Updated on Dec 7, 2023

Welcome to a short guide to help you understand the different referral states your candidate can be in once you’ve referred them!

Application Stages

<aside> 💡 Application Stages: the different stages your referral can be in the recruitment process - this means your candidate can still be considered as a future hire

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Referral Closure reasons

<aside> 💡 Referral Closure Reasons: the possible reasons why your referral has been rejected at some point in the process - this means your candidate isn’t considered as a future hire for this role anymore.

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For example, the role requires a candidate with 5+ years of experience and your candidate only has 3 years of experience. | Refer candidates with the required years of experience | | Lacks required industry expertise | The candidate does not have the required experience in the industry of operation.

For example, the company operates in the Edtech sector and requires a candidate with expertise there and the candidate does not have this. | Refer candidates who have the required industry expertise | | Lacks required expertise in the role/function | The candidate does not have the required expertise required in the role/function.

For example, the company wants a candidate who has expertise as a sales manager and the candidate does not have this. | Refer candidates who have the required role/function expertise. | | Lacks top start-up or tech company experience | The candidate does not have experience working in a high-growth venture-backed tech company.

You can find the list of top startups in the Big Deal database. You can also search online to see if the candidate has worked in a company that has been venture-backed. You'll be able to find the announcements online. | Refer candidates who have worked in top startups | | Lacks required programming languages/frameworks | The candidate does not have proficiency in the required programming languages/frameworks.

For example, the company requires a candidate who is proficient in AWS, Azure and the candidate does not have this | Always check to make sure the candidate you refer is proficient the required programming language. | | Lacks required engineering experience | The candidate does not have the required engineering experience.

For example, the company requires a frontend engineer and the candidate referred is a backend engineer. | Refer candidates who meet the engineering requirements. | | Lacks required formal qualification | The candidate does not have the required formal certification or education level required for this role.

For example, The company has stated an MBA requirement for a role and the candidate does not have this qualification. | Refer candidates who meet the formal qualifications for the role. | | Lacks geographical requirements | The candidate is not located in the required location(s) for the role

For example, the company has stated that the candidate would need to be located in Lagos, Nigeria. However, the candidate's location is in Kenya as indicated in their LinkedIn profile, resume, or current job location. | Refer candidates whose displayed location matches the location requirement for the role. | | Lacks local market expertise | The candidate does not have proven expertise in the market required for the role

For example, the company operates in the Kenyan market and requires a candidate who is familiar with those operations. | Refer candidates who display expertise in the stated market for the company. | | Exceeds required level of seniority | The candidate has a higher level of seniority than what is required for the role.

For example, the role requires a candidate with 3 years of experience, and your candidate has 7 or more years of experience. The company will assume that the candidate would view this role as a demotion, which could affect their job satisfaction. | Refer candidates with the required years of experience | | Been in current role for short time period | The candidate has been in their current position for a shorter period than is required by the company

For example, the candidate has been in their current role for only 3 months. Companies generally don’t like high job change behavior as they assume the candidate would also have a high turnover with them. | Refer candidates who have been in their current role for more than 1 year | | More suitable candidates referred | There are stronger candidates that have been referred

This means that more qualified candidates are in the pipeline for the role, and the candidate may not position favorably with them. However, if the requirements in the role change to suit them, they will be reconsidered. | Refer candidates with stronger experience levels for the role. | | Changes jobs too frequently | Candidate has been in their previous positions for a shorter time period than is required by the company

For example, the candidate was in their past jobs for less than 1 year. Companies generally don’t like high job change behavior as they assume the candidate would also have a high turnover with them. | Refer candidates who have been in their past roles for more than 1 year | | Not a good fit | Candidate does not meet multiple requirements of the role | Refer candidates that meet the stated non-negotiables for the role. | | Duplicate | The candidate has already been referred for this role.

This means that another referrer has referred this candidate for this role before you did. So the candidate is tagged to that referrer. | Actively check the job for new roles and refer candidates who are suitable on time. | | Already known by company | The candidate has previously applied to the company

This means that the candidate is already in the company’s database. It could be that they had applied directly to the company for the role or another role. | Refer more suitable candidate for the role |

Other Closure reasons

Reasons for Pausing