What is Referral Union?

Probably the most common question I get is "What is Referral Union?" There are several answers to this, and each serves a different audience. Let's explore a few possible audiences and the responses, but first the short answer:

Short Answer AKA the Elevator Pitch (This is probably the toughest one and is always in flux): Referral Union is a community of job-seekers and current employees of companies who offer referral bonuses. It introduces applicants, who benefit by getting a foot in the door to a great new job, to those working for their target companies, who are fiscally rewarded by their HR departments for referring qualified new applicants.

A bit more detail: Referral Union maintains two databases--one each for both applicants and current employees. Much like match.com, members of both databases can browse, search, and message anyone they're interested in, which will hopefully lead to successful pairings. From time to time, you will receive suggested candidates in your inbox; these are based on some keywords you entered when you created your profile. Yes, if you have a job but are looking for something new, you can create both accounts. You sly dog.

Potential Current Employees: Referral Union is a way for you to find qualified applicants to fill openings with your firm and earn the referral bonuses associated with them. Referral bonuses range from around $500 to as much as $10,000 and are one of the easiest ways to supplement your income. In addition to the fiscal rewards, many companies include such company-involvement activities on their yearly assessments, so you look good while taking an active role improving your company/practice/division/whatever. Once you create an account and upload your profile, which includes your contact info, your company's info, and select your account type, we will help you identify and screen the candidates. All of your contact information is kept confidential until you chose to release it to applicants.

Potential Applicants: Referral Union is a way for you to guarantee your resume gets put in front of an actual person. Instead of submitting it to a corporate career site where it might disappear or waiting for someone to email you after posting it on Monster or CareerBuilder, you can partner with someone who has an active interest in getting you hired. Because the current employee you link with has a financial interest in getting you hired, she will help you customize your resume and put it in front of as many people as appropriate. Don't think referral bonuses are a big deal? A search on Google for "referral bonus" returns over 900,000 hits. Some of these are unrelated, so let's narrow it to "'referral bonus' hire". Google returns over 100,000 hits. Even the Army offers one. Once you create an account and post your resume you can choose to either seek out potential matches or wait for them to come to you. Just like current employees, all your contact info is kept confidential until you choose to release it to a current employee.

My Friends: [see short answer above]. Also, why you never see me anymore.

Various Management Types not Interested in Receiving the Bonus but Who Want Good People Working for Them: Referral Union is a way for you and your company to make on-boarding more efficient and effective. Referral bonuses have long been a way for companies to bypass traditional methods of hiring new candidates, and their merits are well-known and documented (otherwise you wouldn't offer them). By flattening the professional market, we encourage the maximization of information sharing. This, combined with sophisticated filtering systems--both human and otherwise--increases and optimizes your candidate pool.

My Mom: I'm sorry I don't call enough, and I promise I'll send back your house keys as soon as possible...