Job References & Referrals

The cluster discusses the use of references and referrals in job hiring, including shady recruiter tactics like recruiting the references themselves, best practices for selecting references, and the value of referrals in the hiring process.

📉 Falling 0.3x Career & Jobs
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#6744
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Keywords

e.g US StackOverflow OP YC AWS LinkedIn CV reference references referral company job hire founder employer yc recruiter

Sample Comments

hardlianotion Jun 28, 2018 View on HN

No need to assume nefariousness on behalf of the reference. Most shady recruiters will just tell you a friend referred them.

bitxbitxbitcoin Aug 24, 2022 View on HN

Only ask people to be your reference if you would trust them with things like not alerting management.

michaelmrose Jan 18, 2019 View on HN

If people only hire people with references how does one get references?

codegeek Apr 26, 2015 View on HN

you are right. I edited my comment further on this. No one uses/should use their current colleagues/company/boss for reference anyway.

jon-wood Feb 28, 2022 View on HN

I’ve hired at multiple smaller startups, and the rule has always been that if someone gets referred by an existing member of staff then the referrer isn’t involved in the interview process beyond being a high confidence reference check.

DrJid Mar 31, 2017 View on HN

Most referrals for jobs aren't based of real deep friends, but based off acquaintance connections..

m463 Jan 12, 2025 View on HN

Years ago my friend put me as a reference on his resume. I got a call asking about him, but then ending with... are you looking at other opportunities?...and I realized it was the recruiter, probably not interested in my friend so much as recruiting off the reference list.it's everywhere.

rch Mar 31, 2011 View on HN

A friend of mine worked for a tech recruiter in 2009, in Houston. She reported being 'trained' to take the references from people who were looking for a job, and recruit only the references for open positions. The original applicant was generally ignored altogether, and often lied to.So, how about convincing everyone in your industry to not do that? Good luck...

atmosx Feb 22, 2023 View on HN

The idea is to refer ppl you want to work with based on prior experience. I don't think they want you to on a wild goose chase on Github, StackOverflow or LinkedIn.

opinali Feb 21, 2013 View on HN

"Knowing somebody" is something that scores some points in your hiring game, but it's not a deal breaker. In my case I had a few referrers that I only knew online -- some good contacts, but nobody that I had worked together or even met in person. Rest assured you're good enough in the resume and interviews, you should get an offer. Of course, strong referrals can make the threshold for "good enough" a little lower; even Google's extensive recruiting process has limitations. The point of referral