Have you successfully got friends, former coworkers, or loved ones a tech job?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36035957

by m348e912 • 3 years ago

17 20 3 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Many times in the past I have attempted to help people I know find a job by floating their resume around with a solid recommendation as well as using my social media network to try create leads and generate some interest (with permission)

I don't think my efforts have ever been successful.

What have you done to successfully help people land a gig? Can you share some stories?

alex_lav• 3 years ago

Many times. Recommendations exist because they're more valuable than "cold-hiring". It can (and normally is) as easy as seeing someone in your network (that you know, or that knows you) is hiring, and knowing of a different person that's looking. Generally you don't "get" them a job, per se, in that they usually still have to interview and get hired, but IME the recommendation shifts the interview from assuming negatives to assuming positives. Meaning, rather than an interviewer thinking you didn't do well on a question because you're incompetent, they think you're just nervous or misunderstood. Again IME, that change in perception goes a long way.

I have also made it a priority to be aware of my network. Who's where, what they're working with, if they like it, but also keeping track of people that are good at their jobs that may drift out of my immediate working-sphere.

bvan• 3 years ago

Several times, but in each case the person was a perfect fit for a specific position. That’s key. It was more a question of introducing the two parties rather than selling their merits.

JohnFen• 3 years ago

Yes, a number of times. All I've done is have a chat with the person with hiring authority in the team or department and tell them my honest assessment of their skillset and what it's like to work with them. I usually toss in a couple of lines connecting their experience with the position. Something like "they've been working on X for a few years, and that isn't far from your team's work on Y. They could hit the ground running." I also make sure to mention any relevant weaknesses.

Then I ask if the person can contact them directly. If they say yes, I give my friend or colleague their contact info.

I never lie or embellish the truth when I do this. If I don't think they'd be excellent in the role, I don't recommend them, period. If they're hired on my recommendation and turn out to suck, that will reflect poorly on me.

I also don't hand over their resume or CV. That's up to them to do. All I'm doing is introducing them to the hiring person. They have to take it the rest of the way.

schwartzworld5• 3 years ago

Yes. My job has a competitive referral bonus, so I am aggressive about finding people to refer. Most don't get hired, but those that do are a win-win.

cashmonster• 3 years ago

Heads up: if you do this to unwitting friends, that’s gross. A lot of technically-minded optimizers don’t realize that.

(If you don’t care, feel free to ignore. That’s grosser though).

schwartzworld5• 3 years ago

Why is it gross? Anybody I help get hired is going to have a great job with good money and wlb.

And I'm not sure what you mean by unwitting in this context. I'm not tricking them into giving away a kidney. All jobs have referral bonuses. Does it somehow become grosser because this is the only job where the bonus has been big enough for me to care?

Please explain your rationale.

toast0• 3 years ago

How do you get someone through a hiring process unwittingly?

"Hey, can I see your resume, I just want to have one to look at?"

"Oh hey, my boss wants to talk to you, and maybe a couple more people too, can you show up at the office all day?"

"Don't worry, it's not a big deal, but can you maybe drive me to and from work every day, and to save gas, maybe you should stay at the office; you better tell your employer you won't be making it in anymore"

"Oh, can I have your bank account info to pay you for gas?"

"Hey, since you're here, can you work on this list of todos?"

"Oh oops, I deposited a salary instead of gas money"

allig2563• 3 years ago

Would you ever split that referral bonus? Amongst my friend group it's pretty common to 50/50 it.

schwartzworld5• 3 years ago

With who? The person I referred? Why would I do that?

yizhang7210• 3 years ago

- first of all be a strong contributor yourself and have a reputation in your team/group/company so people trust your judgement

- talk to the hiring manager directly, preferably you already have a trusting relationship with and make a sincere and honest recommendation for the person

- if you're good, your friend is good, the hiring manager is good, and it's generally a fit, hiring would be quite possible

readonthegoapp• 3 years ago

my buddy got me a gig.

also, 30 years ago i got my dude a job - back when pretending to know java was enough to get you a job.

in both cases, they were real opportunities and strong demand and real needs and smaller companies who were probably generally glad to have a reco, etc. don't think there was much selling, on the whole, it just kind of happened.

i'd guess that's one of the advantages small companies have - they might hire your friends, for better or worse.

i turned down help getting jobs for decades, so finally tried it. i'm not above it, but eh.

gwnywg• 3 years ago

Long time ago the company I helped build hired my friend. I took him in as I knew him very well and knew how hard working person he was. He was hired as junior, he made good 2 years with us and then I helped him to hone his interview skills so he could move to next place (I was leaving too due to unrelated reasons). He is now senior and very successful.

Jemaclus• 3 years ago

I have a side business and a friend of mine had been struggling with minimum wage jobs since we both graduated college. I'm fairly successful in the tech world, and I've always thought the world of this guy, so when I had the opportunity to hire him for my side biz, I did it instantly. He struggled a bit at the beginning because he wasn't used to having autonomy. When you're an entry-level person, you expect a to-do list every day, but I started mentoring him into being self-directed. These days, he's kicking butt.

I'm hoping in a year or so he'll have enough confidence to apply for a "real" job, and that this gets him off the ground. I'd lose him for my company, but I can deal with that. I'd rather he get further into the industry and make a gazillion dollars, and that won't be possible with me.

Sometimes I think it's just a matter of giving people a step up, even if it's not to the top floor.

leandot• 3 years ago

Thanks for sharing that story, mine is similar but with a close relative of mine. He went through dark times but now is a very capable data engineer. It indeed took a lot of mentoring and to-do lists.

june_twenty• 3 years ago

I often daydream of building out a team with all the people I've worked with that were good. But to answer you question, no I've never gotten anyone a job in my place of work.

decafninja• 3 years ago

Before leetcode became commonplace, I got a few friends jobs.

After leetcode became common, I haven’t gotten anyone a job. They always fail the leetcode interview. Likewise, friends have gotten me interviews, but I’ve always failed the leetcode problems.

Have you successfully got friends, former coworkers, or loved ones a tech job?

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