How to ask for a referral on LinkedIn
Three short messages: a connection note that asks for advice, the ask once they accept, and a summary they can paste into their referral form. One job, one line about you, and an easy way to say no.
Before you ask
1
Find the job first
Pick one open posting and note its ID. “Refer me for any role” asks them to do your search; most people will not.
2
Ask someone near the team
An engineer for an engineering role, someone in sales for sales. They can also tell you what the team actually wants.
3
Make the form easy
Their referral form asks for the job ID, your résumé and a line about you. Send all three, ready to paste.
Write yours
1. Connection note (126/200)
Hi [Their name], I'm applying for the [Role] role at [Company] and would value two minutes of your advice. Thanks, [Your name]
2. Once they accept
Hi [Their name], Thanks for connecting. I'm applying for the [Role] role at [Company]. I'm [who you are in one line]. If you think I would fit, would you be open to referring me? My résumé is attached, and there is a short summary below to paste into the referral form. If it is not a fit, no problem at all; any advice about the team would still help. Thanks, [Your name]
3. Summary for their referral form
[Your name] for [Role]: [who you are in one line].
9 blanks in [brackets] to fill.
Runs in your browser. Nothing you type here is sent anywhere.
Samples
Fresher, to an alumnus
Note: Hi Divya, I am in my final year at NIT Calicut, your college. I'm applying for the Graduate Engineer Trainee role at Voltgrid and would value two minutes of your advice. Thanks, Karthik
Hi Divya, Thanks for connecting. I'm applying for the Graduate Engineer Trainee role at Voltgrid (GET-2026-14). I'm an EEE student who built a solar inverter monitor on an ESP32 for my final-year project. If you think I would fit, would you be open to referring me? My résumé is attached, and there is a short summary below to paste into the referral form. If it is not a fit, no problem at all; any advice about the team would still help. Thanks, Karthik Nair
Experienced, to a former colleague
Note: Hi Vikram, we worked together at Finbridge in 2022. I'm applying for the Senior QA Engineer role at Paylane and would value two minutes of your advice. Thanks, Sana
Hi Vikram, Thanks for connecting. I'm applying for the Senior QA Engineer role at Paylane (R-8812). I'm a QA engineer with five years in API and payments testing. At Finbridge I set up the Postman regression suite that cut release testing from three days to one. If you think I would fit, would you be open to referring me? My résumé is attached, and there is a short summary below to paste into the referral form. If it is not a fit, no problem at all; any advice about the team would still help. Thanks, Sana Qureshi
No connection at all
Note: Hi Rahul, I'm applying for the Data Analyst role at Shopwise and would value two minutes of your advice. Thanks, Meera
Hi Rahul, Thanks for connecting. I'm applying for the Data Analyst role at Shopwise (R-10423). I'm a data analyst with two years in SQL and Power BI. I built the weekly sales dashboard my team now runs on. If you think I would fit, would you be open to referring me? My résumé is attached, and there is a short summary below to paste into the referral form. If it is not a fit, no problem at all; any advice about the team would still help. Thanks, Meera Pillai
Questions people ask
Is it okay to ask someone I do not know?
Yes, if you ask for one specific job and make it easy. Many companies pay employees a bonus when someone they referred is hired, so a good fit helps them too. A vague ask from a stranger is the one that gets ignored.
Why not ask for the referral in the connection note?
A connection note is short and comes from a stranger. Asking for advice there is easier to accept; once they accept, the message has room for the job, who you are and the summary.
How many people should I ask at one company?
One or two. Several referrals for the same job usually land on the same recruiter, and it reads as spam. If one person says no or does not reply, ask the next.
When should I follow up?
Once, after about a week: a single line asking whether they had a chance to look. If there is still no reply, apply directly and move on.
Should I apply myself as well?
Check with them first. At many companies a referral creates the application for you, and applying separately can create a duplicate that lands outside the referral.
A referral gets your résumé read. Make it the right one.
BananaJobz ranks open roles against your résumé and tailors it to each posting, using only what is on it, so the résumé you attach matches the job you asked about. Score yours free first, with no account.
The sample people, companies and job IDs are made up. BananaJobz is not affiliated with LinkedIn.