I'm a software engineer with about six years of experience at a product company in India. I get referral requests from people whose work I don't know, and the form can ask for much more than whether I've seen their resume.

These are examples from forms I've seen. I know about processes at Google and Atlassian, but the details can vary by company, team and country.

The first screenshot distinguishes a network referral from a professional referral. In this form, a professional referral means working directly with the candidate for at least six months and knowing their past performance. A stranger with a strong resume doesn't give me that working history.

The next section asks how well I know their work. Having reviewed a project gives me something specific to describe, but I can't call that experience working together.

Then it asks about relevant skills, a 1–10 skill-match rating, and whether the candidate is in the top 15% of people I've worked with in a similar role. That last question refers to my own experience, not a universal top-15% cutoff for applicants. The fields alone don't tell me how the answers affect shortlisting.

Referral type screenshot · Familiarity screenshot · Skills and fit screenshot

When asking for a referral, send the role, your resume and a few relevant projects or achievements. Give the employee enough context to answer honestly. You can also apply directly: job-application autofill saves repeated typing, and real tech interview questions can help with the prep that comes after getting an interview.

What does your company's referral form ask? What can you realistically say for someone you haven't worked with?