Would you refer someone you don’t know?
Posted by gAWEhCaj@reddit | ExperiencedDevs | View on Reddit | 41 comments
A coworker who I used to work with and later moved to a different company reached out despite not talking or keeping in touch much to ask me to give a referral to someone they know who wants to apply to the company. I personally don’t feel like doing it mainly because this individual is someone who used to always ask me for help when they were here and never really cared to offer help or even offer a referral when they moved on to their next role.
On the other hand I know the market is tough right now and what goes around comes around and who knows if I may be in a similar situation in the future.
What do you think? Would you give the referral and just not give it too much thought?
davy_jones_locket@reddit
Do you get a referral bonus?
chaitanyathengdi@reddit
My favorite radio station: WII FM (what's in it for me)
Unfair_Long_54@reddit
We have a referral bonus system, but I still care more about my reputation than the bonus.
When we refer someone we need to submit a request in a portal and explain how we know this person and introduce them briefly, record will stay there forever.
davy_jones_locket@reddit
Sure, but if youre on the fence about deciding then the referral bonus (or lack thereof) can help tip the scale
kruvii@reddit
Only reason, right?
gAWEhCaj@reddit (OP)
No
davy_jones_locket@reddit
So why would you bother with someone who you don't want to vouch for or work with?
watscracking@reddit
My first thought
JustPlainRude@reddit
Nope!
kagato87@reddit
Not only would I not give the referral, I would ping whomever is recruiting and let them know the details of the declined request.
Shenanigans like this pose a risk to the company. Why can't the find references, and is that a risk to the company?
Own_Outcome_6239@reddit
I typically provides two types of referrals - the first type is "I know this person from somewhere that might be a fit but I don't vouch for them so take them at your discretion", and the second type is "I worked with this person in the past and I can vouch for them in front of HM on their capabilities".
The first type is mainly for courtesy and I'll always indicate that I don't know the candidates well - usually its for someone I barely know about (such as the kid of my parents' friends).
PrincipleSevere1418@reddit
Referralls still have to pass the entire interview loop so yeah why tf not
Decent_Muffin_7062@reddit
no
Optimus_Primeme@reddit
I have never referred someone that I haven’t personally worked with and enjoyed working with. I get so many DMs asking for referrals and it is just easier for me to have a clear line in the sand. I want my team and company to be the best it can be, so I’m going to refer someone who I can’t stand behind.
Golandia@reddit
Referrals barely count most places. Basically just gets you past automated resume review to a human.
But if you don’t want to work with them at all, don’t do it.
zonerator@reddit
Yeah I know great people and have coworkers of the past that loves working with me and it's all kind of useless because if someone has experience in the wrong language or a company isn't hiring at the exact right moment, well, no dice. It is so confusing when people say they get all their work through referrals
Wide-Pop6050@reddit
Idk if its a referral, but for my previous job an old coworker was a mid level there. He flagged my resume when it came through, but then I did well in the interviews etc. It might have gotten me the phone screen, but after that it had to be me. I do refer to that as got it through a referral
zonerator@reddit
Sure but if it won't get you a job you aren't already perfectly exactly qualified for then... can't you do that yourself?
Wide-Pop6050@reddit
It guarantees that your resume is seen. Most job postings get so many applications that its not a given that every qualified candidate will get through.
It's a chance, but no ones going to hand you a job. Idk why it has to be "hand you a job"
zonerator@reddit
I'm not really arguing about how it should be, I just feel that most people talk about it as if it's a significant advantage. I have not found it to be a significant advantage. That's all.
Wide-Pop6050@reddit
Getting a phone screen for sure is an advantage. I wouldn't dismiss that.
upsidedownshaggy@reddit
What I've noticed is that the "referrals" in those stories are literally a hiring manager they're friends with offering them a job. It happened to my boss at my first job, he got sniped by his old boss who was made the hiring manager for a team at a new company. The interview is purely theater at that point.
davy_jones_locket@reddit
Sounds like an old team of mine before becoming an EM myself.
I joined on referral from a former colleague who was now a director at a new place.
I didn't quite fit into the boys club. I left after my golden handcuffs expired. My director friend left, and then referred half the team I worked with to the new gig.
Wide-Pop6050@reddit
Yeah a referral just guarantees that a human will look at and possibly read your resume.
TopSwagCode@reddit
Referral bonus = yes. Otherwise no.
Even with bonus, I would only if the bonus is big enough. Current company referral bonus is gift card 100$ for travel, that only lasts 3 months.
cran@reddit
Yes. Fuck companies. If I can help get someone a job, I’m going to.
k_dubious@reddit
As long as their resume seems roughly appropriate for the job, sure. I won’t claim any professional relationship to the person, but the cost of sending the recruiter another resume to screen is pretty minimal and there’s a good chance it’s better than the crap that our public job postings collect.
bowlochile@reddit
Hell no lol
Great-Big-3101@reddit
It depends on the country's culture. In some countries you can refer anyone, there's no reputation on the line. In others, you vouch for the person you refer.
engineered_academic@reddit
I always refer them as "this is a real person in my network" carries weight these days vs AI slop being shotgunned through the pipeline.
I do caveat upfront that I have not worked with this person but comes as a referral from a former coworker. Then I trust in the hiring process to do its job.
greensodacan@reddit
Is this like a, "Hey, when you worked for company X, how were they?" kind of thing?
I try to nudge a little good will toward people I've worked with, even if there was some friction. No one's perfect, sometimes the two of you were just not a great fit, and (hopefully) we're all working on ourselves. If you don't feel comfortable, just say you didn't really work with them enough to give a review one way or the other.
The only examples where I'd suggest against hiring someone would be if they're cartoon characters, but I've learned to avoid those types over time.
vi_sucks@reddit
Nah.
Dude I barely know? Sure, maybe.
Dude I barely know, referred by someone I know to be bad at their job? Nah.
The whole point of referrals isn't just the reciprocal I scratch your back, you scratch mine. It's also the idea that people vette each other. If you know someone is decent enough, then you can trust they will also recommend someone decent. But if they're bad, why would you want the reputation damage of referring someone who is bad?
orangeit1200@reddit
At a big company no one is judging you on the quality of your referrals. So honestly I wouldn’t think twice about it and have done it many times.
I think about it like this, I’m building future capital for when I get laid off. Every person I help get a job remembers I did that and most will do the same.
At the end of the day they still have to pass an interview to become your co worker
puzzles4me2solve92@reddit
I think I would look at their resume and the job description, and see how qualified they seem.
Anyway, whenever I would mention to the hiring manager or recruiter about a potential candidate for a company I worked at, they had zero interest in the person despite them being a \~*referral*\~ like the fact that I was recommending them didn't matter at all...all that mattered was, are they qualified? And these candidates were qualified, but they would find something minor in the resume/something they were missing, and had no interest in speaking to them. One candidate even made a website for my specific startup because he wanted to work there so badly, and they still wouldn't even talk to him. Maybe it's different if I actually worked with them directly and could like really vouch for them, but me bringing them candidates...all it did was get their resume read by a human.
maybe_madison@reddit
See if your recruiting team can differentiate between "referral" and "lead" (or similar wording). I've usually seen the former described as "I can personally vouch for this person" and the latter as "this is at least a real person we can consider (eg, not a North Korean hacker)".
Worldly-Pie-5210@reddit
we all gotta help eachother out stop worrying so much about yourself
high_throughput@reddit
All my genuine referrals kept getting closed out and it was awkward, so now I only refer people strangers out of social obligation.
metaphorm@reddit
did you have a good experience while you were working with him? if so, then referral is reasonable. courteous even.
I don't refer people I've never worked with. that's the bar.
Melodic_Crow_3409@reddit
Probably not. What if that person is not good? It would reflect upon me.
Now, I have referred people who bombed the interview. It is what it is. I'm just offering the introduction.
JM0ney@reddit
So this person is a taker. They never helped you or returned the favors they got?
Pass.
You don't really know them nor the quality of their work. Why put your reputation on the line for them?
matjam@reddit
Every time I've done it in my career, its not worked out for the referee.
I would only do it if the person I'm doing favors for is a person I want to maintain a positive relationship with.
Given this
I'd be like, nah, sorry, I don't do that, good luck though!