Can getting your friend hired actually help your career? It certainly can if you know top-quality candidates ready to help your company achieve its goals and move forward.

Companies from startups to Fortune 500s are looking for enterprise solutions to their current hiring woes. This is not surprising considering only about 17 percent of current employers say the applicants submitting resumes for their open positions have the right skills necessary to perform the job.

As a result, employee referrals are extremely important to organizations, and more companies are embracing these referrals to find the talent they need to thrive.

Last year, employee referrals accounted for the number-one source of external hires, beating out both job boards and social media. Your network might just hold the key to your company's future. On a personal level, referring a fantastic hire can take your career higher, as well.

Here are some reasons why you should tap into your circle of contacts and refer a great person for your company's open positions:

Your friends can help the company's growth

If you refer great people to your company, their contributions can help the organization achieve its goals and objectives. This means a more prosperous company and better growth potential for every employee.

As your company moves into a larger market and segways into different business arenas, you might find yourself climbing the ladder faster than you could have imagined.

Demonstrate your judgment

If you refer candidates who become great employees, you will be demonstrating your superior judgment. Your employer will note your vast network of talented friends and acquaintances and will be impressed with your social skills, networking, and company matchmaking ability.

When looking for someone in the organization to put together a high-functioning team, you will be at the top of your employer's list of people that can be trusted with the task at hand. By demonstrating your ability to recognize talent, you can establish yourself as a key team player and leader whose skills are in demand when putting together project teams and keeping everyone on target.

Nab those incentives

Many companies have attractive incentive programs in place for high-quality employee referrals. These incentives can range from cash prizes to office perks. With Simplicant, employers can easily track who sends the best candidates along and how many of these people are subsequently hired.

New employees who become highly productive members of the organization can sometimes nab you additional incentives when they hit certain work milestones. For instance, some companies may award a cash bonus when a referred candidate gets hired and then an additional bonus — whether in cash, vacation time, or a better parking space — when these candidates have remained employees for a year or achieved a performance milestone.

Loyalty to your company

Whenever you refer a superior candidate to your organization, you are also reaffirming your immense loyalty to the company. You want to see the company grow and excel, which is why you have suggested top-quality talent for their workforce. You would not be so concerned unless you were extremely committed to the company, its values, and its mission. This demonstrates that you are the kind of employee looking forward to a bright and long future with the organization, not someone with an eye toward greener pastures.

There are plenty of people with top-quality skills in your network. Social media recruitment platforms like Simplicant make it simpler and more intuitive than ever to refer this talent to your organization. If these candidates are hired and thrive in your company, you will find yourself reaping the rewards of your superior judgement and loyalty. So what are you waiting for?

About Sajjad Masud

Sajjad Masud is Co-founder & CEO of Simplicant, a cloud-based recruiting platform transforming the talent acquisition market and making enterprise-level recruiting technology accessible to companies of all sizes. Simplicant's collaborative platform includes social recruiting and redefined candidate relationship management to help organizations optimize their cost and time per hire.

This article was originally published on November 07, 2012 at http://blog.simplicant.com/getting-friends-hired at Simplicant - www.simplicant.com