Warm Intros to Ex-Colleagues Now in Tech
You already worked next to the people who left consulting for tech two years ago. They are your fastest path in, and most people never ask them because the ask feels awkward.
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A plain LinkedIn search buries the people who would actually help you.
It ranks by prominence, so the most-followed, most-messaged names sit on top. FindWarmIntros surfaces the coworkers who share your school or a past employer - the people most likely to reply - and hands you a ready-to-send intro.
✍️ Ready-to-send intro“Hi - we both studied at [your school]. I’d love to hear about your path to a company you are targeting before I apply…”
… plus everyone else in your network who can put in a good word.
See who can refer you in - pick a consulting target:
Why the colleague who already jumped is your best referrer
A hiring manager at a tech company discounts a consulting resume because they cannot tell if you shipped anything or just made slides. A former colleague who is now inside that company solves exactly that problem: they worked the same late nights on the same client, so they can say 'this person owned the model, not the deck' in words an engineer or PM trusts.
They also translate. They already learned how to reframe 'workstream lead' as 'drove a cross-functional delivery' for a tech audience, and they will do that translation for you in a referral note if you give them the raw material.
How to reach out without making it weird
The mistake is opening with the ask. You worked together, then went quiet for two years, and now the first message is 'can you refer me.' That reads as transactional and it stalls.
- Lead with the shared thing. Name the specific engagement, team, or office, not just the firm. 'The Q3 supply-chain project at the retail client' proves you are a real colleague, not a cold applicant scraping LinkedIn.
- Ask about their jump first. 'How did the transition to a PM role actually feel after consulting?' re-engages them and surfaces exactly which teams are hiring, before you have asked for anything.
- Make helping you a 30-second act. Send a two-line blurb they can paste, plus the specific role link. A referrer who has to write your pitch from scratch quietly deprioritizes you.
- Give them an easy out. 'No worries if the timing is off' keeps the relationship intact even if they cannot help this quarter, so you can ask again later.
Finding which ex-colleagues actually landed where you want to go
The hard part is not the message, it is building the list: who from your old firm is now at the specific tech companies you are targeting, and which of them are close enough to your work to vouch credibly. Scrolling LinkedIn one profile at a time misses most of them.
This is the finding-and-ranking part FindWarmIntros does for you. You give it a target company and your background, and it surfaces the people there you share a past employer or school with, ranked by how real the overlap is, then drafts an opener that leads with what you share. You still send it yourself, so it stays your voice.