How to Name Drop a Referral in a Cover Letter

Here’s how to name drop a referral in a cover letter:

1. Add the referral in the first sentence of your cover letter where the hiring manager is most likely to see it
2. Name drop your referral briefly without explaining how you know the person — the employer will find this out by speaking with them
3. Double check that your referral is okay with you mentioning them by name in your cover letter before you send it out

Referral cover letter template

Use this template to start your cover letter the right way:

Referral cover letter samples

Write an effective cover letter by aligning your tone with the company’s communication style and maintaining a professional voice.

Example 1: Referral in a formal cover letter

Use a more formal voice when:

• Applying to traditional, hierarchical industries like banking, law firms, government agencies, healthcare institutions, or large corporations where formal communication is the norm
• Targeting senior executive positions (C-suite, VP-level roles) where professionalism is expected
• You don’t have an existing relationship with anyone at the company and are applying cold through formal channels
• The company culture appears conservative based on their website, job posting language, or industry reputation

Example 2: Referral in a casual cover letter

Use more relaxed, conversational language when:

• Targeting creative industries like advertising agencies, design studios, tech startups, or media companies that value personality and cultural fit
• You have a personal connection who referred you or when the referral came through informal networking
• The job posting uses casual language (“We’re looking for a rockstar developer” vs. “Seeking qualified candidate”)
• The company emphasizes work-life balance, flat hierarchies, or startup culture in their messaging
• Applying for roles that require relationship-building, like sales, client services, or community management where being personable is an asset

How to find and add a referral to your cover letter

Follow these three steps to find a referral (if you don’t have one already) and how to mention them in a polite and professional way.

Step 1: Find someone you know at your target company

If you haven’t been told about the job by someone you know and you’re writing a cover letter in response to a job ad, find out if you know someone at the same company.

LinkedIn

The simplest way to find a connection is to use LinkedIn and search for the company. If you have LinkedIn contacts following the company, you can see that information under the company’s name:

Click on the text “# connections follow this page” to view all of your connections and see if any of them list the company as their current place of work.

LinkedIn also tells you if alumni from your college work at a location:

If your former classmates are among these alumni, you can view them all by clicking your college’s logo, and see if you know anybody.

Then, you can message or connect with anybody you know and ask if willing to be a referral in your cover letter.

Company website

You can use Google to confirm whether or not someone works for your target company. There are two ways to use Google to search for contacts:

1. Use Google to search the company’s website by typing the company’s domain name followed by the name of a contact, like this:

site:apple.com “Tim Apple”

2. Search for the company name and the person’s name to find webpages where the two are mentioned together. For example:

“Company Name” “Chen Wang Mei”

Step 2: Ask for permission to mention their name in your cover letter

Before you list someone in your cover letter, ask for their permission.

Step 3: Mention your contact’s name in your cover letter opening

When you start your cover letter, briefly mention the name of your referral.

Don’t explain how and why you know each other — the hiring manager can get that information from your contact, and explaining your connection takes up valuable space that you can use to highlight your qualifications for the role.

For example, you can simply say:

My name is Zander Blom, and your colleague, Eugene Tan, recommended I apply for the open Bank Teller position.

This introduction is simple and to the point. You introduce yourself and give the hiring manager a name in their company who can speak about your background.

If you’re sending your cover letter by email, mention your referral’s name in both the email body text and your attached cover letter because the employer may:

• Not read your email body text thoroughly, or
• Save your full-length cover letter to read at a later time

Frequently asked questions about listing a referral in your cover letter

Here are answers to the most common questions about listing a referral in your cover letter:

What does “referred by” mean in a job application?

“Referred by” means someone who works at the company or knows the hiring manager recommended you for the position and suggested you apply.

Should I list a reference in my cover letter?

Yes. You should mention a referral’s name in your cover letter if they gave you permission, as it can help your application stand out and shows you have connections within the company.

Is it OK to say I was referred by a friend?

It’s fine to mention a friend referred you, but it’s more effective to use their professional title or relationship to the company rather than just calling them “my friend.”

Is being referred by someone the same as including references?

No, a referral is someone who recommends you for a job opportunity, while references are people who can speak about your work performance when contacted by employers during the hiring process.