Helping ex-coworkers get a job, has anyone done it?

TheFORCE

Simple question. Have you helped an ex-coworker get a job at your current company, yes or no. And how did it turn out?

I helped an ex-coworker get a job at my company and they got a better deal. I have all the certs in my profile, they have 0 certs, i have more years and experience in Infosec he has some experience. He got a "senior" in in his job title, i got nothing, he got avp title, i got nothing, we both got the same sign on bonus, he got 7k less than I did in base salary. I was the first in the team, he is the second person. So other than the base salary he got a better overall deal only because of my word with the hiring managers.

It appears i have fallen victim of HR lack of knowledge as they dont know how to evaluate certs or experience. Funny thing is we will be on the same team and i will have to teach him how everything works so in addition to the above i will also help him progress in his career. So i feel good about that, we make a good team but really cant understand HR thinking. I might have to bring it up to my manager after a few months and ask for a promo.

Priston

How long have you been at working at this place? Are they growing? If you've been there less than a year maybe they have some kind of policy regarding promotions and job changes within the first year. Maybe that senior role is simply what they were hiring for at the time.

TheFORCE

Been there only a few months, team had a total overhaul so it was being re-build so both positions were open when i applied and i originally applied for the position my coworker got, they felt i wasn't ready for it or was better fit with my current role compliance role while my coworker got the IR role. Then they had trouble filling the position, until i recommended to them my coworker, more emphasis was put on being a good fit with the team than anything else. So this is where me training my coworker for everything else will take place, so they will also now get experience to match mine. I dont mind really because ultimately we both benefit from this, as we have been working together in other companies for many years and we are a good team, i wont have any issues with them as we get along great. My gripe is with HR not understanding the value of experience and certs vs someone that has none.

ccie14023

Yes, and I have been the recipient of help as well. Oddly enough, the jobs I've found through friends have been the worst jobs, whereas the jobs I found on my own through recruiters (as with my present job) have been the best. Each hiring decision is an independent decision/negotiation between the hiring manager/HR and the employee. Oftentimes someone will get more salary or a better title for reasons that are somewhat baffling. I've often had scenarios where someone junior makes a higher salary than someone with a "senior" title, because the senior person had been around a while and was only getting his 3%, whereas the junior came in when salaries were high and negotiated a better deal. While there may been some comparison between the potential employee and current staff in terms of experience/salary, again, every hiring decision is independent and there can be a wide variation between seemingly equivalent employees/positions.

yoba222

Think of it as a favor that might reward you someday in the future.

networker050184

Perhaps you should ask your friend for some advice on negotiating!

Where is the hiring manager in all this? In my experience 99% of the time HR listens to the hiring manager as far as someone being hired on as senior or not unless they have some kind of hard degree requirement or something. Your gripe with HR may be a bit misplaced.

ITSec14

Agree with @yoba222...you helped them get a job. Those are the sort of things you get remembered for. Imagine if this guy goes on to start a company and becomes the next tech billionaire. He will probably think of you and extend the same hand you gave him. You just never how these gestures may come back and benefit you later on...

Who knows, maybe there is a unknown promotion waiting for you in the near future too.

volfkhat

networker050184 wrote: »

Perhaps you should ask your friend for some advice on negotiating!

Yeah.... what he said.

Sounds like your friend benefited from some Luck; Right place at the Right time.

But even with Luck... you still have to know how to negotiate...


on a tangent,
is this the same employer with that Bully (from a few months ago)?
If so, maybe it's a good thing to have a friend backing you up.

tunerX

I poach from my old companies. People who were doing well but could use upgrades in either salaries or responsibilities.

TheFORCE

volfkhat wrote: »

Yeah.... what he said.

Sounds like your friend benefited from some Luck; Right place at the Right time.

But even with Luck... you still have to know how to negotiate...


on a tangent,
is this the same employer with that Bully (from a few months ago)?
If so, maybe it's a good thing to have a friend backing you up.

No I left from the company with the bully dude. Joined a new company and we are creating a new team. You are right on the negotiations part. I didn't negotiate because i wanted to leave from the toxic place i was in at that time and didn't bother. In retrospect I should have negotiated a bit but I'm very happy where I am now and yeah maybe I'll get title again. The people are very good and they include me in all their meetings and are very helpful unlike the other place.

Btw my coworker didn't negotiate either, he was out of a job for half a year thats why i put in the good words to hire him.

UnixGuy

Not helping a friend, but it happened that when I applied there was only a junior position open (that title didn't include the word 'junior' so I didn't know it was meant as a junior), I took as it was a great opportunity. 2 months later a more senior role was advertised and they hired someone who is all talk and doesn't have anything, a good liar though.

So yes, sometimes the right job isn't advertised, but also I found that in some jobs a lot of people manage to lie their way through to just wing it without having the right experience, and they get away with it. While other jobs those people won't have a chance during the interview, and the jobs will test their real experience. We should aim for the second type of jobs ALL WHILE improving our negotiation skills.

One other note, when I applied for a job I coming from a position of weakness, so I was willing to accept what was on offer. If I was coming from a position of power, I would've chosen something and dictated my terms. Something to think about.