Ask Steph: Politely Declining Referral Requests

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I’ve been pretty fortunate to dodge all of the lay-offs, and the company where I work has been steadily hiring. It’s not a glamorous company by any means, but I like my team and I’m comfortable and confident enough in my role that I’m happy where I am for a while. Friends who were laid-off elsewhere have been asking for referrals, and I’ve made several. One friend even got hired, and I received a small referral bonus. I was grateful that I could help them. But I’m also getting messages for referrals from folks I barely know. I even got a LinkedIn request from the guy who kind of bullied me in college asking for a referral. I realize the market is tough right now but I don’t want to submit all of these referrals for people I barely know. How do I politely decline these?

I get it. There’s some survivor’s guilt in dodging the layoffs the last couple of years. You want to help, and it seems like you already have done quite a bit.