Should You Refer a Friend for a Job

Should You Refer a Friend for a Job Should You Refer a Friend for a Job There are plenty of positive reasons to refer a friend to a job at your company.  You can help your employer out in times of need, which benefits  the business as a whole. You will also be helping a friend and simply doing a good deed.  You may also generate  a sense of goodwill from the referred friend,  who may return the favor in the future, enhancing your career. In fact, research shows that people who invest in developing proteges  perhaps by referring them to jobs  have better rates of career progression than those who dont. The  goodwill that you generate by referring  a friend may actually be paid back in a way that accelerates your own career progression. Its kind of a you-scratch-their-back-and-theyll-scratch-yours situation. If all of that  isnt enough incentive for you, then  consider that  many employers also offer rewards for referring friends to the company. Check to see if your employer has a reward system  before referring a friend to make sure you refer in the right way and receive  credit for doing so. If  your employer does not have a reward system for employee referrals,  there is absolutely nothing wrong with approaching your employer and asking them to set one up. While its clear that there are plenty of benefits to referring a friend to your company, you should not overlook the potential pitfalls of such activities, and you might want to temper your referral behavior accordingly. There are several questions you should consider before deciding to refer a friend: 1. Can You Really Vouch for the Persons  Performance at Work? Sure, the person may be a good friend, but can you be sure that the person you are referring is actually competent? Have you worked with them and/or witnessed their work firsthand? If not, do you know someone who has  witnessed their skills firsthand? If you are in a position to reliably vouch for someones  performance, then referring them is a safe bet. Otherwise, there may be some risk attached to referring them. This doesnt necessarily mean that you shouldnt refer them,  but you might want to cover yourself by attaching caveats to the referral. Let your employer know you are not in a position to vouch for the quality of the candidate. From there, the employer can decide whether or not to accept the referral. 2. Will the Referral Reflect Badly on You?   What if you are faced with the situation of referring a potential candidate whom you have reason to believe is a substandard or extremely average performer? Referring this kind of candidate will reflect badly on you and could damage your reputation as a talent scout, judge of character, and potential future influencer within the company. It could also damage the performance of the company. Think carefully before referring this type of candidate, even if they are a good friend you are trying to help out. If the candidate is  a good friend whom  you feel morally inclined to help, you may need to gather  evidence that they can truly perform well at your company. That being said, dont make a habit of referring candidates that could reflect badly on you, as doing so  will eventually have negative consequences for you. 3. Is Your Firm Toxic? Is your firm  a good place to work, or is it toxic? Are you yourself disengaged and ready to leave? Is the whole team, office, or company disengaged? Is your company struggling to find staff due to a  poor company culture and substandard employment practices? Your friend is most likely an adult who can make decisions for themselves. If youre considering referring them to a company that you do believe is toxic,  you want to come clean with them and give them an honest perspective  on what its like to work for your employer. Let your friend  decide for themselves if they want to jump in the fire. Of course if the situation is truly that toxic, you might want to save your friend  from a disastrous decision by simply not referring them at all. 4. Would You Hire the Person If This Were Your Company?   This is the single most important question to ask yourself when you are thinking about  referring a friend.  If you wouldnt hire them yourself, then you probably shouldnt refer them to your employer no matter how much you like that friend.