New job and potential referral requests

[Anonymous]

I’m going to be starting a job in a couple of weeks at a pretty prestigious organization that pays well and has a strong reputation (think places like Google, Brookings Institution, Patagonia, etc.) I’ve never worked for a sought out company before - I feel very lucky to have gotten the job without any connections. I’m wondering if people tend to come out of the woodwork to ask for referrals? While some people I would be happy to give them one, other people I know I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing so. Is this a common thing for people at prestige companies? And how do you turn people down?

[Anonymous]

I’ve been asked to be a referral for people. I’m polite but if the hiring manager reaches out to me, I tell them the truth (I don’t know the person well etc).