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Employee Referral Award Program

Employee referrals are an effective way to hire top talent. Swarthmore's referral award program offers a bonus to eligible College staff members who refer successful regular part-time and full-time candidates in the following areas: Campus Services, Swarthmore Dining, EVS, and Public Safety. The current Swarthmore staff member as well as the new hire will receive a $500 award for referring a prospective staff member for an advertised, open vacancy in any of the departments listed above. The award will be subject to applicable tax withholdings. The referral bonus will be paid to both the new hire and the referring staff member after the new staff member successfully completes six months of employment. 

This program is subject to being revised or discontinued at any time, at the discretion of the College.

Eligibility Guidelines | Referral Process | Frequently Asked Questions

Eligibility Guidelines

  • Candidates must be actively employed on their six month employment anniversary date to be award eligible.  

  • The referring staff member must be actively employed to be eligible for the award.
  • The newly hired employee must not be on any type of performance plan or have received any type of formal written performance warning to be award eligible.
  • The applicant may include the employee’s name at the time of application, however, in order to receive an award, the current employee must submit the employee award application form to Human Resources.
  • Direct supervisors and hiring managers of the individual being hired are not eligible for this program. Assistant vice presidents or above, faculty, and Human Resources staff are also not eligible to participate. 
  • The award is not available for referrals of employees hired into temporary, seasonal or on-call positions.
  • Referral bonuses will not apply to any searches where a search firm has been retained to conduct the search.

Referral Process

  1. When applying to a posted position, the candidate must include the name of the referring employee in their application through PageUp.
  2. The referring employee must complete an Employee Referral Award Program Form. Human Resources will review the completed form for approval.
  3. When a candidate is hired, the referring employee will receive a confirmation email indicating the successful hire, along with information regarding the award payment. Please note that the award payment is contingent on the referred employee completing six months of successful employment.

Frequently Asked Questions

How will Human Resources know that I referred someone?

As the referring employee, you will need to complete the Employee Referral Award Program form and submit it to Human Resources for approval. 

When will I receive the $500 referral award?

If your referral is hired, you will receive the award in the next scheduled pay period after the new employee completes six months of employment and both the referring employee and the new employee are in active employment status. 

Can I refer someone if I am a supervisor?

Yes, as long as you are not part of the hiring decision and the position does not report to you, you are eligible for the referral bonus. 

Is there a limit on how many referrals I can make?

There is no limit to how many applicants you can refer. 

What does it mean to successfully complete employment?

To successfully complete six months of employment means that the employee is still actively employed on their 6 month anniversary and the employee must not be on any type of performance improvement plan or have received any type of formal written performance warning.