How to Mention Referral in Cover Letter: Tips to Consider in 2023

econtentsol Published: February 10, 2023 12 min read

Know How to Gain Employer’s Confidence by Showcasing Your Reference

Getting a job could be difficult sometimes, especially when you are a fresher. Generally, companies do not prefer inexperienced candidates due to various reasons. But, if you have got some sort of referral in any organization, the hiring process can be simplified. That is the major reason why every student asks how to mention referral in cover letter to get a starting job.

Using a particular reference, it becomes easy to introduce yourself when attending interviews. You can let the employer know that you are being referred by a person who is currently working in the company. Sometimes, people also use references that are in close contact with the hiring managers. This works pretty well in terms of describing yourself and getting a job in any company. 

If you are also looking to know how to write a cover letter and mention a referral, you have certainly come to the right place. This blog will define some key principles of including a referral in cover letters.

Let’s first understand the basics of the referral and why it is important for the cover letters. 

What is a Referral Cover Letter?

A referral cover letter helps you to define the mutual contact that has referred you for the job. It lets the employer know about your background and connection with the relevant employee. A lot of times, this reference helps people to get jobs in the organization. That is the reason why every fresher always asks about how to mention referral in cover letter appropriately.

Meanwhile, it should also be understood that mentioning a reference is just enough to get a job. You need to showcase a particular set of skills as well to impress the employer. It is an obvious fact that anyone will only refer you when you’ll show the required skills. That is why it is also necessary to mention the right skills on a resume to take best advantage of relevant references.

Benefits of Adding Referral in Cover Letters

There are numerous benefits of adding referral in a cover letter or resume. All the hiring managers do look for such candidates that are referred by the current employees. It gives them a feel of trust on their hard skills and attitude for the job.

Every manager knows that a candidate is only referred due to his/her proven skills. It neglects the lack of experience in a candidate’s profile, giving them an opportunity to get hired on the basis of capabilities. Then it falls on the relevant candidate to showcase his/her defined skills and prove the given reference worthy enough to get a job. 

For hiring managers, these references simplify their work. It allows them to find talented candidates quickly without going into a rigorous conventional hiring process. They know that a particular candidate is coming on the basis of some skills that will fit good enough for the job.  

How to Mention Referral in Cover Letter?

It is important to know the correct way of mentioning a reference in the cover letter. If you don’t know how to mention them properly, try taking assistance from various cover letter writing services. These agencies will help you to craft a proper document as per the standard guidelines.

Here are the three important points you need to keep in mind while mentioning a reference in the cover letter.

  1. Mention about your reference correctly 

The first thing you need to do is to mention your referring person properly. You need to define his designation and role in the company. This is necessary as it lets the hiring manager know about the profile of that person. If he will be working on a senior level position, your chances of getting hired will certainly become bright. 

  1. Describe your connection with the person

Afterwards, it is also important to describe how you know the referring person. Due to various types of scams, many hiring managers want to know about the full details of your connection with the person. Therefore, it is important to describe your relation with that employee and why you have been referred by him for the job.

  1. Mention what makes you worthy for the job

Now, it is time to describe what makes you good enough to get hired in the company. This is an important part as it will elaborate your proven skills in the field. Every employer wants to know about your capabilities after knowing about the reference. Therefore, try to express your skills correctly in the document to gain the confidence of the employer. 

Important Tips on How to Mention Referral in Cover Letter

Being a fresher, you would have no knowledge how to write a resume or referral cover letter. Well, this is quite an important thing that you must need to learn quickly. It will allow you to present a strong profile to the employers, no matter how little experience you have.

Here are some important tips that will help you to write a referral cover letter properly. 

Describe Your Referral Upfront

If you have a strong reference that can make a difference in the hiring process, include it straightaway at the starting of the cover letter. This can work very well in terms of letting the manager know about your background. A strong reference is always seen as a credible source by the recruiters. It makes up their mind that a candidate is referred due to high skills. 

If you are a fresher, you must need to include the reference at the start. It will bolster your profile and increase the chances of getting hired in any organization. 

Learn How to Mention Referral in Cover Letter by Reviewing Examples

Many people do not know how to mention referral in cover letter. They can certainly learn this art by looking at different cover letter examples given on the web. We all know pretty well about the searching power of Google. It can help you to analyze different types of referral cover letters and their writing style perfectly.

Once you will analyze these examples, you will feel at ease writing your own referral letter. Besides that, you can also take help from the referring person to write a sample document effectively. 

Build a Strong Impression

As defined above, it is not just important to include references in your profile. You need to showcase some capabilities as well to convince the hiring managers. Keep in mind that a reference will only help you to get a strong introduction. Moving forward, you will have to impress the employer by showcasing the required skills. 

For instance, if you are applying in a high school, your teacher cover letter should briefly define the core teaching skills. Though you can include some references in this documents, but in the end everything will depend on your skills. It is therefore advised to build a strong first impression, so that you can impress all types of employers.

List Down Your Achievements

Listing your achievements is another good way to impress employers. These accomplishments help to build the credibility of your profile. It lets the employers know that you have earlier worked on the technologies and products required for this job. This will build their confidence on your profile which will eventually lead you towards getting hired in the company. 

Proofread Your Letter

Lastly, do not forget to proofread your document before submitting to the hiring manager. This is necessary because it helps you to rectify various types of grammatical errors found in the document. These things do not come into notice while writing a cover letter, which is why a final proofread is required by the writer. 

You can use various types of automated tools such as Grammarly, Ginger etc. to properly check your document. These tools will help you to find out all types of writing mistakes, that too in a quick time. 

How to Include References in Cover Letter or Resume?

Looking for job referral examples? Here is a sample referral letter with which you can learn from.

kevin hendricks referral for cover letter

Name Dropping in Cover Letter Examples

Name dropping is a unique way to mention a person who has referred you for a specific position. It is done in a decent manner without describing extensively about the referring person. Here’s a short paragraph demonstrating how to do it in a subtle way.

“Dear Mr. Smith,

On the recommendation of Mr. Kevin Jones, I would like to apply for the position of Senior Analyst in your company. I have been told many good things about your organization, which is why I am willing to become a part of it. Having five years of experience, I am sure that my skills will prove good enough to take this position in Multiplex technologies.” 

Cover Letter

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Cover Letter with Reference Number

Sometimes, cover letters are written with a particular reference number. This defines that you have seen this position listed on any website or newspaper. Here’s how you can mention it at the start of the letter.

peter jones referral for cover letter

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Final Words

That brings us to the end of this blog in which we have described how to mention referral in cover letter. It is a great practice to mention someone who has a strong position in the company. It allows you to gain the confidence of the employers and stand out from the other candidates.

This article has defined some key tips to formulate a referral cover letter correctly. Using them, you can write a letter to describe your professional connection with any existing company employee. Meanwhile, just make sure to also highlight your skills properly so that your job profile can become strong. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. How to mention referral in cover letter as a student?
Being a student, it is important to know how to mention referral in cover letter. You can simply name the person who is your point of contact alongside describing skills in the letter. This would be enough to demonstrate your connection with that existing employee.
2. Can I mention an ex-employee as a referral in cover letter?
Many people ask how to mention referral in cover letter if he/she was an ex-employee. Generally, it is not an ideal practice and should not be considered. But, if an employee has left recently or has a strong reputation in the company, you can mention him/her with a short bio.
3. How to mention a referral in an email?
You can mention a referral in an email similarly like the cover letter. Just define his/her name and give a short bio about the designation. That will be enough for the employer to know about the details of the referring person.
4. How to write a referral letter for a job application without having any experience?
It does not matter whether you have experience or not, you can mention the referring person easily in the letter. Just provide a short info about him and list down your skills in the letter. This will give any employer a good view of your profile.
5. Can I mention multiple people as a reference in a cover letter?
It is generally not advised to mention multiple people in the letter. This brings a negative impact on your profile and can fail your hiring process.
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