Mar 15, 2022

Why Referrals are Powerful Job Search Tools

Job referrals although not a guarantee that you’ll land a job, can increase the odds that the hiring manager will take a second or third look at your resume. Employee referral programs have gained in popularity and for good reasons such as the reduction in hiring time by 50%. What is the importance of a job referral and what are some good examples of a good job referral? We are here to answer all these questions while giving you some helpful tips on how to ask for a referral by making good use of your hiring network and job referral sites like LinkedIn or Refer HR.

How to refer someone using Refer HR

As a referrer remember that you’re not just giving referrals, you’re also building and expanding your professional network. Today’s referral could come back to you in the best way possible, with the person you referred in a strong position to hire you in the future.

We also understand that you’re probably busy with your full-time commitments, but here’s a great and easy side hustle to earn money online – start giving job referrals!

Step 1: Create an account on Refer HR. It takes less than 80 seconds!

Step 2: Search through all our super awesome jobs and filter the roles by job title or location or even companies.

Step 3: Have a colleague, friend or classmate who might be a great fit for one of those roles on or website? It takes one little click to share the role with them via email.

Step 4: Here’s where you reap the rewards for all your good referral karma. If the candidate applies for an open position and ends up getting hired through Refer HR, you get 5% of the total yearly compensation. Is there another easier way to earn money while sitting at home? We think not!

Why you should ask for a job referral and job referral examples

Asking for referrals is one of the best ways to get on the hiring manager’s radar. 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

When you’ve been referred for a position, it elevates your place in the hiring process and earns you that little gold star which sets you apart from other applicants. If that were not enough to encourage you to ask for job referrals, we’d like to share some examples that will help you get over any awkwardness you may feel while reaching out to your network to ask for referrals.

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 favor, especially when you haven’t interacted with them recently. Here is an example of a job referral request to someone you may not very well, this person might be a casual acquaintance, an alumnus or even someone you’ve run into at a networking event.

“Hi Rob, [insert what you have in common with person you are reaching out to (i.e., “I attended XYZ University and recently moved to Vancouver.”]. I came across the [name of role you are applying to (you can also make it a hyperlink)] role at [Company name] and am interested in applying. Would you be open to sharing my resume with the hiring team, so they know about my interest in this role? Happy to chat more if you have the time. Looking forward to hearing from you”

Don’t forget to attach relevant documents like your resume or a cover letter to support your message. The above example is to the point but does not come across as being too pushy or over-familiar.

Requesting for job referrals through job referral sites like LinkedIn or Refer HR also opens doors for you as job seeker to land the right role and connect with the right people. Job referrals have always been number one on our list of creative ways to source candidates. The value of referrals surpasses the value of other hiring channels, by delivering high quality candidates that incur low costs to the company. For an employer, a referred candidate – especially if they have been referred by a current employee - is easier to onboard because they feel free to ask questions to someone other than their boss as they onboard. This helps the candidate integrate into the company culture quickly, leaving more room for you, the hiring manager to offer support in other areas like training the new employee.

The importance of a job referral

Regardless of what industry you’re in, job referrals create an avenue for job seekers to have access to jobs that are not advertised, and it gives confidence to employers that they are hiring “high quality” candidates. Research also shows that referred hires tend to stay on longer at a company.

We bet there’s been times where you’ve had a job posting that’s been up for months, but you’re yet to hire the right candidate. Having spoken with hiring managers (and from our own experience), we’ve seen that it takes less than 30 days on average to hire quality candidates through job referrals, compared to the 2 or 3 months you may take to hire an employee though job postings or through a career site. A referred candidate is a faster hire than a traditional candidate. This is because, rather than having to screen through hundreds of resumes or craft a job posting, you’re able to make the hiring decision faster by interviewing the referred candidate. It is also a cheaper way to hire candidates since you don’t have to pay traditional recruiting costs to source these candidates by advertising on a job board or going through a recruitment agency.

Job referrals are a great way to build employee referral programs within an organization and ensure that employees feel valued and can have a say in the hiring process. This not only instills a sense of loyalty within the existing employees, but it also creates an environment of open communication and mutual trust between the organization and its employees.

People refer candidates to work at an organization when their employee experience with said organization has been a positive one. And this goes both ways, they may warn against working at a place if their employee experience has not been positive. As a job seeker, you may find that asking for job referrals gives you an insight into the company culture and it also helps you create a strong professional network.