from AskMyDaddy
LinkedIn Job Referrals - The Trap
You asked
We're connected on LinkedIn. Can I send a job referral through you?
A job applicant certainly always CAN route the LinkedIn Introduction through me or any other connection, but SHOULD he? If you need to ask (and even if you don't), the answer almost certainly is NO.
At least once a week I receive an Introduction to provide a referral for a LinkedIn Job application ... from a connection I haven't directly worked with or barely know (a WeakConnection). Something is seriously wrong here.
LinkedIn provides no guidance in this area. The following discussion aims to illuminate how the process works and what applicants and forwarders should do.
What happens when a candidate responds to a LinkedIn job
Two options are provided when you respond to a LinkedIn job.
* Apply now
* Request referral
At the bottom of the LinkedIn job posting, the Additional Information section may display:
* Referrals through network preferred.
When you select Apply now, you enter a cover letter, resume doc, and contact info and that package is sent directly to the job contact.
When you select Request referral, a LinkedIn Introduction is initiated to the job contact that includes the following text from you to the recipient - "I am applying for a job I found on LinkedIn, and would sincerely appreciate it if you could take a moment to write a short recommendation." It is not a formal job application as in the Apply now option. You do not enter and submit a cover letter, resume doc, and contact info.
The Trap
This process above is flawed and misleading in two significant ways.
1. Request referral is a second additional step.
Request referral is presented as an alternate step. You can Apply now *OR* Request referral. But that's not how it works.
If the applicant selects Request referral, he's not actually applying for the job. He's only indicating interest and soliciting a recommendation. What will the employer or recruiter recipient do when he receives the application? If the employer or recruiter sees a fit, he'll ask the applicant to go back and Apply. So Request referral is a second additional step.
2. A LinkedIn Introduction referral is NOT a career reference.
Far from the LinkedIn fantasy world, there is the real world of recruiting and references. These are REAL references - people, preferably executives, who have directly and significantly worked with you.
That is very different from LinkedIn where people refer and forward Introductions of connections they know personally or not at all. Don't confuse the two.
If a job applicant hasn't closely worked with a connection, the connection can only give you a personal reference. That has little value to a recruiter or employer. Even worse, if the connection gives a weak or no reference in relation to the job, the sender looks bad.
The LinkedIn job referral is a trap. The LinkedIn text sets an expectation of a positive work referral that isn't delivered when a connection treats it like a regular Introduction.
Forwarder (the applicant's connection) referral recommendation
It is reasonable for forwarders to simply provide a referral if they can and forward the job referral request Introduction.
However the design of the job application process is confusing and misleading. If the Request Referral is misused and you haven't worked with the sender and you want to help the sender, I recommend the following.
1. Create and store standard copy for this case. The copy should explain that you received his request for a referral for a job. You cannot provide a work reference as you haven't worked with the sender. You can provide a personal reference or none at all. However that likely will not help as the job poster is looking for a work referral. Recommend that the sender withdraw this Introduction, apply directly for the job if he hasn't already, and re-send the request for a referral to an appropriate work colleagues if he has one. Or you can just point the recipient to this web page.
2. Click on the sender's name in the Introduction to display the sender's profile.
3. Click on the sender's email address (I recommend that over using Send a Message). Send an email with the standard copy above.
4. Two days later or the next time you're at your LinkedIn messages after that, if the Introduction hasn't been withdrawn, forward it like you normally would.
Job applicant recommendations
1. Always Apply directly.
2. Simultaneously Request Referral only if you have a very strong direct work reference.
You step in a black hole if you only select Request Referral. Routing it through your network delays your application up to a week and risks it stalling indefinitely if someone in the message chain is not currently active on LinkedIn. Furthermore if your connection isn't a solid work reference, he doesn't add anything to your application. If he's not a work reference, using Request Referral can only hurt you.
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