Referrals built on evidence, not claims.
Anyone can call a CV a referral. On Linillo, every introduction carries a tier the platform works out for itself — from what the referrer actually holds, and what the candidate has actually agreed to.
From a campaign to a trusted referral.
Watch how a peer introducer chooses a role, adds a person they know, and builds the evidence that makes the referral trustworthy.
Three levels of a referral. One honest label.
Every introduction lands in one of three tiers. The label tells a company precisely how much has been established before they spend a minute on it.
Identified
Tier 1Identified — profile shared for review
What is on record
- A named person and where they work
- A public profile, usually LinkedIn
- Written context on why they fit
A considered suggestion from someone in the field. You still have to make first contact yourself.
Referrer introduction reward: None
Direct Introduction
Tier 2Direct introduction — you have their contact details
What is on record
- Everything in Identified
- Direct contact details held by the referrer
- A stated professional relationship
A warm route in. The referrer can make the introduction personally rather than you cold-approaching.
Referrer introduction reward: £12.50
Verified Introduction
Tier 3Verified introduction — candidate has confirmed their interest
What is on record
- Everything in Direct
- The referrer has spoken to the candidate
- The candidate has confirmed interest on-platform
Someone who already knows about the role and has said they want to hear more. No guesswork about interest.
Referrer introduction reward: £50
Earned by the platform, never self-declared.
Referrers do not pick their tier. When a referral is created or changed, the platform reads the evidence attached to it and sets the tier itself.
Five things decide the tier.
- 01Which contact details the referrer actually holds — email, mobile, LinkedIn.
- 02The professional relationship they state with the candidate.
- 03Whether they have written real context on why this person fits.
- 04Whether they have spoken to the candidate about this specific role.
- 05Whether the candidate has confirmed their interest on-platform.
Only the last one unlocks Verified — and only the candidate can do it, by acting on a confirmation link sent directly to them.
Enforced in the database
The tier is written by the platform when the referral is saved. There is no field a referrer can set to claim a higher one.
A seven-day window to improve
Get the candidate to confirm their interest to upgrade to a Verified Introduction. Referrals can be upgraded for seven days after submission, then the tier locks so the record stays true.
The evidence, not just the badge.
Every referral in your dashboard carries the trail behind its tier, so you can judge it yourself rather than take a label on faith.
Example — as shown against a referral
Verified Introduction
Verified introduction — candidate has confirmed their interest
- Email address held
- Mobile number held
- LinkedIn profile
- Referrer has spoken to the candidate
- Candidate confirmed interest
- Written context provided
Verified by Linillo from platform activity — not self-declared by the referrer.
Nothing hidden behind a score
Each signal is ticked or not. If a referrer has not spoken to the candidate, you see that. If the candidate has not confirmed, you see that too — before you invest interview time.
Recorded, not asserted
The evidence is captured by the platform at the moment the referral is made or updated, and timestamped. It is the same record used to calculate fees and payouts.
Credibility of the referrer, scored.
A referral is only as good as the person making it. Every referrer is scored 0–100 against the specific role they are recommending for.
Shown next to every referral:
What goes into the score
- /30
Industry match
How closely the referrer's sector matches the role's industry
- /30
Role alignment
How closely their job function aligns with the role
- /20
Seniority
Whether they operate at or above the level being hired
- /10
LinkedIn presence
A verifiable public professional profile
- /10
Trust tier
Their standing on the platform to date
A high score means relevant context, not a guarantee. It sits alongside the evidence trail rather than replacing your judgement.
Both sides are accountable.
Trust runs in two directions. Referrers earn standing through outcomes; companies earn it by treating referrals — and referrers — properly.
Referrer trust score
Rises with:
- Referrals that companies progress rather than reject
- Candidates who confirm interest when contacted
- Introductions that reach hire
- Consistent, accurate context on every submission
A higher trust tier means better visibility of roles and a stronger credibility signal on every referral.
Company trust score
Rises with:
- Reviewing referrals inside the agreed response window
- Giving a real outcome rather than letting referrals lapse
- Keeping campaign details accurate and current
- Settling introduction and placement fees on time
Referrers can see how responsive a company is before they spend their own relationships on it.
What the trust layer keeps out.
CV spam
A profile with no contact details, no relationship and no context stays at Identified and earns no payout. Volume alone gets a referrer nowhere.
Duplicate submissions
The same candidate cannot be submitted twice to one campaign. The first referrer holds the attribution, recorded with a timestamp.
Self-referral
Referrers cannot submit themselves. The check runs in the database, not in the form.
Candidates who never agreed
Every submission requires a consent declaration, and the Verified tier requires the candidate to act themselves.
Trust, answered plainly.
- Can a referrer just mark their own referral as Verified?
- No. The tier is computed by the platform from recorded evidence when a referral is created or updated. Verified is only reachable once the candidate has confirmed their interest through a link sent to them, which the referrer cannot do on their behalf.
- What is the difference between Identified, Direct and Verified?
- Identified means a profile has been shared for review. Direct means the referrer holds the candidate's contact details and can make the introduction personally. Verified means the candidate has confirmed on-platform that they are interested in the role.
- Can a referral improve after it has been submitted?
- Yes. A referral can be upgraded for seven days after submission — for example from Direct to Verified once the candidate confirms interest. After that window the tier is locked so the record stays accurate.
- What does a company actually see?
- The tier, plus the evidence behind it: whether an email, mobile number and LinkedIn profile are held, whether the referrer has spoken to the candidate, whether the candidate confirmed interest, whether written context was supplied, and the stated relationship.
- What is the referrer credibility score?
- A 0–100 signal comparing the referrer's own professional background — sector, role, seniority, LinkedIn presence and trust tier — with the role being filled. It sits alongside the referral so you can weigh who is vouching, not just what they said.
- Do trust scores change over time?
- Yes. Referrer and company trust scores both move with recorded platform activity, such as referral outcomes, candidate confirmations, response times and payment behaviour.
- Does a higher tier pay the referrer more?
- Yes. Identified introductions carry no introduction payout, Direct introductions pay £12.50, and Verified introductions pay £50, before any placement reward. The incentive points at evidence, not volume.
- Is this the same as your security page?
- No. This page explains how referral trust is established between people. Data protection and platform security are covered separately on our security page.
See the evidence before you interview.
Post a role and receive referrals that arrive with their proof attached.
Start hiring →Get rewarded for the quality of your introduction.
The better the evidence you bring, the higher the tier — and the reward.
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