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I am currently in process of applying for a job position. To have a better chance at the application, i requested a few employees from within the company, if any one would help me apply via a referral. To my surprise, I got 2 replies from 2 different employees who were ready to help. Not wanting to dismiss any one who was trying to help me specially after I requested for it, I wanted to be fair to both of them. So as both the employees asked for my resume etc, I passed it to both of them. I also read online and researched this scenario, and it seems usually if one has more chances of employees referring you, one should take those chances as it makes your application more attractive to the recruiter. So I figured this would be the same.

However, one of the employees later messaged me and was not happy that I had used 2 referrals. They thought I was trying my luck and taking advantage of their kindness, while I honestly did not intend to do that. I wouldn't want to deliberately hurt my application specially when I am so badly in need of the job. So this was shocking and unexpected.

I have sincerely apologized to the employee and have explained to him. Is there anything else I can do to better this situation and not to lose out on such a good opportunity and the application itself? It was very difficult getting people I don't know to refer me for the job so it'd be such a loss losing out on it at this point. Any advice on this?

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    Did you know these employees prior to this process, or did you reach out to them blindly? A referral from someone who doesn't even know you isn't going to be worth much in the first place. – dwizum Mar 29 '19 at 12:31
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In many companies, referrals are a program where a bonus is offered for a successful hire. Someone who submits a referral under this program would be extremely unhappy to learn that someone else had already submitted a candidate for the same bonus. This would be in contrast to simply having someone informally pass along your resume to a hiring manager. In the future, do not try to get two people to formally submit your resume under a referral program.

Honestly, I'm surprised that two apparent strangers agreed to submit your resume at all.

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  • Generous referral bonus maybe? My company deters this behavior by interviewing the referrers about the candidate too. – jcmack Mar 29 '19 at 18:10

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