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Most of the high paying job openings I. Big companies out there are often filled through referrals. How then can people who do not know anyone to refer them secure interview for roles in such companies?
I believe the best way to gain a referral is through LinkedIn. Check the company employees and LinkedIn will sort them in an order that the first has most chances to be someone you know or have friends in common.
Do your best to capitalise on the common friends, interests, groups, etc. Send a non-formal introductory message, saying that you are interested in the position and company and you wanted to ask a couple of questions if they have time and are willing to reply to you in order to have a clearer understanding of the company. Say also that you took the courage to take the initiative since you have a common contact, interests etc. Showing interest and taking the extra step is never a bad thing and according to my mind the few people who will take the initiative to do it are the ones who deserve the position. Companies are looking for people who make things happen and that’s what you are doing.
Don’t ask to be referred in the first contact, do not ask directly to be endorsed/referred, ask for permission to discuss about the company life and give the person the chance to decide if they want to reply or not. Do not contact people who work on HR – it wouldn’t be fair. Do not contact people within the team you are interested in or high management employees.
If the employee you contacted replies to you you already have more than 50% chances that the person would be willing to endorse you. If their response is negative you can do nothing but thank them and apologise. If though their answer is positive send your CV along with a couple of questions that are important for your candidacy (e.g. what kind of profiles usually make good candidates, what are the things they like the most in working for the company and maybe if they have any feedback for your CV).
After that point the person will 90% tell you they can refer you by themselves if they think you have good chances. Employees from large scale enterprises will always do because they receive bounties for recommending successful candidates. If you send a couple of messages and that person still hasn’t offered to refer you, you can ask them if that is something they could do.
What you should do is look up the people you want a referal from and find their emails. Shoot them an email about how you really like their company and you are interested in working for there. These people used to be in your shoes so they will understand (or even by flattered by) you contacting them. Now as far as asking for a referral from someone who knows nothing about you is kinda odd. Look at this from their perspective, they would be referring you to work at a company they care about without knowing anything about you. You could be an awful person for all they know.
What you should do instead is ask if they would be willing to meet and answer some question for you, or you could even ask if you could come down to the company’s location and take a little tour. This will do several things for you, it make them now feel comfortable referring you after meeting you in person. The company will view you as someone who takes initiative and that will help you out. It will help you decide if you actually want to work at this company.