Jun 30, 2021

How to Leverage your Network to Get a Job Referral

Getting a job takes hard work, perseverance, a stellar resume and thick skin when it comes to handling rejections gracefully. But what no one talks about is the power of job referrals and networking while job hunting. Building a strong professional network is vital when it comes to enhancing your career prospects. Why is networking important and how does it help you get a job through job referrals? And most of all, how do you leverage your network connections to ask for a job referral? We are here to answer all these questions while giving you some helpful tips on how to get a job by leveraging your network connections.

Why is networking important and how to ask for a job referral

A very important part of a job search is networking, regardless of where you live or what industry you are in. We know that asking for a job referral can be tricky and sometimes an awkward process. But one thing to understand is that the process of job referrals is something that is beneficial to both the job seeker and the employers. For job seekers, it is a way to have access to jobs that are not advertised, and getting a job referral is a sure-fire way of getting noticed by prospective employers and staying ahead of the competition. For employers, a job referral gives them the confidence that they are hiring “high quality” candidates, and referred hires tend to stay on longer at a company.

As a job seeker, one way for you to ask for a job referral is by reaching out to the people you already know in your network, via phone or email. Depending on the closeness of the relationship, you can then follow up with the referee for possible job opportunities. This is another reason why you should constantly build and leverage your network, even if you’re not actively looking for a new job at present.

When you have a strong relationship with the person whom you’re asking for the job referral, try to find out if they have an employee referral program at their company. This way, if you land the position, they end up getting a referral bonus, which would encourage them to refer you for the job. So there you go, a win-win for everyone!

When reaching out to someone to ask for a job referral, be considerate of their time. It can be awkward to ask someone for a favour, especially when you haven’t interacted with them recently. Providing value to this network connection in some way would go a long way instead of just popping up one day in their messages and asking them for a favour, which can make you look self-serving. You can add value in a lot of different ways, like sharing a post that they’ve written on LinkedIn, or even referring them to a role where you feel like they would be an asset. Be considerate and respectful of their time; keep your messages short and to the point when approaching someone for a job referral and it will go a long way in strengthening your network.

Don’t have an immediate first degree connection in your network who can refer you in your area of expertise? Worry not, because this is where LinkedIn comes into play! LinkedIn is an amazing way to connect with prospective employers, but they have also recently introduced a new function named, ‘Ask for a Referral’, which enables a job seeker to approach their first or second degree connections to ask for a referral to a job posted by their organisation. It even has the option of filtering your job search by whether someone in your network is currently employed by the company you’re applying to.

Another great way to leverage your professional connections is by attending networking events. But don’t be one of those people who attend these events with the sole intention of promoting themselves, as that will severely limit you from forming meaningful connections. Take the time to actually talk to the people at these events, and understand their areas of interest. Offer them a referral exchange by finding out what kind of job opportunities they’re looking for currently, and let them know that you’re happy to refer them to someone in your network who could use their services. Ask them for an extra business card so you can pass on their information, and before you know it, you have made a valuable connection!

Remember to keep in touch after the networking event is over by sending a thank you note, so that you remain at the top of their minds the next time your network connection finds a possible lead.

Having a well-connected network is great, but it’s not a guarantee that your network connection will agree to give you a job referral. What you must understand is that giving someone a job referral is basically putting their professional reputation on the line and a wrong referral could cost them their credibility with their employer. This is why you need to build these relationships over time and give them a chance to see what a great and talented professional you are, so that they feel confident sticking their neck out for you.

Building a strong network is just one way to get a job and to create meaningful referrals, but you need to work at these relationships so that job referrers feel confident in taking a chance on you and referring you to potential employers. Leveraging your network is an effective way of landing that coveted job, and is a better and more efficient way of applying for a job rather than struggling to get noticed by employers without an inside contact or referral. Building a strong network is not just something you do when job hunting. Remember to strengthen your network with new connections even when you’re not actively looking for a job and remember to nurture the network connections you have made in the past, as you never know when you can be of help to someone, and vice versa.