The Value of Referrals in Recruitment

I asked 443 people who landed a job in the last 6 months how they did it - and because I'm relentless, I DM’d several of them for the details 👀 Here’s what they said: - 39% got hired through a job application only - 38% landed their role through a referral or someone in their network - 11% were reached out to directly - 12% marked “other” and DM'd me (saving these gems for another post!) For this post, I wanna talk about referrals. Because every time I bring them up, I get feedback from people who swear that referrals don’t make a lick of difference in their application. But the data says otherwise!! Referrals are JUST as effective as job applications. So why do so many people think they don’t work? My guess - it comes down to how people think about networking, and who they are networking with. Many assume networking = cold DM’ing your LinkedIn connections that work at your target company, and asking them to essentially tag you in the company’s ATS as a “referral”. This might work… sometimes… if you’re lucky. But for all the people that landed jobs and shared their stories, this was what actually worked: 💡 It’s not just about knowing someone at the company - it’s about knowing someone with hiring influence. - A hiring manager referred a rejected candidate to a colleague at another company - and they got hired. - A former supervisor vouched for someone internally, even when no job was posted. - Someone got passed over at first, but their referrer kept advocating for them - so when the first-choice hire didn't work out, they got the offer. 💡 Most referrals didn’t come from cold outreach - they came from past colleagues, former bosses, or professional acquaintances. - Someone caught up with an old coworker and learned about an unposted job. - Another had a standing check-in with a former boss, who later hired them at a new company. - One person told their manager they wanted to leave, and instead of quitting, the company created a role just to keep them. 💡 Cold outreach worked - but only when it wasn’t just about asking for a referral. - Someone cold-called companies just to ask what they look for in an employee. The CEO liked their initiative and invited them for an interview. - Another reached out on LinkedIn not for a referral, but to learn about someone's career path. That conversation led to a job. 💡 Some of the best networking didn’t even feel like networking. - A job seeker met a company director at trivia night, followed up, and got an interview. - Another ran into someone at the gym, and that casual chat led to a job. - A plus-one at a work event struck up a conversation - months later, they got hired at the company. So, the TLDR: Networking is effective when approached with the goal of building meaningful relationships, with people in positions of hiring influence, so that you are top of mind when the right opportunities come up. Have a story to share about networking efforts that lead to new opportunities? Let's hear it!

"Posts and comments come and go, but a LinkedIn referral helps gamer careers grow!" Everything I do in this community is for a reason, even if it’s not always obvious at first. You may have noticed I recently ran a poll asking how much weight people put on LinkedIn referrals. I’ve been studying this issue for a while, not just because of casual observations but due to real feedback from the community. People have told me that while posts, comments, and one-off gestures are helpful, they don’t leave anything lasting that a candidate can use as a referral - something permanent on their profile. So, I took a deeper look. I didn’t just rely on the poll results; I had side conversations with hiring managers, recruiters, and candidates to get a full picture. And while it’s not universal, the data was clear: the super majority of people do put weight on these referrals. They have real value, not just for hiring managers but for candidates - especially those who might not have traditional networking advantages. Having a written referral on their LinkedIn profile gives them something tangible to point to, something that vouches for them in a way a simple post or comment never can. That’s why today, I’m not pointing to a new resource on our site. Instead, based on all this research, I want to make a direct community encouragement for gamers. If you know a candidate you want to support - someone looking for work - don’t just comment or make a one-off post. Do those things, sure, but please also consider writing them a LinkedIn referral. This small action helps with networking, referenceability, and visibility. Nothing is a cure-all, but like everything else we do here, it gives them a little more of an advantage. And to be clear: this isn’t a zero-sum game. If more people have referrals, it doesn’t make them meaningless. Quite the opposite - it helps our candidates compete, especially in a job market where we know 80% will have to land jobs outside of games. Let’s give them every possible leg up. As you know, I rarely ask for reposts, comments, or engagement. But today, I’d really appreciate it if you could push this post as far as possible. I’d love to see this become a movement - more referrals for more candidates. And if you do write referrals, let me know! Maybe I can give some shoutouts and help keep this topic alive. Thanks, everyone.

“Referrals don’t work.” My client said this in frustration after they felt like nothing was moving. I reminded them of Henry Ford’s words: “𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.” When we looked at the data they had: 15 practitioner referrals  → led to 0 interviews But they forgot they also had: - 1 referral from a friend → Resulted in an 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 - 2 CEO referrals → Led to 𝟮 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 - 4 recruiter referrals → Led to 𝟰 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 Yes, you might have received 15 referrals from data practitioners that haven’t yet converted. But, think back. What about the referral from a friend for a startup opportunity? Or a recruiter who connected you with three additional recruiters, resulting in three interviews in one week? Or the CEO outreach that led to valuable referrals? Or the recruiter who had placed you in the past, who just provided another referral that resulted in an interview? It’s not that referrals don’t work. It’s that some types of referrals drive more ROI than others. And many job seekers haven’t learned how to make them work, strategically There’s a clear pattern of success when approached strategically. Focus on ROI Not all referral sources are created equal. Some yield higher returns 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻:  1) Start at the top: CEOs, C-level executives, Directors, and VPs  → These people have hiring power and influence 2) Next Steps: Hiring Managers and Recruiters  → They can open doors and give insider info 3) Then: Practitioners  → Good for context, but lower conversion power So if you’ve been messaging 30 practitioners and wondering why it’s not working… It’s not you. It’s the targeting. The next time you say, “Referrals don’t work”, Take a step back. Check your referral mix. Track your actual results. And challenge whether your statement is 𝟭𝟬𝟬% 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲 or just a reaction to discouragement. You don’t have to guess your way to success. Use the system.  Use the data. Make it work. Let’s get you back in control. 💪 You’ve got this. ➕Follow me, Jaret André for more daily data job search tips.

Most jobs are filled through direct applicants, but a referral can certainly increase your chances of landing an interview. Why? 1. Referrals indicate that a current employee who knows the company can vouch for your work so it's an indication of a strong applicant. 2. Referrals are often flagged (maybe the recruiter gets a ping when a referral comes in, or the referrals are indicated with a banner on the app) so they catch the recruiter's attention which warrants quicker review. That said, a referral doesn't help if you aren't: -highly qualified for the role. -the person referring you doesn't really know your work. The last thing always worth noting here is that there’s some inequity in access to referrals and depending on where you went to school, where you’ve worked, family connections, etc. So I always encourage everyone to consider this when thinking about your networks and if you don’t see a lot of diversity in your network, take steps to change that.

This WSJ article today titled “Landing a job is all about who you know (again)” offers so many compelling data points about how hiring trends are only tilting towards people who have referrals more and more these days. AI and other software tools have made it easier for the masses to apply quickly to jobs posted online - which now overwhelms hiring managers and recruiters. They have thousands of applicants per job and the easiest way to sift through and identify high quality candidates is to ask for referrals. Referral inevitably advantage people with professional networks - which is oftentimes white men. “For roles that were posted on Greenhouse job boards and filled in the first quarter of this year, applicants with referrals had a 50% chance of advancing past an initial résumé review, compared with 12% odds for other external candidates. Thirty percent of eventual hires had referrals, even though people with referrals represented just 5% of the applicant pool.” All of this just makes it even more imperative that colleges, workforce and upskilling organizations need to develop a strategy that includes teaching their students to fish by helping them build social capital and equipping them with the tools to unlock referrals so we can have a more equitable system where all kinds of people have access to high quality jobs. Come chat with me if you want to design a social capital strategy for your learners. That’s what Climb Together is all about. https://lnkd.in/gfZXMF_d