Friendship is that relationship which has been valued above all the relationships. It has been labeled as the foundation of any relationship, and the relationship you have with your best friend is the one which is the most precious. However, all said and done, in this world of tough competition how far would you go for referring your best friend for a job in your team? Working in the same team with your best friend can be great, yes, but the thing to be kept in mind is that other than being your best friend, he or she is your colleague.
The idea of working with your best friend sounds hunky dory and you are led by unconscious bias while you refer him or her to your employer. You feel great because you are helping out your best friend in dire straits, you feel even greater because many companies offer incentives when you refer someone of good capabilities to work for the company. But what is forgotten mostly is when to draw the line between friendship and professionalism. Here are few tips which can help you before you actually refer your best friend to your employer:
Know About Your Project Well
What is most important is how well equipped are you about the project you are working for. Surely you would know your best friend inside out, so that should give you a fair idea about whether he or she should be suitable for the post. Discuss with your best friend the prospects of the project, and tell him or her about what your company is looking for. Just helping out your friend by referring will not be fruitful in the long run either for your friend or for the company.
History Repeats Itself
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This popular adage has been proved to be true time and again. If it is your best friend you are referring to your employer, you must be extremely well versed with his or her career graph. You must be conversant about your friend’s past professional background. If you do not know much about it, feel free to ask him or her. You need to know about your friend’s professional track record and the relationship he or she had with their peers. Keep in mind that if you refer someone incompatible for the project, then it is your name that will go down and hinder your career.
Look Before You Leap
Friendship is one delicate relationship which once soured is hardly renewed. So, do not let your unconscious bias and blind love for your friend ruin the blissful relationship that has blossomed for ages. Before referring a friend to your employer, think that while working together a certain amount of competition will be there.
“When you are referring or want to hire your best friend to your team, you have to be careful if you really value your friendship. Think professionally. Keep your emotional bias aside (as much as possible). Be honest and explain your position clearly to your friend. Do not show-off yourself and try to keep your profile a bit low. Because, once your friend gets in, your actual corporate image will be visible anyway. So, be true from the beginning.” says Sougata Majumder, Senior Manager, Cognitive computing & Advanced Analytics at IBM.
However much you may avoid it, it will resurface. So, if you think that competition that either of you will be incapable of handling that competition, then it is best to not go for the referral. After all, you do not want to turn the friendship sour.
Sincerity Is The Key
Do not jump for helping out your friend by doing a referral if you have a feeling that he or she may not be entirely sincere for the job. Communication is the key here, and you need to communicate with your best friend and find out whether he or she is really passionate about the work that they will have to do or they are just testing their options. In the latter case it is best not to refer your best friend to your employer because he or she is clearly not cut out for the job.
These simple tricks will help you look at your friendship from a new perspective and you also do not have to risk wither your friendship or your work.
