What To Help You Friend Get a Job? Some Things You Should Consider Before Referring Them to Your Employer

Should you refer your friend for a job at your company? Here are some things to consider.

If you go through your social network of friends, odds are good that at least a few of them are actively looking for a job. Odds are also good that, at one time or another, they have asked you if you know of any job openings, and while you want to help your friend out, you are also taking some personal and professional risks. Before you recommend your friend, there are a two things you should consider first.

1. If your friend is hired, based on your recommendation, and it doesn't work out, it will make you look bad – When you tell your employer about your friend and personally vouch for them, you are putting your reputation on the line. While this is not a problem, if you are fairly certain about your friend's ability to do the job, if they end up being a bad employee, your boss may place the blame on you. This can become a problem when you refer a friend that you know, and think highly of, socially, but whom you have never seen in a professional setting. Sometimes, friends that seem to be competent and dependable can be a completely different person in an office setting. In order to avoid this, make sure that you know the person well.
   
   
2. Working with a friend can hurt your friendship – Even people who are best friends can have a hard time working together. We all show a different side of ourselves at work than we do at home, and after seeing your friend as a co-worker, you may find that you don't like them as much anymore. If one of your closest friends started working in your office, you run the risk of talking about work all the time when you spend time together outside of the office. Even if you are able to work well with your friend, what if you or they get promoted? Would you be able to deal with having this person as your boss or potentially becoming their boss?

Keep in mind that these aren't reasons not to refer a friend to a job opening at your company. They are just things that you should consider and plan for ahead of time. Working with a friends you respect can be be fun and rewarding as long as you are prepared for the possible bumps.

On a side note, if you refer a friend to your employer and they get the job, accept their thanks and let it go. Sometimes, when one friend helps the other friend land a job, they will hold it over the friend's head forever. So, don't have the attitude that you gave them the job. All you did was help open the door to the opportunity. They had to prove themselves and do the job. The only thing they owe you is a thank you, not undying gratitude.

Have you ever worked with a friend? How did it go? Let me know in the comments.

If you are looking for a job in the Philadelphia area, visit PhillyJobs for the best Philadelphia area job listings.

By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer for PhillyJobsBlog, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.