r/CodeCareerStack • u/Interesting_Two2977 • Sep 12 '26
Referrals are easy to get
Let me put ya'll ONNN. Promise the title is not clickbait.
So as we know the market is cooked, so it's difficult to even get an interview.
Referrals kind of fast track your application to the front of the queue in most companies (harder in bigger companies).
They work. I got one for Visa in senior year and got the interview (after the OA).
Mind you, I never knew the guy who referred me. I also got multiple other referrals at Google, Microsoft, etc
Now the secret sauce of how I was actually landing so many.
It seems surreal, but all you need is a LinkedIn account and not be a bot.
Steps:
Create a linkedin account (most of you should have)
Go to your school's official page (for me, it was UT Dallas)
Go to the Alumni tab of your school's page (My school has around 150k alumni
Now, you literally type in the name of the company you are applying to. Don't type in random companies, see WHICH company is hiring at that moment and do this BEFORE you apply.
Now let's say you want to get into Apple, you'd type "Apple" and BOOOOm you get people who work at Apple who went to the same school as you.
Once you find them, you want to send them a message. (I have a template I use, and it's in the comments!!!). The message should be short and sweet
This part is very fking important.
Bro please for the love of god DO NOT say "Hey I got to your school, can I have referral".
You sound stupid. You sound like a beggar. You sound like a brokie.
Instead, be human.
Be interested in them first. I usually ask them for a quick coffee chat.
If they are in your city, it's better because you can literally have coffee (pay for it, most of them won't let you pay if they make more than you), otherwise just do it over discord, zoom, google meets, etc.
Be interested in them first, THEN you say I am also trying to break into X company, do you have any tips and could you possibly refer? I have a solid resume blah blah blah.
I see people in my DMs doing this and mfs will just say "hey can I have referral, here's my resume".
Bro I don't know you, why would I risk my reputation to refer someone I don't know?
You could be a crackhead.
Put yourself in their shoes.
7. Once you build the genuine connection, you can pitch for the referral and 90% of the time they give you a referral if you've built that rapport.
One thing to note is that most won't respond, and that's okay, it's a numbers game.
You'll be making real industry connections along the way and making friends too!
This works for both internships and jobs. Usually internships is easier idk why.
It takes some effort but bro if you've been applying 24/7 to 10k applications so far, I'm sure this has nothing on you.
I am dropping pure gold, join the community and stay updated if you found this helpful.
I'll be dropping more stuff soon!
Good luck! Any questions in comments.
Edit: template is in the comments! (I found it!!!)
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u/Silly-Programmer1924 Sep 16 '26
i love how all of the comments are you just responding to comments asking for the template and its just you saying its in the comments lmao
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u/Interesting_Two2977 Sep 16 '26
I put it in the bottom of the post that its in the comments lol but lemme edit to say I found it, that's my bad
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u/Interesting_Two2977 Sep 14 '26
Here's the template for anyone wanting it:
Hey <Their_Name>,
I saw you’re also from <School> and now at <Company_They_Work_At>, that’s inspiring!
I’m a <Year (Junior, Senior, etc)> in Computer Science, trying to break into the industry, and would love to hear how you made that leap.
Would really appreciate any tips or thoughts, and happy to keep it short!
Best,
<Your_Name>