How to Ask for a Job Referral: 4 Message Templates

To ask for a job referral, message someone who works at the company, name the exact role with a link to the posting, explain in two sentences why you fit, and ask plainly whether they’d feel comfortable referring you. Give them an easy way to say no, attach your resume and a short summary they can paste into the referral form, and follow up once. What changes is how much you ask for: a former colleague can vouch for your work, while a stranger on LinkedIn can only start with a conversation. The templates below are sorted by the strength of the connection.

What you’re actually asking someone to do

A referral usually means an employee submits you through their company’s hiring system and answers a few questions about you. Take Greenhouse, an applicant tracking system: as of 2026-09, its default referral questions include the employee’s relationship with the candidate, work history, a rating and referral notes. That’s the key to asking well. Your contact has to write something true about you, so your job is to give them true, specific material and never to ask for more than they can honestly say.

It’s worth the awkwardness. A study of nine large firms in call centers, trucking and high tech, published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, found that referred applicants were more likely to be hired than non-referred applicants, even though the two groups had similar skill characteristics.

Match the ask to the connection

Most referral requests fail because the ask is too big for the relationship. Use this table to decide what to ask for before you write a word.

Ten minutes of prep before you send anything

• Pick one role. “Any openings on your team?” asks your contact to do the job search for you. Copy the link from the company’s own careers page and note the job ID if there is one.
• Tailor your resume to that role. Your contact may forward it as is, so it should already speak to the posting. Our guide on how to tailor your resume walks through it. (In the UK, Ireland and New Zealand, where a résumé is called a CV, the same goes for your CV.)
• Write a three-line blurb. A short summary of who you are and why you fit, written so they can paste it straight into a referral form. There’s a template further down.
• Choose the right person. Someone who knows your work beats someone senior who doesn’t. For strangers, someone on or near the hiring team is better than someone in an unrelated department.
• Know that the order varies. As of 2026-09, Greenhouse’s help center says referral programs are determined by each company, so ask your contact whether they submit you first or you apply first.

Template 1: a former colleague or manager

This is the strongest referral you can get, because they can describe your work from experience. Ask directly. Hinting only makes them guess what you want.

What to say

Remind them of one specific thing you did together, connect it to one or two requirements in the posting, and ask the question. If you haven’t spoken in a while, say so in one line rather than pretending otherwise.

Subject: Referral for [Role] at [Company]?

Hi [Name],

[If it’s been a while:] It’s been a while since [Old Company]. I hope [something specific: the new team, the move] is going well. I’m applying for the [Role] opening on the [Team] team ([link], job ID [ID]) and wanted to ask whether you’d feel comfortable referring me.

In case it helps: when we worked together, I [specific thing they saw you do, such as “ran the billing migration with you”]. The posting asks for [requirement], which is the same kind of work.

I’ve attached my resume and a three-line summary you can paste into the referral form. If it’s not a good time or you’d rather not, that’s completely fine. Just say so and I’ll apply directly.

Thanks either way,
[Your name]

Making it easy to say yes or no

The line “just say so and I’ll apply directly” tells them what happens if they decline, so saying no costs them nothing. They can answer honestly instead of going quiet, and the relationship survives a no.

Template 2: an alum from your school or a former employer

A shared school, bootcamp or former employer is a reason to reply, not a reason to refer. They haven’t seen your work, so ask for a short conversation first and let the referral come up once they know you a little.

Hi [Name], I’m a fellow [School] grad ([program, year]) and I’m applying for the [Role] role at [Company] ([link]). I saw you’ve been on the [Team] team since [year]. Would you be open to a 15-minute call about what the team looks for? I’m not assuming a referral. Your read on the role would help on its own. Thanks, [Your name]

After the call, if it went well and they haven’t offered, ask once: “Based on what we talked about, would you feel comfortable referring me? If not, no problem at all.” Then send the blurb and your resume.

Template 3: a second-degree connection

A second-degree connection is someone you don’t know yet but who knows someone you do. Don’t message the target with “we both know [Mutual].” Ask the mutual first. They know how close they really are to that person, and an introduction from them carries their credibility.

To the mutual contact

Hi [Mutual], I noticed you’re connected to [Name] at [Company]. I’m applying for [Role] there ([link]). How well do you know them? If you’re comfortable, would you forward the note below or introduce us by email? If not, no worries at all.

The paragraph they forward

[Name], [how they know you, such as “my former colleague”] [Your name] is applying for [Role] on your team. They [one concrete credential, such as “led the rollout of our self-serve onboarding”]. Would you be open to a short chat with them? Their resume is attached.

Writing the forwardable paragraph yourself saves your mutual contact the work. They can send it as is or tweak it, instead of composing something from scratch.

Template 4: a stranger on LinkedIn

Asking a stranger for a referral on LinkedIn works best as two steps: a connection note with one question, and then, once they accept, a message with context. Keep the first note short. As of 2026-09, LinkedIn Help says a personalized invitation note can be up to 200 characters, and free accounts can add a note to up to three connection requests a month. Spend those notes on people close to the role.

The connection note

Hi [Name], I’m applying for [Role] on your team at [Company] and read your post on [topic]. Could I ask you one quick question about the team?

Swap the post for any real detail you have, such as a talk they gave or a project their team shipped, and check the character count once the brackets are filled in.

The message after they accept

Thanks for connecting, [Name]. My question: [one specific question, such as “how does the team split work between research and design?”]. For context, I’m applying for [Role] ([link]) and I [one-line credential]. Happy to share my resume if that’s useful. Thanks either way, [Your name]

The question has to be real and specific. A vague “I’d love to pick your brain” is easy to ignore because it asks for open-ended time. A question they can answer in two lines is easy to answer. If they reply and the exchange goes well, send your resume and ask for the referral the same way you would with an alum: once, with an easy way to say no.

What to attach: the paste-ready blurb

Whoever refers you will probably face a form with a notes box. Hand them the words. Keep the relationship line honest: if you’ve never worked together, say how you met.

[Your name]: [current or most recent title], [years] years in [field]. Relevant to [Role]: [achievement with a result]; [second achievement]. Applying for [Role], job ID [ID], [link]. How we know each other: [worked together at X / same program at Y / spoke about the role on (date)].

Alongside the blurb, include:

• The job link from the company’s careers site, plus the job ID
• Your tailored resume as a PDF with a clear file name, such as “Firstname-Lastname-Resume.pdf”
• Your LinkedIn profile URL, and a portfolio or GitHub link if the role expects one

Leave out cover letters and long attachments unless they ask. The goal is a request they can act on in five minutes.

How to follow up once, then let it go

If you hear nothing after about a week, reply in the same thread so they have the context. One follow-up is polite. A second one about the same referral starts to feel like pressure.

Hi [Name], bumping this in case it got buried. No pressure either way. If a referral isn’t possible, I’ll apply directly by [day]. Thanks, [Your name]

If they say yes:

• Thank them the same day and confirm what you’ll do next (apply, or wait for the referral link).
• Tell them when you’ve applied and when you get an interview. People like knowing their referral mattered.
• Thank them again at the end, whether you get the job or not.

If they say no, thank them and move on. Don’t ask why. If the application itself goes quiet afterward, our guide to the follow-up email after a job application covers what to send and when.

Mistakes that turn a yes into a no

• Sending the same message to everyone. People can tell. One specific line about them or the team is enough to show it’s not a mass message.
• Asking a stranger to vouch for you. They can’t honestly rate work they’ve never seen, so the easiest answer for them is no answer.
• No job link. Making them search the careers site for the right posting turns a quick yes into a chore they put off.
• Your life story. Two sentences on fit are enough. The resume does the rest.
• Losing track. Asking two people on the same team the same week without telling either can look careless. Keep a list of who you asked, for which role, and when.

Keep your referral asks next to the application

Referral requests are easy to lose across Gmail, LinkedIn and texts. In Leepo, Contacts and outreach lets you find recruiters or hiring managers for a role, save them against the application you’re tracking, and draft a referral ask, intro or follow-up that opens in Gmail for you to review and send. Follow-up reminders help you send that one follow-up on time, and the person stays saved against the role in your application tracker instead of scattered across inboxes. You can start free at leepo.ai.

Whatever tool you use, the rule is the same: ask for what the relationship can support, make yes and no equally easy, give them the words, and follow up once.