When I think of the power of referrals, I find myself thinking of it in modern movie contexts.

Cinderella had her fairy godmother. 

James Bond had M. 

Albert had Hitch. (and boy did he ever with these moves…)

 With their referrals, the world was theirs. They had an inside scoop to the happenings and a sidekick to propel them to success. So how important is referrals in the context of today’s job hunt? 

According to Jobvite’s 2014 data collection [awesome infograhic here] , they found that while 7% of applicants come from referrals, this small number accounts for nearly half of hires (40%). 

In another study done by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and MIT, they discovered that a referral who gets an interview has a 40% better chance of getting hired than other candidates. 

In other words… You dramatically increase your opportunity to not just get in the door of a company, but also getting hired. 

But hey, you already knew that. The saying, “It’s not about what you know, it’s about who know” has probably just ingrained itself along with other common lingo of the day like YOLO, TFTI and FOMO. (Ok maybe not, but you get my point). 

With those numbers and phrases in mind, let’s drill down to some more actionable ways to actually get a referral. 

3 Places To Get You Started

Let’s get one thing clear before diving in – the main objective of these outreach / networking tactics is to get into a conversation.

So yes, you will have to un-attach from the Internet…just breathe…you’ll be fine. 

#1 : Cold Emailing 

This is my favorite way to get into conversations. It’s light weight, it’s customizable, and most importantly, it’s effective.

The first rule in any cold email is to stop thinking about your own needs. Stop it. Right now. Your referral has zero obligation/incentive to respond, accept a call/meeting, and take a risk and help.

Soak in on that for just a minute. 

These referrals are busy. Why? Because they are already in and they are already working AND they don’t know you. 

Offer something first. Anything. Maybe a comment on a tweet or a blog post they just published. Look at their Linkedin interests, something similar there? Are they thinking about traveling to Thailand? Why not create a mini guide summarizing off-the-beaten-track adventure ideas? 

Be the first to provide something of value and you might be surprised with how respond back. 

Take a look here for a more in-depth case study on one of my recent successful cold emails. 

#2 Tap Into Your Existing Network. 

If you don’t ask, you don’t get. Don’t be afraid to ask. 

Sometimes the most valuable and accessible resource is only a couple degrees away.

Here’s a list of potential resources: 

Family

Alumni 

Professors / TAs

On campus clubs / organizations

Career Center

Gym 

Yoga Studio

Church 

Managers / co-interns of current/previous internships

Managers / co-workers of current/previous jobs

People You Volunteer With

What if these people aren’t exactly your homies? Apply the same principles as if you were cold emailing! These are just warmer leads and are more likely to say YES to your emails. 

3. Create Your Own Network

Maybe you’ve exhausted your immediate networking circle. Your emails aren’t being responded to, your managers don’t trust you, and the people at your Career Center are clueless.  What do you do now? 

Choose to be proactive. 

Erase this thinking: “If only my current network had more leads to cool companies”

Apply this thinking: “I can create my own network and generate more leads to awesome companies.” 

Here are some free & affordable places to meet potential referrals:

Job fairs 

Meetups [find a friend to tag team with]

Company information sessions [Eventbrite.com – good place to search]

Facebook Referral Groups [like this one here]

Happy Hours [you can network w/o being of age to drink ;)]

Toastmasters [public speaking group]

Don’t forget to add them on Linkedin, follow up with the people who you felt you had a genuine interaction with and take action in getting them on the phone/coffee. 

Wrapping up

Your circle of influence is bigger than you might think. There are thousands of people that are waiting to interact and help you. The only wall that’s separating these two worlds is yourself and what you choose to do. 

A fire won’t fan itself into flames – it takes consistent action and perseverance to gradually turn sparks into a roaring fire. 

But enough with these flowery metaphors…

GO!  

Get out there, take a risk, find adventure in the unknown abyss of new strangers! 

-Albert