How to get a referral at Figma
The reliable way into Figma is a warm introduction or an employee referral through someone who knows you both, and finding that person means running a search most applicants never do.
By Jerry Feng, Growth at Happenstance. Updated August 31, 2026.
The short version
The best route to a job at Figma is a referral or a warm introduction from an employee, reached through somebody you already know. Chances are you've got that mutual and haven't spotted them, maybe a designer you worked with at an agency who's since joined Figma, or a friend whose former coworker is on the team that's hiring. Finding them is the work, and it's a search you can run over accounts you already have. Then ask the person with the strongest tie for an introduction or a referral, in one short message that's easy to say yes to.
Why the warm path beats the queue at Figma
Figma makes collaborative design software and hires across engineering, product, design, sales, marketing and support. A company with that kind of following gets more applications than its recruiters could ever read carefully, and the ones that get real consideration are mostly the ones an employee has already put a name to. A referral or a warm introduction does exactly that, before anyone opens your portfolio.
The person doing the vouching needn't be a close friend. They need a true way to say how they know you, or how they know the mutual who's speaking for you. A designer you worked alongside at an agency who later joined Figma qualifies, and so does a friend who introduces you to their former coworker there. Working out who those people are is a question your own accounts already hold the answer to.
Finding who you know at Figma, and who knows them
Your inbox and calendar. Anyone you've exchanged email with or met who is at Figma now is a direct route, and the relationship is already documented. The snag is that memory can't be filtered for “people who moved to Figma after we stopped working together”, so those names stay buried until you go looking.
LinkedIn's mutual connections. The company page and every individual profile show the people you're both connected to, which is handy once you have a specific name to check.
Happenstance. Happenstance searches each account you connect, Gmail, Outlook, Google Calendar, Google Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram, along with the networks of the friends you add. Ask it in plain English who you know at Figma and it gives you the people, how well you know each of them, which account the tie came from, and for anyone a friend knows, the friend who can introduce you. Sidedoor starts from the job posting instead: paste the link and it finds who in your network can refer you. Happenstance is free. The free plan is the whole product, with usage limits on chat and web searches beyond your network. Pro raises the limits: unlimited web searches and results, higher chat limits, and CSV export. The job-search version of all this, from the first search to the offer, is on Happenstance for job seekers.
The ask
One message, under a hundred words, that names the role and then says how you know each other and what you'd like them to do. If you're writing to a mutual rather than to someone at Figma, ask for the introduction and include a paragraph they can forward as written.
Subject: Referral to Figma
What Happenstance can see
Email is read as headers only. Message content and attachments never reach our servers. Yes. Your connections are searchable only by you, the friends you accept, and the groups you join, and sharing is always mutual. Your public profile shows a constellation of named people you know by default, which you can turn off anytime. We never share, sell, or use your data to train AI models. Happenstance is SOC 2 certified and DTI Trust Level 2; the full list of what is stored and for how long is on the security page.
Frequently asked questions
Is a referral or a warm introduction better for a job at Figma?
Either gets your application read by a person instead of sorted by a queue, and that's the whole point. A referral means a Figma employee submits you through the company's own process, while a warm introduction means a mutual vouches for you to someone at Figma, who may then refer you themselves. Accept whichever one the person you've reached is comfortable giving.
What if I don't know anyone at Figma?
You probably know someone who does. Most introductions run through second-degree paths, such as a designer from your agency days whose old teammate is at Figma, or a friend whose former coworker works there now. Happenstance searches your own accounts and your friends' networks, so the answer to who you know at Figma includes the people one introduction away, along with the mutual who can make it.
How do I ask someone at Figma for a referral?
State the role and link the posting, remind them in a line how you know each other, and say what you'd like them to do, whether that's referring you or introducing you to the hiring manager. Keep it under a hundred words and leave room to decline. If you're writing to a mutual rather than a Figma employee, ask for the introduction and add a paragraph they can forward without editing.
How does Happenstance find people at Figma?
Connect the accounts you already use, Gmail, Outlook, Google Calendar, Google Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram, and ask in plain English who you know at Figma. Every result shows how well you know the person and which account the tie came from, and results through friends show the mutual who can introduce you. Sidedoor does the same from a job posting you paste in. Happenstance is free, and Pro raises the limits.
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