Introductions built on evidence, not claims.
Anyone can call a CV an introduction. 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 an open role to a verified referral.
Watch a referrer choose a role, put forward someone they know with a Personally Backed, and see the referral move to Verified when the candidate confirms.
Three levels of an introduction. 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.
Payment before hire: None — earn a share of the reward on hire
Direct Referral
Tier 2Direct referral — 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.
Payment before hire: None — earn a share of the reward on hire
Verified Referral
Tier 3Verified referral — 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.
Payment before hire: None — earn a share of the reward on hire
Evidence shows what is proved. Conviction shows who is backing them.
Every referrer also states how strongly they back the candidate. Companies see it next to the referrer's name and can sort Personally Backed introductions first.
Relevant professional whose profile fits the brief.
Proven, dependable track record for this kind of role.
Top-tier performer. I back them without hesitation.
Conviction never changes the reward. The share a referrer earns depends only on the evidence tier, so there is no reason to overstate it.
Earned by the platform, never self-declared.
Referrers do not pick their tier. When an introduction 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 introduction 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 Referral. Introductions can be upgraded for seven days after submission, then the tier locks so the record stays true.
The evidence, not just the badge.
Every introduction 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 an introduction
Verified Referral
Verified referral — 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 introduction is made or updated, and timestamped. It is the same record used to calculate fees and payouts.
Credibility of the referrer, scored.
An introduction 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 introduction:
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 introductions — and referrers — properly.
Referrer trust score
Rises with:
- Introductions 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 introduction.
Company trust score
Rises with:
- Reviewing introductions inside the agreed response window
- Giving a real outcome rather than letting introductions lapse
- Keeping role details accurate and current
- Settling hire rewards 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 shared without contact details stays at Identified and earns half the hire reward if hired. Adding contact details, or getting the candidate to confirm, raises the share.
Duplicate submissions
The same candidate cannot be submitted twice to one role. 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
Candidates get a privacy notice and a one-click way to remove their details, and the Verified tier requires the candidate to confirm their interest themselves.
Trust, answered plainly.
- Can a referrer just mark their own introduction as Verified?
- No. The tier is computed by the platform from recorded evidence when an introduction 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 an introduction improve after it has been submitted?
- Yes. An introduction 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 introduction so you can weigh who is backing them, 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 introduction outcomes, candidate confirmations, response times and payment behaviour.
- Does a higher tier pay the referrer more?
- Yes, when a hire is made. Identified profiles receive 50%, Direct introductions receive 75% of the employer-set hire reward and Verified introductions receive 95%. There is no separate payment for submitting an introduction.
- Where does the money go on a hire?
- Worked example on a £5,000 hire reward. The company pays £6,000: the £5,000 reward plus the flat £1,000 platform fee. Identified: referrer receives £2,500, Linillo keeps £2,500 plus the fee. Direct: referrer £3,750, Linillo £1,250 plus the fee. Verified: referrer £4,750, Linillo £250 plus the fee. The platform fee never reduces the referrer's share.
- What does Personally Backed mean?
- Alongside the evidence tier, every referrer says how strongly they back the candidate: Network Introduction, Recommendation or Personally Backed. It is shown to the company with the referrer's name. It never changes the reward, so there is no incentive to overstate it.
- What does it cost a company?
- Nothing to post a role or receive introductions. There is no subscription and no fee per introduction. On a successful hire, the company pays a flat £1,000 platform fee plus the hire reward it set on the role (we recommend 5% of first-year salary, minimum 3%).
- Is this the same as your security page?
- No. This page explains how introduction trust is established between people. Data protection and platform security are covered separately on our security page.
See the evidence before you interview.
Companies receive introductions with their proof attached. Referrers earn more for the quality of the evidence they bring.