Why isn't it easier to get former coworkers hired at my current company?

Question

I always hope that I can get friends of mine hired wherever I'm working. Some of these people I haven't worked with, and I refer them to submit a resume and go through the standard process. But quite often I have friends that I have worked with that are interested in joining my current company. Even though I can vouch for these people as being easy to work with, fun to be around, and remarkably talented, they are still funnelled through the exact same process that often ends with them being rejected.This experience has been consistent across multiple companies in my career. Why don't companies loosen their process based on strong referrals?

avipars · Accepted Answer

I've seen both perspectives.In a country like Israel, connections seem to go farther than skills and knowledge which is quite unfortunate.Just because you are smart doesn't mean your best friend is at the same level...I see it as taking a major shortcut and a huge negative if a company would let people's "friends" in the backdoor. Sooner or later, these employees would sell referrals to their company to strangers....

JSeymourATL · Answer

> They are still funneled through the exact same process that often ends up with them being rejected.
You can always count on Human Resources mucking up hiring good people.
That’s why we have a ‘Talent Shortage’.
If the actual Hiring Manager has any true authority—- tell them to interview these individuals directly.
Leave HR to handle administrative details.

dv_dt · Answer

What size of company are you working with - my last couple of startups were almost all hires that started with recommended past experiences from the earlier employees. Companies do have to follow equal opportunity laws though - so some standard process has to apply.