Referrals: Helpful but (likely) not a deal-breaker

Referral are not always the deal-breaker, but they are definitely helpful. To quote a friend:

The goal is to move from the big stack to the little stack

These stacks are, in fact, kept separate. The “big stack” has all external applications. For example, on LinkedIn you can see how many people have applied and it’s often hundreds or thousands). The “little stack” is for internal referrals.

I don’t know how little the little stack is, but my company gives lets me refer both full-time candidates and intern candidates. Back when I was an intern, I even had the ability to make up to 5 referrals for others.

Referrals have different levels of impact

• Referrals from someone on a team that is irrelevant to your target goal but is within your target company — they get you from the big stack to the little stack, but they don’t necessarily get your application in front of a hiring manager.
  • This is the case in which a referral is probably not a dealer breaker.
• [best!] Referrals from someone directly on your target team — JACKPOT!! Yes this method often requires hella networking to find someone on your target team, but that’s what makes networking worthwhile.
  • However, the referral is possibly just a logistic at this point. If you find someone on your target team to vouch for you, their verbal vouching for you will matter more to the hiring manager than the referral itself.

Btw I’ve never figured out when to ask for a referral. Sometimes I hear it’s good to ask before you apply. Sometimes I hear it’s better not to wait for a referral before you apply and a referral can be submitted afterwards. If you figure this out, please let me know.

Asking for referrals isn't that big of a deal

Employed people have referrals. If their referral gets a job, then they get a bonus. It’s a win-win.

Nail your resume when reaching out to people over email for referrals¹. You can ask directly. Or an indirect route (for introverts like me) is to ask for a resume review and many people have often spontaneously offered me a referral via email without having met me over a call. I don’t recommend indirect communication generally speaking in life—but hey, it’s worked for me so far!

An important reminder is that your networking connections (humans!) are not using Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to review your resume. They are reading your resume with their own human eyes. Therefore, your resume should be human-readable².

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AI was not used to write, edit, or brainstorm this post. All mistakes and em dashes are my own.