--- layout: handbook-page-toc title: "Referral Process" --- ## On this page {:.no_toc .hidden-md .hidden-lg} - TOC {:toc .hidden-md .hidden-lg} ## Referrals If you know someone who would be a great addition to the GitLab team, please submit them as a Referral. If they're successfully hired and all Referral criteria is met, you'll receive a Referral Bonus! While the Referral program is fairly straight-forward, there are several nuances to be mindful of. Please take a moment to review the program rules and eligibility outlined below. #### Defining a Referral While "sourcing" and "referring" are similar activities, there are distinctions based on their respective familiarity and confidence in regards to the prospective candidate. A Referral is: * Someone you are claiming a personal- or professional relationship with. * Someone you could make a confident claim about regarding their cultural adaptability (to GitLab), how well they align with our values, and their ability to excel in a given role. * Someone you feel would be a great addition to the GitLab team. What a Referral is **not**: * Someone the Sourcing- or Recruiting Team has already sourced, screened, or been in contact with for the same vacancy. * This applies to prospects as well as candidates. * Someone you **do not** know and **would not** be able to speak about confidently. * Someone you sourced or someone who reached out to you regarding a vacancy (e.g. on LinkedIn). Should someone you have not worked with reach out to you requesting to be referred, you could respond to them with "Thank you for your interest in GitLab. We would much rather prefer you apply for the position you have in mind directly via our Jobs page. This will ensure the right GitLab team member reviews your profile and replies back to you! Unfortunately at this time, I can not refer you for the position as we have not had a chance to work together. To ensure we stay inclusive, I can also not influence your application". * Someone who applied via a link you shared on a social site. * There's **no** way of determining who clicked a link on Twitter from a genuine Referral. #### Referral Bonus Eligibility All GitLab team members are eligible for the [Referral Bonus](https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/incentives/#referral-bonuses), except in the following circumstance: * If the Referring Team Member is a part of the **Hiring Team** for the referred vacancy. * e.g. a *Recruiter* or *Hiring Manager*. * If the situation allows, a Hiring Team Member (**excluding** the *Recruiter* and *Hiring Manager*) can recuse themselves from interviewing the Referral. * If the Referring Team Member would manage the Referral directly. * If there's a perceived conflict of interest. * If the Referring Team Member is a part of the **Executive Team**. #### Submitting a Referral All GitLab Team Members can [submit a referral](https://support.greenhouse.io/hc/en-us/articles/201982560-Submit-Referrals-from-the-Dashboard) directly from their [Greenhouse dashboard](https://app2.greenhouse.io/dashboard). Here's how to do that: 1. Click the **"+"** button, then **"Add a Referral."** * To note, you **don't** need to select an "Office," as this will **limit** the vacancies you're able to select. 2. Complete the required fields on the **Referral In-Take Form**. * Please provide context as to why you're referring the candidate (i.e. why would they be great addition to the GitLab team?). 3. If you **don't** have their resume, please include a link to their LinkedIn profile. #### Referral Statuses You can stay up-to-date on the status of your referral(s) in the **My Referrals** section of your Greenhouse dashboard. If you have any questions regarding your referral, please sent an email to the referrals@domain. Please note that the Recruiting Team is **unable** to provide candidate-specific feedback to Referrers (i.e you); only to the Candidate themselves. You can expect Referrals to be reviewed by the Hiring Team within **10-days** of their submission. Although we place special emphasis on Referrals, we treat Referral interviews the same as we do non-Referrals. Referral interviews should not be more or less demanding than any other interview. To prevent wrongful hires, Referrers need to keep their bar high. Interviewers and Hiring Managers should avoid bias based on the Referrer's status. There should be **no** favoritism based on previous experience working with a Referral after the candidate is hired. #### Referral Bonus Payout For details regarding the *Referral Bonus Payout*, please visit [this page](/handbook/incentives/#referral-bonuses). #### Common Referral Situations * Your Referral already submitted an application. * In the event that your Referral already applied, please send an email to the referrals@domain. In that email, please answers all the questions outlined in the **Referral In-Take Form**. To reiterate, Referrals should be submitted with a personal conviction that they'll be a great addition to the GitLab team. After receiving that, the appropriate Team Member will look into updating the Candidate's source information. * Your Referral was referred by someone else. * In the event that your Referral was submitted by someone else, the first Team Member to have submitted the candidate will be considered their Referrer. * In the event of multiple Referrers claiming ownership on a similar vacancy, it will be up to the Referrers to work out how to split the Referral Bonus and inform the Recruiting Ops Team of the compromise. * A member of the Recruiting Ops Team will notify the Referrers of such a scenario in an Issue for the compromise to be made. * If you referred the candidate to dissimilar vacancy, then you would be named their Referrer for the specific vacancy. Other scenarios to be mindful of: * If the Referrer is part of the Hiring Team they'll... * ... recuse themselves from interviewing the candidate and the Hiring Manager will choose a replacement Interviewer. * When a Referral is from a Referring Manager they... * ... may choose to move the candidate on in the interview process, even if the candidate received a "no" from a fellow Interviewer - we **don't** operate on a [single-veto basis](#single-vetos). * ... will review all information and feedback about the Referral (giving both positive and negative feedback fair consideration) and will make the final hire or no hire decision. For any additional questions, please email referrals@domain. ## How to Respond to Referral Update Requests The Recruiting team utilizes [GitLab Service Desk](/product/service-desk/) to track incoming emails to the referral@domain email. Under this [Referral Service Desk Project](https://gitlab.com/gl-recruiting/referrals) set up the proper notifications - Click on the bell icon on the top right next to Star and Clone - Go to Custom Settings - Check "New issue" - Closeout the window 1. On the left-side menu bar click Issues - This is where all our incoming referral@ emails will create an issue. You'll get an alert when someone sends an email to the referral@ email. Any "emails" that need to be addressed will be an open issue listed within this project. 1. Click on the new Issue 1. Assign it to yourself on the right-side toolbar 1. Read the Issue message 1. Add the appropriate label 1. Look up the candidate in Greenhouse if applicable. 1. Include the GreenHouse profile link in the comment. 1. Respond to the "email" by adding comments to the issue (be sure to enter comments as you would an email to team member asking for the update, they see all communication on the issues). Example responses: * Dear x, thank you for reaching out for an update on your referral. Per our [SLA](https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/hiring/greenhouse/#making-a-referral) please make sure you give us 10 days to review the submission. @recruiter's name is responsible for this role and will provide the candidate with an update soon. (insert Greenhouse link) * Thank you for the referral. @recruiter's name is responsible for this role and will provide you an update soon. (insert Greenhouse link) 1. Be sure to at mention the recruiter on the req so they are aware an update is being requested. 1. If this one comment address the entire message add a comment and close the issue. If the one comment does not address the entire message then only select comment. 1. The Recruiter would reassign the issue to themselves once they pickup the communication and add any applicable labels. 1. The assignee should close the issue when communication is complete. ## Referral Roundup Sessions Our Recruiting team occasionally organizes Referral Roundup sessions. These sessions aim to gather referrals and region-specific information about the area you’re based in while teaching you skills related to sourcing and Greenhouse. We’ll invite team members who are based in locations of a .58 location factor or less to these referral roundups. Each session will have an issue linked with it. In the issue, we’ll ask you to add information regarding relevant companies to source from, local meet-up groups and conferences where we may find candidates, job boards to advertise on, and any other information you believe will help our recruiting efforts in your area. A Recruiting team member will also be present at the meeting. They’ll be able to answer any questions you have on sourcing, Linkedin, or Greenhouse.