Referrals and the Job Search

job referralsCandidate experience is crucial when it comes to hiring practices. A recent survey states that 53 percent of the job candidates polled indicted an existing relationship with the company prior to applying, either as a customer, advocate or with a friend or family member presently working for the company. Employee referrals are more likely to receive an offer than non-referrals.  Candidate job searches through LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, and Twitter are growing rapidly. One reason for this percentage is that approximately half of the job candidates say that they are more likely to tell their inner circle of friends about their positive experiences as opposed to the negatives. This is a good characteristic for successful interviewing.

Big companies are often using their own workers to find new hires, saving time and money and extending the odds for job seekers without connections, especially among the long-term unemployed.  The trend of employee networks and referrals has been amplified during the recession along with the tight job market.  Companies have actually set internal goals to increase hiring that comes from internal referrals.

The long-term unemployed and other disadvantaged people don’t have access to the network. The more you’ve been out of the work force, the weaker your connections are. A referral can push a candidate in the express lane.  Referred candidates can often get fast-tracked whether it is externally or internally. Even getting in the door for an interview is becoming more difficult for those without connections. This is where a professional recruiter can be beneficial. They can get “your foot in the door”.

In particular, LinkedIn has altered the hiring landscape, making it easy for recruiting departments to trace connections between job candidates and their own employees by using LinkedIn’s database and software. LinkedIn has changed the dynamics of the job market and continues to have a tremendous impact on the hiring practice. LinkedIn has a good chance of getting it right, too, because it can enable the connectors among employees to easily use networking skills, positive social credit balance sheet, and a very large meaningful network.

The concept for internal referrals is the same as for external referrals, which is that great people know other great people and that most employees want to help the firm by contributing to the recruiting effort.  In today’s job market, a prospective job candidate has to explore all possibilities, networks, and strategies.  Internal and external sources are meaningful and necessary.  Aggressive job searching will be rewarding in the end.

Source: “Job Referrals.” About.com Job Searching. Web. 07 Feb. 2013.

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