What exactly is a referral and why do companies use them?
A current employee of a given company submits the resume of someone they know for an open role (or otherwise vouches for/endorses), which may improve the odds or speed at which their application is reviewed. In essence, the current employee is personally recommending this other person as a good fit for the company/role (though there are nuances).
Are there different kinds of referrals?
Yes, I think this is the part candidates are most likely to misunderstand!
At some companies, especially larger ones, all referrals aren’t created equal. The referrer may have to share quite a bit of information about how they know the person they are recommending and/or sort the referral into one on of several categories.
Common categories of questions on the referral form include:
How do they know you?
Referrers often have to list how they know you. For example, socially or via social media (which means you can’t speak to the quality of the person’s work), worked together previously at the same company, or worked together in a closer capacity such as the same team or a sister team.
The closer the past association, the more weight the referral is likely to carry.
How good is your work?
Some referrals ask the referrer to rank your work on some scale such as is this candidate in the top 50% of people you’ve worked with.
Additional comments
Some referral forms allow the referrer to add freeform notes.
How much do referrals help?
It depends!
It depends on the size of the company, the competitiveness of the role, the current state of the job market, and the strength of the referral.
If the referrer can flag your application directly to the hiring manager, a referral can be super powerful. This is more likely at a smaller company or one where the open role is in close proximity to the referrers team.
If the referrer only knows you via social media, is only doing the referral to be polite, has never worked with you, it’s a larger company and a competitive role, the referral may do basically nothing and you might get a form rejection in under 24 hours.
I’ve personally seen both of these scenarios play out many times. Every combination in between is possible as well.
TL;DR: the better you know someone and the more they can speak to your work, the more powerful the referral is likely to be.
Should I apply first or ask for a referral first?
If you want a referral, try for that first. Some places it’s hard to do a referral if the candidate has already applied/is already in the system.
The two most common versions I’ve seen are the referrer sends you a “referral link” that you apply via instead of the public job posting OR you send them your resume and the job posting and they put in the referral via an internal system.
How can I get one?
This can be tricky. People at big, popular companies may get hit up multiple times a week for referrals.
Start with the people you know best and have worked with most closely as they can give the most helpful referral.
In an effort to be polite and seem less transactional, people sometimes ask to chat with me about how I like my company, how I’m doing, etc. when what they really want is a referral. This is actually a bigger ask on my time than just asking for a referral. Because the hiring process at big companies is so unpredictable, I usually politely defer on giving my thoughts on the company and chatting more about the role until someone actually has an offer. Otherwise the conversation is a waste of time for both parties.
Be thoughtful with your referrals. Don’t ask for referrals to more than 2 roles at the same company. Ask for referrals where you think you’re a strong fit for the open role.
Always provide the job description for the role you’re interested in when you ask for a referral.
A referral is no guarantee! Even when someone gives you a great referral, a recruiter may decide it’s not the right fit, there may already be lots of candidates in the pipeline, the role may already be filled, the posting may have been made with the plans of filling it via internal transfer and so on. There are so many reasons even with a referral that you may not even get an interview. Still, they can be a powerful tool and are worth trying for roles you’re really excited about!
The aftermath
This should go without saying, but bring your very best, most prepared self to any interviews you get out of a referral.
But also don’t stress! Anyone who frequently gives referrals is well aware that the candidate may not get the job for any number of reasons. Don’t feel bad or worry about embarrassing your referrer if you did your best.
But do thank them even if it doesn’t work out! They may or may not already know the status from internal systems, but drop them a quick note along the lines of:
I wanted to let you know that unfortunately didn’t work out but thank you again for the referral. I hope I’m in the position to return the favor for you someday and that we get the chance to work together again!
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