Friends/family asking for job at my company, what do you tell them?
A friend hit me up asking for a sales job at Salesforce. I'm an engineer, know nothing/nobody on sales side, but I imagine the barrier to entry in sales here must be pretty high. Pretty sure she isn't qualified and don't want to waste anybody's time referring an unqualified candidate. Do you guys get friends/family who assume that if you work there they might have a shot too and ask for referrals? What do you tell them?
I'd ask them to look up on the careers page to see anything that interests them. If yes, I'd encourage them to apply online. If they're expecting you to get them a job, I'd tell them the most I can do is put their resume in the system, and encourage them to do the same research as above.
I use this approach as well, especially for people I’m not comfortable in putting forward for whatever reason
If I think they are generally smart (even without the YOE or super relevant experience) I just put them in the system, in case they do get hired, even for a different role. Like recruiters might know a better fitting job for them based on YOE and experience down the line and you still get credit for referrals. But for someone actually who I find pretty stupid (lacks common sense) in general, I say I put them in the system but actually don’t. This is after I “forget” to respond and get followed up. I used to tell them, “happy to refer but don’t think this is a fit based on your YOE or experience” etc but they never appreciate my time spent giving this thoughtful answer and become bitter, so I don’t share my opinion unless specifically asked. For people who I want to actually help, I go all out, reaching out to the recruiter myself to see what levels they are targeting, how far they are with other candidates, who they might be looking for, etc.
If you don't know anything about sales, how can you tell they aren't capable of clearing the hiring bar? I usually give such people 1 chance; if they blow it, then that's the end of referral road.
barrier to entry in sales is high? barely need a G.E.D. Maybe recommend them to an entry level position.
You sound so full of your self dude. When It comes to family or close friends I usually let the process decide if they’re qualified or not.
We don’t hire relatives 🥳
Chill dude, it’s Salesforce not FAANG 🤣
Let the recruiter and hiring manager figure out. Submit "referral" and say don't have first hand info about their work. Some companies let you submit leads vs. referrals etc.