I need advice on making introductions

Anonymous

January 28,2023 at 2:15AM UTC

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I need advice on making introductions

I have working as a permanent employee at a company for a few months now. In the spirit of wanting to help people in my network, last week I posted a link to my company's jobs page in the in one of my LinkedIn groups.

Someone reached out to me to tell me she had applied to one of the positions she'd seen on my post. Due to the way our HR service is set up, I cannot refer someone once they have submitted an application. However, on our company's careers page I can see the names of the supervisors in that department. I do not know these people, as they have nothing to do with my department.

I would like to contact these people and put my connection in touch with them, but am not sure about how to go about doing this. Should I try to connect with them on LinkedIn, and then tell them about her if/when they respond? Or send them an e-mail from work, so they can see it's from someone internal, and mention my connection?

I want to be helpful but don't want to overstep the mark. I've never done this before, so any and all advice is appreciated! Thank you.

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Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistJanuary 28,2023 at 3:42AM UTC
First of all, have you ever worked with the person that asked for the referral or are they just a LI connection?
If you haven't worked with them (and maybe if you have) and they're just a connection, you can reach out to the folks in the other department (using your work email) and simply say "One of my LinkedIn connections, Jane Doe, reached out to me - she applied for your open Project Manager position (Requisition #1234) and she's very interested in being considered." The end.
It's up to the hiring manager to take a look at their background and determine if they're a fit or not. Since you're not in that department, you have no way of knowing that.
I wouldn't go too far out on a limb because it reflects on you. What if you talked them up and they turned out to be a jerk.
Sometimes, even if they're a former co-worker and you think you know them, they might interview poorly, or stand the hiring manager up, or flake on researching the company - and then you have your current co-worker saying "why would anonymous refer that person?"
I would not give out the hiring manager's name or contact info, in case they turn into a stalker. Give the HM a heads up and leave it in their court.
If the LI person bugs you about it, you can say "I gave them a heads up you applied - they'll reach out if they're interested".
Please let me know if you have any questions.
AnonymousJanuary 28,2023 at 2:18PM UTC
spoken like a true recruiter that understands the challenges in the process and outcome good post Joan
Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistJanuary 28,2023 at 8:04PM UTC
Thank you!! ;o)
Christi LopezJanuary 31,2023 at 1:56PM UTC
All of this! Excellent response. :)
Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistJanuary 31,2023 at 5:46PM UTC
Thanks, Christi!
AnonymousJanuary 28,2023 at 6:19AM UTC
You're too new to be doing this! Wish your LI contact well and say it's up to HR from this point on.
AnonymousJanuary 30,2023 at 6:36PM UTC
Send an internal email to the manager of that team sharing that you posted the role openly on your linkedin. Then share with them the link of the person that reached out to you. Then send a linkedin note to the person who LI/messaged you within LI and let them know that you sent off an email with their profile directly to that dept. Do not share the name of the person whom you sent it to. Let them know that your internal HR/Talent team usually follows up quickly once they determine interest in a candidate. Wish them the best.
ChrishoggJanuary 31,2023 at 1:18PM UTC
I imagine every organization does this a little differently.
Are there one or three people in your company that you could simply ask what the protocol is, and then follow the established procedure?
Also, as mentioned previously by others, be cautious of referring / recommending "strangers" from your LI connections, as, good or bad, their performance will reflect back on you.
Farah BajwaJanuary 31,2023 at 5:12PM UTC
Yeah if you're going out of your way to put someone in contact with the hiring managers, then I'd advise caution since you do not actually know this person or their work ethic/skills.
AnonymousFebruary 1,2023 at 2:25AM UTC
Thank you all so much for your detailed and thoughtful replies. I am so new at networking that I just didn't have a clue what to do, so I really appreciate everyone's help.
As Joan Williams suggested below, I think I will reach out to the supervisor of the department, using my work e-mail, and include the link to the LI profile of my network connection, and tell him she is very interested in the position. As many of you have said, this seems to be the best and safest route, as I hardly know this woman, she is a recent LinkedIn connection with whom I had a phone conversation last week.
I will let you know what happens!