Explain Your Professional Connection to a Referrer

Describe the work setting where you came to know a referrer, leaving out both people's names and not treating the connection by itself as proof that you are a good match.

Limits and Assumptions

• Stick to the real relationship and the work setting you had in common.
• Leave out school names, personal names, and any project details that could identify people.
• Tie the relationship to what the referrer could realistically have seen you do.

Questions to Clarify

• For how long, and in what environment, did the two of you work together?
• Which parts of your work did the referrer see firsthand?
• Why was that person in a position to judge how well you fit?

Hint — Build evidence: Focus on the shared setting and work the referrer could see, not how close you were personally.

What a Strong Response Includes

• A brief description of the relationship with identifying details removed.
• The collaboration and responsibilities that matter here.
• What the referrer could believably say about your work.
• A return to the qualifications you bring on your own.

Follow-Up Questions

1. What if the referrer was a classmate but you never worked together?
2. How would you respond if the recruiter asks which project you worked on together?

Overview: Get ready to give a brief, de-identified account of a professional referral that rests on shared work and qualifications you have shown on your own.