Top Tips for Talking to Friends About Roles

Posted January 21, 2022 in Learn by Krista Place

Found the perfect job for a well-respected colleague or friend, but they aren’t actively looking? Or perhaps they’re nervous about leaving the certainty of their current role for an early-stage start-up? Here are the top tips for starting the conversation.

Determine what motivates them.

If it’s money: share the total compensation information available in each of Candidate’s job listings. Remember to include any equity or bonuses, if applicable, and any personal experience you may have with receiving options at a startup.

If they’re mission-driven: share the employer’s mission statement, community involvement, and company values.

If it’s the people they work with: share details about the founders and the team they will be working with.  You can always ask Candidate for more information about the role and company. 

Share information about the company

Share what excites you about the company, whether it’s the product, mission, or the upside potential. You can also share the company stage funding information with them. Since fundraising information is publicly available, startups are typically transparent with their team regarding finances. However, if you don’t know much about the company, be upfront about that too. Sometimes the perfect role is about the work, and less about the company.

When companies go through fundraising, they factor in the runway of their current team and future headcount to determine the amount they want to raise. This should be reassuring for those who join early-stage startups, as their jobs have been factored into the next finance milestone, whether it be fundraising, going public, or becoming profitable and financially independent.

Remind them it’s just a conversation.

An interview is just a conversation. If there are some unanswered questions about the specifics of the role or company, don’t let that keep them from considering the opportunity altogether- they can be answered in an initial screen. It’s always good to see what else is out there; they may even be reminded why they love their current job, or they may get inspired about new possibilities.


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!