|
A recruiter called in with an
offer from a company that I would have really loved to work for. Regrettably
my present employers have bound me with a bond, or I would have truly tried
my luck here. Still though I didn’t want to disappoint the sweet voice on
the other end of the phone; looked desperate to fill the position. So I did
the next best thing. Referred her a friend with equally good credentials,
and to the best of my knowledge looking for a job.
Job Referrals are a hot subject these days. Almost everyone is referring
left, right and centre. I get 2-3 referrals almost every month. As for me, I
refer twice that frequency.
So what’s making referrals so popular nowadays? Connecting with old friends
and making new friends by way of sharing job leads is one of the reasons.
There are many more powerful reasons to warrant job referral.
In this
article, we will check out some of the compelling reasons for referring
friends.
The reasons now:
First, most companies run internal referral programs for recruitment. Only
employees of the particular company get to know about these vacancies.
Generally a reward is attached with references of suitable candidates. The
reward amount, in cash or in kind, is dependant on the actual hiring.
Employees contact friends or friends of friends to apply for the post. The
lure of reward is strong enough to fish only for the best candidates.
Second, recruiters will ask for references, if you aren’t interested in the
offer they made. I generally keep a database of friends who are looking for
jobs. A slight knowledge of the fields in which your friends operate is
helpful. You certainly don’t want to end up referring an IT guy to a sales
job. I will be discussing the proper procedure of referring friends to
recruiters in a separate article.
Third, we often use our contacts to find jobs for friends. It starts with a
SOS call from a friend; that he has lost job and is very frustrated and so
on. You then check with other people you know for similar vacancies in the
companies that they work. If you have relations with a recruiter or hiring
manager, you have hit gold.
Last come organised referrals, a combination of the referral techniques
mentioned above. In India, it is a new concept, but it is fast catching up.
Pioneered by
Yellojobs.com in India, the organised referral program known as
YelloRewards, enables almost anyone to refer friends to jobs and win a
reward amount starting from Rs. 5000 and onwards. Many other companies are
now coming up with similar initiatives.
Indian corporations, on an expansion drive, are incessantly in need of
talent. Recruiters often fall short of their expectations. Job referrals
hold the key to a no-frills recruitment method for companies, who also have
to fight with large scale attrition.
Need any more reasons to start referring people you know for the right jobs.
So the next time a recruiter calls in, don’t just snap the call. Refer a
friend and reap the benefits.
About
the Author: Aditya Kumar
is a career consultant with Yellojobs.com India (Pvt.) Ltd. and believes in
sharing views on new and old phenomenons in the world of recruitment. He
blogs about career related issues to spread awareness amongst the
jobseekers. |
|