Referrals vs. The “RIGHT” Person for the Job

Nov 2011 Joe Plocharczyk, Pine Lake Solutions

Since moving to Milford, Connecticut (from NYC and Brooklyn, basically to the suburbs) I’ve been looking for a good tailor (summer / fall weddings and all), but instead of Googling, I decide to first ask my co-workers and friends to see if they know a good tailor; when that turned up empty I went to Yelp and read the reviews of various tailors which only perpetuated my confusion because I didn’t know who’s opinion I could trust. So, instead of getting my suits tailored I still bring it up in conversations occasionally and I found myself asking people I just met to see what they thought. Then it came to me, I will never find a tailor unless I try a few out and made an opinion for myself. This got me thinking about the hiring world and how referrals are generally considered as the “in” candidates are looking for to get into a new position.

Referrals as a Filter

As a hiring manager, you often rely on referrals as a filter. An outside connection from someone on your team, someone you were introduced to by a friend, a referral from someone outside your team to a candidate or even a recruiter that a colleague of yours used in the past to find candidates.

In other words, you are using your own network as a filter to add similar connections into your network – thus, really not expanding your network in the first place. The stronger the connection that introduces you to the candidate, the higher the likelihood that you will hire the candidate and ignore red flags that could surface in the interview process. I trust “Joe” (no subliminal context intended), therefore I trust you.

As much as everyone talks about the value of referrals, you should also look at the possible damage you might be doing. How much better will you and your team get if they’re working with the same people that they’ve worked with in the past?

Group Cohesion

This is called group cohesion. Independent thinking and creativity are completely lost in group cohesiveness. The positive of group cohesion is that they are generally safe and/or balanced decisions. The negative is that you’re not forcing yourself outside your comfort zone. This just screams that you’re caught up in trying to not make the wrong hire as opposed to making the best hire.

And what happens when you get introduced to a candidate or a recruiter calls you without a prior introduction from a trusted source? You do some research on the person to see if there is anything out there that will help you make a decision on whether to move forward or to kill the relationship before it starts. The world of social networking makes it easy to find this information out. Again, the days of making a decision without consulting the masses are over. I always check Yelp before trying a new restaurant to see if I’m making the right reservation but reading the reviews just lists a few different, isolated opinions that end up causing confusion to the whole thing.

Be a Leader

If you’re a hiring manager, be a leader – trust your instincts before anyone else’s. I’m not saying to discount referrals, I’m simply stating that when evaluating how to fill your position, try to add something new to your network. You might be pleasantly surprised by the outcome and in turn, grow your skills as a leader.

In my case, I might just run across the best tailor in Milford CT or it may come to me if I keep my eyes, mind and ears open.