come later? And how do you even find people worth reaching out to if your network is basically empty? I feel like everyone’s advice is either too generic (“just network!”) or weirdly prescriptive in a way that doesn’t match reality. Has anyone here actually gone from zero connections to landing a real referral that turned into an interview? I’m trying to figure out if there’s a concrete sequence to this or if it’s just luck.
lol yeah, the “zero network” thing is rough but everyone acts like it’s this insurmountable problem when it’s rly not. just start reaching out to ppl doing the job u want. ask them random questions abt their day. dont ask for shit initially. after like 3-4 convos, slip in that u’re interested in the space. thats it. most ppl will refer u if u dont seem desperate af about it. everyone hates the desperate angle.
real talk: ur linkedin cold msgs arent disappearing bc ur network sucks, theyre disappearing bc ur msgs are generic. write something that actually shows u read their profile. something that makes them think ur not just spamming everyone. half the battle is literally not sounding like everyone else trying to get a referral.
this is exactly where i am rn too!! honestly just starting conversations and being genuine seems to work better than trying to optimize everything. people respond better when ur actually curious about their work.
You’ve got this! Starting from zero just means unlimited potential to build meaningful connections. Focus on genuine conversations first, and referrals will follow naturally. You’re already thinking strategically about this!
I was in your exact position two years ago. I started reaching out to like 30 people and got maybe 5 responses, but one of those conversations led to a coffee chat, and that person eventually referred me to their team. The thing I realized is that the people who got back to me were the ones I asked real questions to, not generic pitches. It took longer than I wanted, but it actually worked.
Research shows that informational interview acceptance rates improve significantly when your outreach includes a specific reference to the person’s work or recent company news. Aim for 20-30 personalized outreaches weekly. Typical conversion: 15-20% response rate, 30-40% of those turn into actual coffee chats, and roughly 25-30% of chats result in warm introductions or referrals within 3-6 months. The timeline matters here.