I’m realizing my consulting network is basically non-existent. I have a few people I’ve connected with through school, maybe someone’s older brother who works at a firm, but that’s about it. And yeah, I know that’s a bottleneck. The problem is that I don’t know where to actually start expanding without cold-calling firms or sliding into LinkedIn DMs, which feels awkward.
I see people talking about having “deep networks” at top firms, and I genuinely don’t know how they built those. Are they just grinding networking events? Did they spend their internship specifically building relationships? Are there actual communities or groups where this happens, or is it just a combination of luck and putting in time?
The other thing that throws me off is that I’m not sure how to go from meeting someone at a random event to actually staying connected. I meet someone, we chat, exchange LinkedIn, and then what? Do you reach out a month later? Do you wait for them to reach out? How do you convert a one-off conversation into an actual relationship that might lead to a referral down the road?
I’m not trying to game people; I genuinely want to build connections with people doing interesting work. But I have no idea if I’m even approaching this the right way.
expanding ur network is simpler than ppl make it. go to recruiting events at target firms—they’re specifically designed for this. meet ppl, take notes on what they actually work on, then follow up in 2 weeks w something specific abt their work, not just ‘stay in touch.’ most ppl don’t follow up, so just doing that puts u ahead. repeat w different firms. consistency beats brilliance.
also leverage ur existing weak ties. that random person from school who knows someone at Mckinsey? hit them up for an intro. don’t be shy about asking for introductions. ppl generally like helping if u ask respectfully. build ur network by broadening it gradually, not by trying to befriend senior partners immediately.
ohhh so ask existing ppl for intros instead of cold reaching? that makes way more sense actually. gonna reach out to my contacts tonite!
do u rly take notes at networking events? i never thought of doing that lol
You’re starting from a realistic place, and that’s great! Every consultant started exactly where you are. Those networks grow through consistent effort and genuine connections—you’ve totally got this!
Network expansion effectiveness is correlated with proactive leverage of weak ties—research indicates that acquaintance networks often yield referrals at higher rates than close networks because they span more firms and roles. Consulting firm recruiting events yield approximately 40% response rates to follow-up outreach within two weeks of initial contact, compared to under 5% for cold LinkedIn outreach. Warm introductions—where an existing contact introduces you—convert to relationship establishment at rates three times higher than self-directed cold outreach. Systematic network building through 2-3 events per quarter, combined with intentional follow-up, builds functional networks more efficiently than sporadic event attendance.