Don't Make Job Referrals Public
3 hours ago
- The author receives recruiter emails after posting in a 'Who wants to be hired?' thread, leading to multiple contacts for the same senior role with different referral codes.
- The job ad pays $1,500 for a successful referral, but the author is not a clear fit for the senior position, making it unlikely that several people independently recommended them.
- The referrers likely searched for keywords and used LLMs to personalize messages, knowing little about the candidate beyond public information.
- This turns referrals into spam, as referrers provide no real information about the candidate, focusing only on earning the bonus.
- Public referral programs generate noise and low-quality applications, burdening recruiters and candidates alike, and dilute the value of genuine referrals.
- The issue is not the payment but making it accessible to anyone sending cold emails, eroding the trust and information in the referral process.
- Referrals should carry information from people who know the candidate; broad sourcing belongs to other channels like recruiters and job boards.
- When referrals become a public competition for attribution, candidates perceive them as spam, not recommendations.