You could spend an evening searching LinkedIn for strangers at McKinsey, BCG, and Bain.
Or you could search your own career.
The warmer network is often hiding in plain sight.
Former colleagues change companies. Clients move. Vendors become operators. People you worked beside three years ago may now be consultants, case-team leaders, or practice specialists.
The surprise is not that you know somebody.
It is how easily you can miss them.
“I do not know anyone in consulting” is usually too narrow a search
Experienced hires tend to define their network by current relationships.
Who do I talk to now?
Who would answer today?
That misses the advantage you have accumulated over years of work.
Open your career chronologically.
Think through:
- former employers
- major projects
- clients and suppliers
- industry associations
- previous managers
- colleagues who left before you
- graduate-school or professional-program contacts
Then ask a different question.
Where did these people go?
A former strategy manager may now be at BCG. A client you worked with during an implementation may have joined McKinsey. Someone from a previous employer may sit in a Bain practice that overlaps directly with your experience.
Your network did not disappear when people changed jobs.
It became less visible.
For a deeper method, see How to Network With Former Colleagues for a Consulting Career Change.
The old relationship gives you permission. It does not give you entitlement.
This is where experienced professionals can overcorrect.
You find someone you worked with six years ago. Great.
Then comes the temptation:
Hi, I saw you are at McKinsey. I am applying. Could you refer me?
Too fast.
History opens the door. Relevance keeps it open.
Reconnect around the relationship first.
Mention the shared project, employer, client, or period you actually remember. Then make the transition explicit rather than pretending this is a purely social message.
For example:
Good to see where you landed after our time on the pricing transformation. I am exploring a move into consulting now, particularly roles where my commercial experience could transfer. I would value your perspective on how that background is viewed inside the firm.
The point is not the wording.
The point is that the person knows why you chose them.
That changes the tone from transactional outreach to a professional reconnection with a real reason behind it.
The most useful former colleague may not be at MBB
Suppose your former manager is now at a boutique.
Ignore them because your target is Bain?
That could be a mistake.
They may know your work far better than a weak MBB connection. They may explain how your profile maps into consulting, introduce you to someone else, or tell you that the role you are targeting is one level too senior.
Useful truth can come before useful access.
| Contact | What you first want | What may actually matter |
|---|---|---|
| Former colleague at MBB | Referral | Understanding where you fit |
| Former manager at another firm | Introduction | Honest calibration |
| Past client | Connection | Evidence of client-facing impact |
| Old acquaintance | Quick chat | A bridge to a stronger contact |
A referral is only one possible outcome.
Sometimes the better outcome is discovering that your story is not yet sharp enough to deserve one.
Reconnecting gets harder when you pretend no time has passed
You do not need to act as though you have stayed close.
If you have not spoken in four years, say so naturally.
That honesty removes the awkwardness.
Do not fake continuity. Rebuild it.
Give context. Ask a bounded question. Make it easy for them to decline or respond briefly.
If they engage, the conversation can deepen.
If the relationship was once real, reconnecting often feels far less “cold” than your hesitation suggests. How to Reconnect With a Consultant You Met Before goes deeper into making that first message feel natural rather than opportunistic.
And then something interesting happens.
You stop asking, “Who at McKinsey can I message?”
You start asking, “Who already knows enough about me to make the next conversation useful?”
That list is usually shorter.
And much stronger.