Would you pay employees in your target company to get a job reference?

FYI, activities like this are illegal in Canada, so don't consider it for us 😊

Hi @tamtam,

Here is my honest feedback about the overall idea.

Answer 1:

Most of my jobs have been from the result of reaching out and talking to people in the company, but I view job searching as a two way street. Sure, it's great for an employer to make sure that the employee is a good fit, but for me, it's important to me to make sure that the employer is a good fit.

Because of that, whenever I'm looking to work at a potential employer, I will reach out to people at that company... Not necessarily with the expectation of getting a referral or having that person get me a job, but just to open a dialog to see what the company culture is like and if the person likes working there.

People have no problem referring others that they think can be a good asset to the team, regardless of a financial incentive or not. There's just something about starting a conversation by "buying referrals" that seems cringy to me.

I honestly feel like this is what a recruiter does. They add an additional layer between the employer and the employee, and in a lot of cases, the extra referral/commission incentive produces some really bad matches.

Answer 2:

I would probably just try to reach out to employees in various roles, some in similar positions to what I would be applying for and some management, and just solicit their feedback on the company as a whole. I think that you'll find is that most people are willing to talk to you; especially if your online branding is strong enough to explain who you are at a glance.

Answer 3:

I have used the referral system at my employers before, but it has been for people who I genuinely want to work with.

Perhaps there is something here that could make that process easier for streamlining to see if the company and person are a good fit for each other, although I think it's already pretty easy just to start a conversation with someone online.

In fact, come to think of it, I do remember seeing this before: https://www.keyvalues.com

Don't get me wrong, I think there probably are people out there that might use a service like this, but I don't think I would. I might be more inclined to pay someone for a quick interview to ask about the company, regardless of whether or not they give me a referral or not, just for taking their time to talk to me.