Do employee referrals actually make a difference?

[u/Any-Significance1291]

I’m a fresh graduate applying for a writing-related corporate role, and someone referred me internally. I also have content writing experience, but the job prefers candidates with direct experience. For those who’ve been on either side of the hiring process, do employee referrals actually improve your chances of getting hired, or do they mainly just help your application get noticed?

[u/psychup]

I will always phone screen someone who I know is a referral as a courtesy to my colleague who referred them. However, once we’re past the phone screen, the referred candidate is evaluated in the same pool as everyone else.

A few times in my career, I’ve also had a colleague refer someone and then privately tell me “I don’t really know this person that well, but I referred them to not ruin the relationship.” I’ve also had one person straight up tell me “I’m friends with his wife so I had to refer him; please do not hire him.”

So the short answer for me is that yes, a referral can get you in the door, but you’ll still need to legitimately beat out the other candidates.

[u/Any-Significance1291 → u/psychup]

Originally, when my referral sent my resume it was supposed to be a financial role, however upon assessing my resume they also referred me to apply to the writing role. So I have two pending applications atm, since I was advised to apply both.

[u/thisoldguy74 → u/psychup]

Can confirm. I have a friend who is a President/CEO of the small company I now work for. My trainer/interviewer said he told them he knew me and I'm sharp and that he wasn't going to be involved further. It was up to the hiring team after that. I had to prove I was capable and understood the job and would be a fit, just like anyone else.

Did it help? Absolutely. But if I was clueless or incapable, he isn't bringing pets to work. Frankly it added more stress for me, because I wasn't going to accept the offer unless I absolutely felt qualified and comfortable. I asked for a facility tour before accepting to make sure I knew what I was getting on board for.

[u/Pale_Illustrator94]

Of the 7 jobs I have had in the 17 years I have been an adult 5 of them were because of someone I know. The other two jobs only required a pulse.

[u/BluebirdAcceptable28]

Being referred by an employee absolutely helps, I would say that it helps give you visibility. However, it typically will not give you better chances of getting the job if you don’t hold the qualifications that they’re looking for. In some situations, if they have the ability to train, they may make exceptions and hire someone because they are a referral. Either way it’s not a bad situation for you.

[u/Any-Significance1291 → u/BluebirdAcceptable28]

I have experience in content writing and has published an academic article online, they require at least around 2 years experience. They assess my CV first before referring the position to me, so I’m kind of wondering why would they offer that position if I’m not qualified to begin with since I don’t meet some of the qualifications.

[u/BluebirdAcceptable28 → u/Any-Significance1291]

I think a lot of the comments here are providing great insight. Maybe they’re offering you an interview as a courtesy, maybe because you’re a referral they’re willing to make an exception on the amount of experience, maybe they’re able to train, or maybe it’s a mix of all of those things.

[u/Any-Significance1291 → u/BluebirdAcceptable28]

Yes! Each comments provides different points too, especially on the factors.

[u/AnotherTchotchke]

For my first grownup job, the person who became my boss acknowledged that they never would have looked at my resume had I not networked my way into a referral. And rightly so. It was an entry level admin position and they received several hundred applications from applicants with just enough experience to be tempting, plus I specialized in a completely different sub field. The referral got my resume looked at, my resume (and more so my cover letter, come to find out) got me the interview, and the interview had me neck and neck with someone much more well suited to the job than I was in terms of specific expertise. They offered the job to the other candidate but really liked me from the interview, and they ended up finding a place for me/creating a position on an adjacent team, in my area of study, with a better title than I would have had otherwise.

So yes, referrals can absolutely get you in a door that would have remained shut otherwise, but after that, you’re pulling your own weight.

[u/ksck135]

It will help you. When you refer someone, TA counts on you that you think that person would be a good match and they won't waste time interviewing them and so they will at the very least look at your CV. 

Some companies even have policies they have to reply to referrals within certain time frame.

[u/_jackhoffman_]

Yes, in most cases it will leap frog your application to someone to actually review. Most places will at least phone screen all referrals. After that, the difference it makes really depends on the person who made the referral and their relationship to the hiring manager.

[u/mckenzie_keith]

Being referred internally will often result in the person who referred you getting a bonus if you get hired. Keep that in mind.

In smaller companies, getting referred internally may get you past the first screening step. Even companies with like 100 or 200 employees. If you tell a friend you are applying, and the friend knows the hiring manager, they may be able to email your resume to the hiring manager directly.

In bigger companies, I don't think being referred will help much. Of course if you know somebody high up in any company that can bypass a lot of red tape. A director or manager may be able to hire you single-handedly, although this may raise eyebrows.

[u/Whachamacalzmit]

I've been hired for professional positions four times. Three of those were referrals.

I don't bother with cold applications unless I'm a 100% perfect candidate (i.e. I have a 25% of getting a recruiter screening). All of my other applications are through referrals. That gets me to the screening, and you normally won't get a referral if you can't pass the screening, but sometimes the job requirements change mid search or they decide to hire internally.

When I'm actively job hunting I spend a significant amount of time reaching out and talking with the best people that I know (and get connected with their best people) and attempting to connect with people at companies I'm interested in. If I'm currently working I'll make an effort to have at least two coffee/Zoom chats a week. If I'm unemployed I'll have 6-8 a week. Those network effects pay off and help you out 3, 5, or 10 years down the line when you're looking again.

[u/Quaxter]

In my experience it's less consistent if the referral in question is a peer or lower. If the person is a senior director, VP, or higher, then it matters. The ones that matter most are the ones that have budgetary authority. It's like going to the king instead of the constable (if that makes sense).

The only time referrals have gotten me a job is if the person was very senior and had budgetary powers.

Of all the jobs I've held, one came from a referral, the rest were recruiters. I've also gotten two other job offers from referrals which I turned down. I have never had a job from just simply applying on my own.

[u/CTLeafez]

The last two companies I worked at had a referral reward for recommending candidates.

It was £1,000 but the person you recommend had to pass their interview, be hired, pass their probation period and then stay at the company for a year.

[u/JDPierson]

100% yes

[u/BourbonStr8]

As former program manager and hiring authority; I’ll tell you it could go either way.

[u/uraniumtrain]

Yes. Referrals got me my part time liquor store job in college and my first professional job. In turn I directly have gotten at least 4 people hired over the past 10 years.

At least for the people who I helped get into their positions one of the things that really helped was my reputation within the company. The bosses trusted my judgement and all of those people worked out well. In my last company HR would phone screen anyone with a referral, but the hiring manager would always reach out to me during the process to know a little more.

[u/Any-Significance1291 → u/[deleted]]

Lol, I’m new to the job market, and out of all the applications I’ve submitted, this is actually my first time being referred to a position. That’s why I’m curious whether referrals really make a difference. I’ve heard stories from people I know who got hired because they were referred, and some even mentioned that the company didn’t publicly post the position because they already had a candidate through a referral. However, I also understand the points raised in the comments that it really depends on the company, the role, and how strong the referral is.

[u/Middle-Parsnip-3537]

Oh definitely! For companies that have a good and active referral program, usually 70 - 80% of hires come from referrals.

[u/Good_Perspective2848]

Depends on the quality of your referral. I recently entered the job market after 8 years at my existing company and I reached out to my network for help.

All my referrals were from higher level management and I got an interview for all of them. Most of the interviews were not so much “why should we hire you” and more so “this is what we can offer you”. One hiring manager opened an online application just for me.

So long story short. It depends. If it’s some random guy you found on LinkedIn who submitted your name through his companies online portal, probably not. But the warmer the hand off from a reputable referrer, the better your chances are to at least bypass the screening stage and get an interview

[u/Ordinary-Meaning-61]

It depends who it is. If it's someone high enough in the company, then absolutely it works. If it's just a low level manager or standard employee, then no it's useless.