Friends Help Friends Find Jobs: Learning How It Really Is

Monster, HotJobs, CareerBuilder, Dice, SimplyHired, etc. etc. are all great but when the rubber hits the road, it’s friends that will help you beyond all other sources when it comes to finding you a new job. I’m switching jobs in a few weeks and this is all possible because of the referrals from my friends. Having a friend on the “inside” helps you get into the door, helps you navigate the interview process, and gives you, hopefully, their honest opinion of what it’s like to work there. All three parts are critical because while the job may pay better, the work environment may not be a good fit. This is the last article of this brief series and explains why it’s so important for your friends to give you an honest opinion of the company.

It’s hard to really know what it’s like to work at a company before you actually work there. If you look at the classic stereotype (Dilbert-esq world) of a defense contractor, you’ll see a company that’s consistently late, under delivers and is always over budget. In actuality, we’re talking billion dollar contracts with decades long lifecycles and some very hard working people turning that mouse wheel of progress. I’d like to see you build something new on the first try while sticking to a arbitrary schedule and arbitrary cost. You can’t just order satellite parts off Amazon, you need to build them. The only way you know what’s it’s like is if you’ve worked there… so that’s why you need your friends to tell you.

Friends will also tell you all that nice useful benefits information that isn’t included in the offer package. How long does it take to get a promotion? What do you need to do or demonstrate? How is the performance evaluation done, how does it actually work? What are the real work hours like? How are the people in this group? These are all good questions and many of which you can’t ask your recruiter or interviewer but you can certainly ask your friends.

For example, at my new company a promotion from a level 2 to a level 3 gives you an extra week of vacation as well as a 10-15% increase in pay. At my old company, you don’t get anything from the same promotion. That information isn’t included in any documentation that I’ve received… it’s from personal experience and from my friend.