Your Guide to Refer Someone for a Job

A job referral, sometimes referred to as a character or personal reference, is a letter in which a person vouches for a job applicant’s work ethic, experience, skills, and abilities. This type of letter is most frequently written by a friend, acquaintance, advisor, former or current coworker, or former or current manager. However, anyone with knowledge and experience working with the job applicant could be considered to write the letter. Reference letters are important because they help employers learn more about the job candidate in terms of their qualifications for the position. This can ultimately help save the organization time and money during the hiring process.

There are a few factors to consider before agreeing to write a referral letter for someone. These factors include:

• Whether the person is truly qualified for the position
• The individual’s work ethic
• Your ability to truthfully attest to the individual’s abilities, skills, and work ethic
• Whether your relationship with the job applicant will change based on if they are hired or not for the position
• If you have the time to provide a quality reference letter within the timeframe provided

Here are the steps you can take when referring someone for a position:

1. Only agree to write a referral letter if it will be positive

You should not agree to write a referral letter for someone if you don’t think you can give a positive recommendation. If you don’t feel you can give a positive recommendation, politely decline, or inform the person that you don’t feel comfortable writing the recommendation for them. A negative letter can hurt the person’s chance of getting a job, so it’s important to let them know upfront if you won’t be able or willing to provide a positive referral.

2. Get the necessary information from the person

Make sure you are provided with all the necessary information needed to successfully write and submit a referral letter. Information to ask for includes:

• The individual’s most recent resume or CV
• Any relevant information from the individual that will support your referral letter
• The job listing they are applying for
• The name of the company they are applying with
• When the referral letter needs to be submitted by
• How to submit the referral letter

3. Write and submit the letter

Once you have all of the necessary information, you can now write the referral letter. Use a business letter format when writing the letter of reference and try to keep your letter to a few paragraphs. Have someone else proofread the letter to ensure there are no grammatical or spelling errors and to check for sentence structure. Once you’ve written and edited the letter, you can then submit it in the way the individual asked you to.

4. Follow up on the referral letter

After you’ve submitted the referral letter and several weeks or a month has passed, reach out to the hiring manager to inquire about the status of the referral. Ensure the letter was received and provide your contact information in case the interviewer has any further questions for you about the applicant.

The following are the key components that should be included in a letter of referral:

• The name of the job applicant
• The name of the company
• The name of the hiring manager or recipient of the letter
• Your full name and contact information
• Language from the job listing that correlates with the individual’s skills and abilities
• How you know the individual
• Specific examples of ways the individual has shown relevant skills and qualities

Here are a few tips for how to refer someone for a job effectively:

• Personalize the letter to the job applicant. You should tailor the letter to the applicant as much as possible to show that you put time and effort into the letter as well as to demonstrate your knowledge of the applicant’s qualifications. Include specific examples of times in which the person showed relevant expertise and skills as well as keywords from the job listing when possible.
• Use a template. There are several available templates to help guide you when writing a referral letter. These can show you the appropriate layout and content you should include.
• Keep it positive. Ensure that you use positive language throughout the letter to show your support and belief in the individual’s qualifications for the position. Emphasize that you believe the person is a good candidate and why at both the beginning and end of your letter.

The following is an example of a job referral letter you can use as a guide when crafting your own: Tiffany Hollows 533 Main Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 33754 (546) 832-9873 tiffanyhollows@email.com   October 5, 2020   Simon Limon A.R. Marketing Firm 1700 Marketing Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 33754   Dear Mr. Limon, I am writing to refer Anderson Smith for the position of marketing manager at A.R. Marketing Firm. I have known Anderson for more than five years and have never seen him stray from his responsible and organized nature. I believe that his qualifications and skills make him a great candidate for this position with your company. When I worked with Anderson at C&O Marketing, he demonstrated strong marketing skills and developed several marketing strategies that significantly increased our firm’s revenue and customer base. He was always willing to lend a hand and help his team and regularly worked late to ensure a job well done. For these reasons, I feel Anderson would excel in the marketing manager position and positively impact your organization. Please let me know if you have any further questions. Sincerely, Tiffany Hollows