Building a Referral Network for Your Recruiting Desk

A recruiter's referral network is the group of people who regularly send you candidates and clients: people you've placed, clients you've served well, candidates you didn't place but treated well, and respected people in your niche. You build it by doing good work, asking at the right moments, making it easy to refer and thanking every referrer, whether or not the referral turns into a placement.

Who belongs in your referral network?

• Candidates you placed. They know your process firsthand and know other people in their field.
• Clients. Satisfied hiring managers can refer you to peers at other companies who are hiring, which is often the warmest business development lead you'll get.
• Candidates you didn't place. A finalist who was treated with respect, kept informed and given honest feedback often becomes a loyal referrer.
• Niche connectors. Association leaders, consultants and long-tenured people who seem to know everyone in a field.

When should you ask for referrals?

Ask when goodwill is highest: after a placement starts, after a client thanks you for a strong slate, after you give a finalist useful feedback, or after you help someone with advice. Be specific about what you're looking for, such as a type of role or a kind of company that might need help. A broad "let me know if you hear of anything" rarely produces a name.

How do you make referring easy?

• Describe the roles you fill and the clients you serve in one sentence people can repeat.
• Tell referrers exactly how to make the introduction: forward your details, send you a name or make an email introduction.
• Promise discretion, and keep it. People refer more readily when they know you won't use their name without permission.

How should you thank referrers?

Thank every referrer promptly, and tell them what happened even when the referral didn't work out. When a referral leads to a placement or a new client, a handwritten note or a small gift is a common thank-you. Some recruiters pay referral fees. If you do, keep the terms simple and in writing, and follow the rules that apply where you and the referrer work, since some industries and employers restrict referral payments.

How do you keep the network active?

Track who has referred people to you and stay in touch between searches with something useful, such as a market observation or congratulations on a new role. In identifyd you can keep referrers on their own list with notes and a logged history of every touch, and record the referral source on each job order so you can see where your business comes from.

For asking connections one at a time, see How to Ask for Candidate Referrals on LinkedIn.