Tips for LinkedIn Referral Requests

I’ve received over 500 LinkedIn DMs asking for a referral. Do these 4 things to 10x your responses: 1. Be personal. (never use AI) I get a ton of messages that are either written by AI or obviously copy and pasted to 100 people. Be personal by mentioning something you have in common with the person you’re messaging or what you got out of one of their posts. 2. Have a specific job that you want to apply for and send the link. “Can you look and see if there are any openings?” is incredibly rude and inconsiderate of the person’s time. If you want them to help you with a referral, do the work for them by sending them the link, why you’re a good fit, and other needed info. 3. Reach out to people who are active on LinkedIn, but not content creators. Everytime there’s an opening at my company, I get 50 messages asking for a referral. As much as I want to, I can’t refer everyone. Therefore, look for those to connect with at a company you’re interested in that post occasionally on LinkedIn, but are not content creators. These people will be active enough to see your message, but not have 3 dozen other messages asking for the same thing. 4. Build relationships way before you ask for a referral. While I don’t do many referrals bc of how many inquiries I get, I’d be much more likely to refer someone who adds to the conversation by commenting on my posts, creates good posts themselves, and overall seems like a smart, nice person. Doing this turns you from a complete stranger to a friend. I know a lot of people are pressed for time on here, but building relationships is what networking is all about. Do that effectively and your network may offer you referrals when there’s an opening. Do these 4 things, and I guarantee you’ll get a better response rate than not doing them. (As I said in this post, I’m unable to do referrals because of how many ask every single day. Wish I could help everyone, but I can’t.)

TLDR: Understanding job referrals! 🚀💼   Last week, I shared an exciting opportunity for interning and #referrals at Amazon. However, I've also noticed a few gaps regarding referrals that I'd like to address. For anyone currently on the job hunt, I want to share valuable insights about the referral process.   𝟭) 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴: ⏱Referrals are typically made before you apply for a job or even begin the application. This practice is widespread across the industry. Always reach out before applying; otherwise, we will get an error message: "The Candidate Has Already Applied".   𝟮) 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗹𝘀: 🔁 Having multiple referrals for the same company won't help you stand out. In fact, you can't have more than one on your profile. Some companies attach referrals to a candidate for 6 months. It's best to follow up with your original referral provider for new applications too.   𝟯) 𝗕𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰: 🏹 When reaching out, clearly state that you're seeking a referral, the specific job you're applying for, and why you're interested. This helps the person understand your goals. Also, keep your LinkedIn profile updated in case they need to refer to it for more details.   𝟰) 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗨𝗽 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗔𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗔𝗴𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲: 💢 If someone has taken your resume for referral, give them 2-3 days to get back to you. They may need to use their work laptop to submit the referral and have other high-priority tasks. Once referred, keep them in the loop about your application's progress.   When someone refers you for a job, they invest time in reviewing your profile to see if you're a good fit for the role. They then fill out your details, sometimes following up for missing information. It's a process that takes time and requires a context switch from their daily work. As a candidate, you can make this process smoother for both parties by following these suggestions. 🙌🏻   𝗣𝗦: If I missed anything, feel free to add it in the comments. I aim to create more content like this, all based on my own experiences. You can follow me here or comment for any questions! 🗯🙂   𝗣𝗣𝗦: If you're interested in working at Amazon and need a referral, don't hesitate to reach out – provided you're following these best practices! :)   #mentoring topmate.io #BeAvailable #jobsearch #referrals #internships #bestpractices #linkedin

Cold referral requests are a waste of your time unless you're a top candidate. Think about it this way: Thousands of people with limited experience are reaching out with the same basic messages as you. Sadly, industry folks simply don't have the time nor the emotional investment to care about a copy-pasted referral request from a stranger. How do you break this cycle? 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀. Reach out to first and second connections rather than total strangers, and put some actual personalized effort into the outreach! Here's a more optimized path: 1️⃣ 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 🤝 Have a close connection with someone at a company, or a close connection who knows someone there? Take full advantage of this (tactfully!) You'll get a much higher response rate than if you blindly reach out to random people, like distant Linkedin connections. 2️⃣ 𝘎𝘦𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 📝 You aren't building a resume in a vacuum. A resume is only "good" if it is competitive with the best resumes sent for a position. Without understanding the gap and how to close it, you are wasting your time optimizing your resume. Close that info gap rather than spending a ton of time formatting a bad resume! 3️⃣ 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 🗣 Don't have enough first connections? Make them! Networking events (conferences, meetups, sponsored events, etc.) are great ways to personally connect with people in industry. And these connections are 1000x more valuable than spammed Linkedin connections. When you actually do attend these events, don't immediately ask for a referral (very tacky) or just stand in a corner. Show genuine interest in what people do, ask intelligent questions, and exchange war stories. It's just like making friends, but in a more professional context! 🍻

Job seekers, here's one hugely underutilized job search tip: When you see a job you're interested in applying to, BEFORE YOU APPLY ... 1. Look on LinkedIn to see if anyone you know *knows someone who works there.* 2. Ask them to reach out to their contact to see if they can share a referral link. (Here's a quick script: "Hi [name]! Hope you're well. I saw you're connected with [contact] at [company], and I'm interested in [role — include link!] there. Would you be comfortable reaching out to [contact] to see if they have a referral link they can share? Thanks in advance!") 3. Apply via the referral link — this all but guarantees your application won't be skimmed over or auto-rejected. Many companies have referral programs that incentivize their employees to refer qualified candidates, so people are generally happy to share their unique referral links with people in their networks. This advice might seem obvious to some, but in the past week or two alone, I've received several messages about people who are interested in roles at Calendly, asking if I can put in a word for them — but the candidates have already applied. At that point, there's only so much I can do. I promise, your network wants to help — put us to use! #JobSearchTips #JobSeekers #ReferralProgram #Networking #CareerAdvice #JobHunting #JobApplication #LinkedInNetworking #CareerTips #JobReferrals #ProfessionalNetworking #CareerDevelopment #JobOpportunity #JobSearchStrategy #JobSeekingTips #ReferralLinks #CareerNetworking

Quick Tip: If you are reaching out to someone to help you get a job at their company, reach out BEFORE you submit your application/resume! 1. Helps make sure you are applying for the right team/role. You might be an amazing fit but if you apply for the wrong segment it makes it much more difficult for them to help move you to a different job req with HR. Which they probably won’t do unless you are really close friends… 2. Allows them to help you tailor your resume and background for the role. They know the hiring manager and what they will be looking for! They know the specific team and how you can stand out! All super valuable info for you to have. 3. They potentially get a referral fee which helps motivate them! Many companies have a referral program to help incentivize their employees to help them find top talent like you! Make it easy for them to qualify. P.S. Make it easy for them to help you! Don’t DM them and say you are interested in a job and to look at your LinkedIn 🙈 #hiring #jobhunting