Employee referrals from external network email
You can use this employee referrals from external network email template to inform your network about an open position at your company and ask them to refer a qualified candidate.
When sourcing candidates for open roles from your external network, consider asking for referrals from:
- Business partners
- Customers
- Alumni
- Former employees
- Professional communities
To ask for referrals from your current employees, check our employee referral program sample email template and refer a friend email template.
In emails to your external network, include:
- The role you’re hiring for, along with key responsibilities and a link to the full job description
- The main skills and knowledge required for the role
- A brief description of your company/team or benefits attached to the role, that your recipients could share with potential candidates
- The referral process your recipients should follow to refer a candidate
End your email with a simple thank-you note to show your appreciation.
Customize this template with a more formal or informal tone, depending on your company culture. Make sure to keep your message short and clear, so that people from your network can refer qualified candidates.
Email Subject Line: We’re hiring! / Do you know a great [Job_title]?
Hi [Include recipient’s name, if you send to a specific individual],
Word on the street is that [Company_name] launched a search for a [Job_title].
As you may already know, here at [Company_name], we always want to collaborate with talented people and we’d like your help to find our next team member.
This person will be responsible for [Include 1-2 key duties and link to the job description, e.g. “This person will join our team of mobile developers and will be responsible for improving our iOS applications.”]
[It’s best to add some must-have requirements for the position, e.g. “Experience with Swift and interest in mobile technologies are required for this role.”]
It’s a great opportunity for a [Job_title] who wants to [e.g. work in a diverse environment and serve customers like X, Y, Z / to be part of a growing team and help us build X product / join our X team, work with high-end technology and attend global conferences that will help them develop professionally.]
If you know someone who you think would be a good fit, it would be great if you could refer them [e.g. by emailing their contact details or resume.]
Please feel free to contact me via email or at [e.g. 1-444-555-2222], if you have any questions.
Thank you,
[Your name]
[Signature]
Further Reading: The Art of the Employee Referral: a complete guide with tips and examples