Make referral request

Make referral request

Referrals 101:

• What’s a referral: If you’re job hunting and someone you know introduces you to or tells you to contact someone he knows, that’s a referral. The person you’re referred to might be able to help you find a position.

• Referral versus reference: You obtain a reference for a specific job you’ve applied for and are pursuing. You get a referral so that you can meet one or more people who might advise you on where and how to look for a position.

• Why referrals are important in current economy: These days, a referral may be at least as valuable as a reference. That’s because you first have to find a job for which you’d need a reference. But, if jobs are scarce, a referral can help you find an opportunity that other applicants don’t know about

• Make referral request of whom?: If you’re looking for a job or want to change jobs, you’d ask your professor, former professor, boss, former boss, or other person you know for a referral to one of his contacts. But, if you don’t want your current boss to know that you’re job hunting, don’t ask him for a referral. If you’ve attended networking events at school or work and, as a result, got to know a VIP, you can ask this individual for a referral.

• What to do before asking for referral: So that you’ll be able to ask for and obtain a referral when you need one, you should “network” to develop new contacts and, equally important, stay in touch with ones (like a former professor or boss) you already have.

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How to handle problems in a referral request:

• Remind professor or boss to provide referral: If your professor or supervisor said that he’d refer you to someone but hasn’t done so, you can send this person a follow-up email or call or meet with him to politely remind him about his offer to refer you to one of his contacts.

• How to handle no reply from person you’ve been referred to: Occasionally, even if you write an excellent letter or email to the person you’ve been referred to, you might not receive a reply within a reasonable period of, or worse, you might not receive a reply at all. If this happens to you, you can check with whoever referred you and ask for his advice on how to handle this situation.