For the 3rd time since I started my not-so-new job, a friend has reached out to me asking if I could help them get into the company. (4th if you count a douchebag who is not a friend so much as a raging asshole with no soft skills whatsoever).
I’m always willing to help a friend out with the job hunt if I can. Unfortunately, these people already applied to my company before talking to me. This move disqualifies me for receiving any referral bonus that I would get if they were hired. I know that sounds a little a greedy but hey I have small children to feed. After taxes the referral bonus could cover a month of daycare if not more.
Here’s the thing. You’re asking me to help you get a six figure job (or high five figure) and you want me to put in the effort for nothing? Brownie points and good feelings only go so far. Compared to liking a stupid Facebook page for instance.
You’re asking me to stick my neck out and vouch for you. Why wouldn’t you want me to get rewarded for that? I know, you didn’t realize it worked that way. Considering this is a fairly standard policy that tells me you haven’t tried to help someone get a position recently. Ahem…with at least one of these people, I did tell explicitly tell them to talk to me before applying because of the referral bonus policy.
What’s that? You still want me to see if I can reach out to the hiring manager? Sure, as soon as you send me the equivalent of the lost referral bonus. Don’t worry, if you don’t get hired I promise I’ll eturn it.
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