Should you refer your friend to your employer?
You may not have thought deeply about it yet, but there are actually not one but several things to consider before you are recommending your friend to your boss. It’s not like you can actually go on to refer him to your boss arbitrarily just because you guys (i.e. your friend and you) belong to similar work field.
Should you not consider your friend’s request for referral at all?
Now, we are not really asking you to dismiss requests of friends (to refer them to your boss) outright. They are doing what they should be doing in order to get their proverbial foot in the door. They are networking. And, who better to network with rather than their friends themselves? However, you just cannot afford blast your friend’s resume blindly. There’s no harm in your friend bagging a job but you should “know” who you are referring. After all, bad referrals can indeed put your reputation at stake. Given below are a few factors that you should keep in view before referring your friend to your boss:
How “knowledgeable” are you?
The first thing to do would be to put your own knowledge under the radar – i.e. your knowledge about your friend’s credentials as a professional. How much do you know about his work experience? What kind of a work record does he have? Is there any avenue of getting an idea about his work ethics? If you have little idea about his work ethics then it would be important on your end to have a more complete sense of the same before referring him to someone.
Consider what your colleagues will think
Consider how your colleagues will perceive the appointment of your friend (if at all he is appointed at the first place). If you are already a favorite of your boss (of course, owing to your professional credentials) then congrats you already are a cause of envy for many. In such a scenario, if your boss ends up hiring your friend, then your co-workers may view the move as favoritism. This is one factor which makes it all the more important for you to consider investigating the credentials of your friend. Steer clear of a blind referral so that even if your friend is hired, it is proved that there has been no workplace favoritism at play.
Is your friend serious about getting the job?
Last but not the least; consider referring your friend only if he is serious about bagging this job and not merely checking out options.
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