REFERRAL
You got the referral.
You thanked the consultant.
You submitted the application.
Then...
Nothing.
Three days becomes seven. Seven becomes ten. Your classmates start posting interview invites.
Now every instinct says:
Send something.
The harder question is what.
Your follow-up is not supposed to force an update...
A consultant who referred you may not control the recruiting timeline.
They may not even know your application status.
So this message:
“Hi, just wondering if you have heard anything about my application?”
can quietly give them a job they never agreed to do.
A better follow-up has a different purpose.
Keep the relationship warm.
Provide useful context if something changed.
Thank them without repeatedly asking them to chase recruiting.
For example:
“Thanks again for referring me. I submitted my application on Monday and really appreciate your help. I’ll keep you posted if I hear anything from the team.”
Simple.
No invented urgency.
No hidden assignment.
How to Follow Up After Someone Refers You goes deeper into what to send at each stage.
But what if the deadline passed and other people are hearing back?
This is where your brain starts creating stories.
“They forgot me.”
“My referral did not go through.”
“I should ask them to check.”
Maybe.
But silence is ambiguous.
Recruiting timelines can differ by office, role, school, geography and candidate group. Your classmate hearing something first does not automatically tell you what is happening with your application.
Do not turn missing information into a verdict.
| Situation | Tempting move | Better interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| 3 days after applying | Ask for an update | Probably too early |
| Others receive interviews | Assume rejection | Your process may not be identical |
| Referrer stops replying | Send repeated nudges | They may simply be busy |
| You receive an interview | Say nothing until after | Update and thank them |
The best reason to message again may be good news...
Suppose you receive the interview.
Now absolutely update the person who referred you.
“Wanted to let you know I received a first-round interview. Thanks again for helping me get started.”
Notice what this does.
You are not asking for anything.
You are closing the loop.
And sometimes the consultant responds:
“Great. Happy to case with you.”
That next opportunity exists because you treated the relationship as a relationship, not a referral transaction.
Good follow-up creates another conversation.
If the bigger problem is that the person has stopped responding entirely, What to Do If a Consultant Stops Responding covers when another message helps and when it is better to move on.
There is a point where another email stops helping...
Master’s recruiting moves fast, which makes silence feel expensive.
But you still have other things you control.
Your other applications.
Case preparation.
Behavioural stories.
Networking with people at different firms.
Coursework that still has deadlines whether recruiting cooperates or not.
If one contact has referred you and you have thanked them appropriately, do not spend the next two weeks trying to extract certainty from them.
The referral has already done its job.
Now your application has to do its job.
And if the consultant wants to help again, make sure the last interaction they remember is not your fourth “just checking in.”