Employee referal (applying, interview, work, companies)

[Type O Negative]

Question 1:
When applying for a position, how much does an internal referal help?

I have 2 leads through friends, but not sure I should get my hopes up. They are directors/managers and put in a word with HR.

Question 2:
2 other leads. Hiring managers said they want me but not sure they could offer as much as I am asking.

Since they have said they want me. Should I stick to my compensation request or be ready to take a pay cut?

Thx

[Berteau]

Well if they are directors and managers then you have a real good shot of getting the job. I wish I had some directors to refer me.

[dazeddude8]

For question 1:

Assuming its just a "run of the mill" internal referral (i.e... no one in management), I'd say you can usually guarantee that the resume will be seen by human eye's as opposed to being lost somewhere in Taleo. I would have to imagine that if the referral is management level, then at least an interview is guaranteed.

All in all while a referral never guarantees a job, I'd rather have a referral than no referral at all.

[joe from dayton]

1) It might tip the scale and get you an interview, but you are on your own from there.

2) It sounds like the pay you want is significantly outside of their hiring range, so expect them to offer the position to the next person, who will probably work for what is being offered.

[GraceKrispy]

Originally Posted by Type O Negative

Question 1:
When applying for a position, how much does an internal referal help?

Depends on the company and how valued the employee giving you the referral is. In general, I would say it gets your resume seen. if the referral source is well-thought of and valued, I'd say it's really helpful in most companies. I know people we know or who our employees know get a lot further in the process than newbies.

Originally Posted by Type O Negative

Question 2:
2 other leads. Hiring managers said they want me but not sure they could offer as much as I am asking.

Since they have said they want me. Should I stick to my compensation request or be ready to take a pay cut?

"Not sure" sounds like possible room for negotiation to me. It's not a hard "no." That being said, I'm guessing you should figure that you'll end up somewhere between what they would normally offer and what you want. So a pay cut is likely. But it also depends on what other candidates are piling up behind you and how much they want and how good they look. it's always a bit of a wild card game because you don't know what's up their sleeves.