The meaning of "Referral"
 

you know those job websites where you heard this opportunity from?

let say you meet some guys from a firm and then you decide to apply for that firm, you have their names but they didn't say "yeah, there's this opportunity up on the website and stuff", you just found your way there

Can you put them down as referral? What exactly constitutes a referral in this situation? Just kinda rough... and obviously, once you said you were a "referral", and they ask you for the employees name, does this increase your chances?

Well, make sure you ask your "referrals" if they are OK with you using them as referrals, if you plan to apply for a position within their firm. Last thing you want is when their HR Manager notifies them about you applying for a position there, but they never gave you consent. I can assure you that they will not be too happy about that as their reputation is on the line.

And be sure the referal person is somebody who is trustworthy and a good worker.

Last thing you want is to have written on your resume that you were referred by the janitor who tends to dissapear during shifts, and accused of stealing a few times.

I think it depends on the company, usually when I see those type of questions I say that I saw their ad somewhere.

dont use their name unless they said "i'll refer you" specifically. when hr asks them about you, chances are they will be very clueless. in the end, you'll lose the job offer.

referrals are extremely important. referrals are almost always a hire at my place.