Best Way To Land the Job: Have an In-House Referral

Endlessly honing your resume and cover letter isn’t the best way to land a job. You’re much better off knowing someone on the inside. Having a referral from an employee already in the organization is more likely to get you an interview, and interviews of candidates with internal referrals are more likely to result in a job.

“Referrals account for between 30 and 50% of hires in the US. …[W]hile referrals only made up about 6% of total applications, they resulted in more than a quarter of hires.”

Researchers at the University of Minnesota and UC Berkeley found that while referral hires occur at a disproportionately high rate, candidates who receive jobs through referrals aren’t necessarily smarter or more skilled. But companies have other good reasons for preferring to hire referrals.

Because they already have a personal relationship with the company in some form, studies have shown that referrals are likely to be more productive and to stay at the firm longer. And because they come pre-vetted, the costs of hiring them can be lower.

Diane Morgan, Director of Career services at London Business School, puts the number of referral hires at sixty-five percent. She suggests you spend most of your time doing human networking, not looking for opportunities online. See more of her great advice for job candidates below: