đź‘‘ Referrals

There are many ways you can help IFT grow: engaging with the community, interviewing, helping out with events, etc., but referring outstanding people to IFT is one of the most direct ways you can make an impact.

As an organisation, we're reliant on many groups to help us reach our goals: freelancers, community members, testers, researchers, users and more. We need these groups and individuals who make hugely valuable contributions, alongside core contributors who contribute to Status on a full-time basis.

Engaging with potential core contributors that align with IFT' values and excel in their field is essential to us; and we'd love your help! Below, you'll find helpful information to connect the extraordinary people you know, with IFT.

Referral bonus

If you've worked with someone amazing and think they would be a great fit at IFT, not only would we like to know, but we'll also reward you once they've successfully completed their trial period.

IFT will reward you a referral payment of USD 5,000 worth of SNT after a successful trial period. At times, we might offer higher rewards for specific critical roles, so stay tuned for updates in the #people-ops channel!

Eligibility criteria

  • You can only refer potential core contributors who have not applied to us independently within the last 60 days.
  • Referrals are for individuals; we are not responsible for any fees related to resumes received from recruitment agencies.
  • The initial contact between IFT and your referral must be facilitated by you.
  • The referral payment only applies to engaging core contributors. It does not apply to engaging freelancers.
  • For someone you refer, you would be removed from any interview process involving them (this ensures we are fair and unbiased in our acquisition. process).
  • Team Leads should recuse themselves from decision-making if they stand to gain financially. i.e. they can refer someone, and get the bonnus. But the decision to hire should be made by someone impartial, or a team committee.

Sorry for the many conditions! We want to be fair and apply some common-sense guidelines, but let us know if you have any better ideas! 🙂

How to make a referral

Here are the basics of referring incredible people to join IFT. There are a few ways:

  • Send the CV, GitHub or LinkedIn URL along with a note detailing why you recommend them, how well you know this person etc to [email protected] (Talent will upload to Greenhouse adding you as referrer; alongside the notes you provide).
  • If you are a Greenhouse user, you can also make use of it to make a referral - you’ll find the detailed steps here. Make sure to add their contact information, CV, and where and why you think they'd be great for IFT. The project leads your comments when reviewing referrals, so this can help them stand out among other potential core contributors.
    • Ask the Talent team to give you access to Greenhouse if the URL isn't working for you.
    • While you should share people whose work you can speak to and are impressed by (i.e., the top 25% of people you've worked with), don't feel pressured to refer everyone who asks. If you feel uncomfortable saying no (we get it; it can be awkward), you can mention it in the notes in the referral form.

What happens after you’ve referred someone?

The Talent team will take good care of them and keep you posted on their progress through the selection process. Still, you can be a critical layer of support to them by:

  • Help them prepare for interviews or activities, just enough for them to be prepared. But not too much. Why? We’ve had instances in the past where referrals were prepared too well, meaning they did great during the interview process but then struggled once they were onboarded.
  • Answering questions about working at IFT and your experiences as a core contributor.
  • If they get an offer, help us convince them to accept it!

✨ Diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences lead to better products. When you refer talent from underrepresented groups, particularly into technical positions, you're doing your part to build a diverse workforce across all functions and levels.

Referral and engagement of a Personal Relation

To ensure that we are being fair and transparent, we have some guidelines around referring and engaging what we call a “Personal Relation”:

We consider a “Personal Relation” to be a core contributor’s spouse or partner, family members or close friends, including any legal entity that any of these listed individuals have a direct or indirect interest in, or any other related party as Status may determine in its sole discretion.

As such, we have set out the following rules for core contributors and their Personal Relations when both are engaged by Status:

  • The core contributor should not work directly for or lead a Personal Relation.
  • The core contributor should not participate in or influence the decision-making process of a Personal Relation (including interviewing, engagement offers or fee negotiations).
  • The core contributor should not participate in or influence the performance management process of a Personal Relation including trial periods and ongoing performance management or any performance-related issues.
  • The contributor does not have access to sensitive personal information including payroll, compensation, personnel reviews/files, job performance of the Personal Relation.

To ensure maximum flexibility, fairness, and transparency, please disclose any (potentially) conflicting relationships or relationships that may give rise to favouritism, to your project lead and People Partner at the beginning of the engagement process and we can assess each case individually.

Interviewing Personal Relations

We want to ensure that our engagement process is fair and transparent. As such, best practice for these situations is:

  • No interviewer may interview Personal Relations or referrals
  • If you, as an interviewer, become aware of any potential conflict of interest, please alert the relevant member of the Talent team immediately.

We understand that Personal Relations and referrals may be highly qualified for open positions and we want to ensure that all applicants receive the same level of consideration and respect. We will make sure that any Personal Relation or referral is given the same opportunity as any other applicant by assigning the interview to another interviewer. This applies to all interviewers across IFT.

Success, your referral is onboard! What's next?

If the referral is successful and passes their trial period, you are eligible for a bonus of USD 5,000 worth of SNT. The recruiter in charge will contact you to give you the green light to submit the SNT bonus on an invoice.

  • Submit a separate invoice for the referral bonus payment to finance ([email protected]).
  • The deadline to submit your invoice is 3 months.
  • Once submitted, the bonus will be paid with the next monthly payment.

Note: Please, make sure that you attach your correct wallet address to the invoice AND have it updated in BambooHR!

Important: In case you are not legally allowed to receive crypto in your country, please reach put to #people-ops team or the recruiter in charge.

It doesn't always work out...why hasn’t my referral been engaged?

While referrals generally have a much higher success rate than those engaged via the full recruitment process, there may be a chance that your referral doesn't end up being a core contributor engaged by IFT (the performance of the core contributor won’t be held against you, after all, it’s on the project to interview and come to a decision on whether they deem the referred individual a fit for the role/project). This might happen due to:

  • Timing: their qualifications don't match the roles currently available.
  • Suitability: they don't meet all of the minimum requirements listed for the role.
  • Competition: there was someone else who was more qualified.
  • Demand: the role was reduced or closed.

Thank you for your support in bringing great people into IFT!