Who is the Ideal Referral?

Posted January 20, 2022 in Learn by Krista Place

No two jobs or companies are the same. Successfully stepping into a new role requires transferring skills and knowledge gained from prior experiences to the new task at hand. Keep the following things in mind as you match your network to open roles:

A great candidate rarely checks every box.

Focus on the people in your network who have the handful of skills and prior experiences that are must-haves for a hiring manager. If you’re referring someone to a role in your own company, clarify the must-have requirements with the hiring manager or recruiter. On the Candidate platform, must-have vs. nice-to-have requirements are distinguished in each job listing to make it easier to quickly identify the right referrals.

Some of the best candidates come from non-traditional backgrounds.

Maybe someone has developed excellent stakeholder and project management skills working in government agencies and now wants to transition to tech. If you’re in a similar industry, you’re best able to understand what skills translate.  It is up to you as the referrer to share the candidate’s story to the hiring manager and explain how their competencies will allow them to excel in the new role. Candidate built this step into the referral process so you won’t miss out on the opportunity to advocate to the hiring manager.  Tip: Ask your referral for examples.

Finding a good job match is about more than just the role.

Do your referral’s values align with the company’s values or mission? Will your referral succeed in a startup environment, or do they prefer a company with clearly defined responsibilities and processes?  Understanding the ideal candidate means thinking about the role, the company, and the team.

Align on compensation expectations.

Many of us believe it’s uncouth to discuss money during an initial conversation. The hiring process is time-consuming for everyone involved. For a candidate to properly pursue an opportunity, they need to have a general understanding of a role’s compensation. Every Candidate referral has access to compensation information as part of each job listing. This helps set expectations and provides transparency to help eliminate bias during the offer process.



Encourage your network to signup as referrers with Candidate! Employers post open roles only visible to approved referrers; referrers submit their connections for consideration; if a referrer’s candidate is hired, the referrer is rewarded!