A friend and former coworker applied for a job in my group. If I was in charge I would hire him without an interview. He’s very well qualified for the job.
Does it make sense for me to take part in a group interview of him? I don’t think anything he says will change my mind that he should be hired. I suppose I could just sit back and only ask him a few questions.
Yes. Then you’ll be in position to comment on his interview.
Only if you divulge your relationship with him prior to the interview.
Personally, if I respected you, I’d take your recommendation over an interview any day.
They are well aware he’s my friend and former coworker.
Company policy requires interviews for any open spot.
Depends on the procedures at your company. From my experience:
In corporations with strict interview procedures, the normal practice is to inform the other interviewers “this person is personally known to me, so I won’t participate in the interview” but when it comes to candidate selection, you can add your personal recommendation.
In smaller organisations, ask the owners/hirers what they think, and if they would accept your recommendation and/or if you should participate in the interview.
If you own the company and you respect their abilities, who needs an interview?
By the way, this can backfire. I got a friend a job at a company via recommendation - I’d seen his work and it was exceptional when he applied himself - but I’d never worked with him before. Turns out he was a nightmare to work with, antagonised the management, goofed off big time, and eventually got fired. It was extremely embarrassing for me and pretty much wrecked our friendship.
Attend the interview so you’ll at least be privy to what was said. Use it as an opportunity to showcase your friends skills/talents/aptitude for the job. If nothing else you can always lob a couple easy, flattering questions if his(her) nerves suddenly get the best of him and he unexpectedly starts to crash and burn.
The guy is Phi Beta Kappa and a super hard worker. If he’s hired he won’t make me look bad. I was actually his boss for 5 years.
If you interview him I would recommend you ask the same questions as you ask everyone else.
^This.
I was in this situation last year and I disclosed my friendship with the candidate and asked not to be on the interview panel. I reasoned that she was good enough to get the job on her own merits anyway, and nobody could then claim that I had been biased in her favour. And if she couldn’t persuade the panel of her merits, then so be it.
But she was clearly an excellent candidate and did get the job.
Then yes. Your presence will provide information about how he’ll interact with you if and when he’s hired, which is relevant. And you’ve already disclosed the relationship, and it’s company policy so it’s got to be done. Now, what I’d ask you to do is keep an open mind: if someone else turns out to shoot y’all out of the water, well then…
I’m remembering this one time I was in a small project and the customer’s general manager realized it would be best to hire an engineer to be In Charge of data collection, cleansing and load checks. He asked the department managers whether they knew any unemployed engineers who would fit the bill, people with good attention to detail. One of the managers hesitated. “Yes, Jeremy?” “Well, I know someone but…” “But?” “Well, she’s my sister in law, so it could be considered nepotism, you know.” “Is she good?” “Oh yes, her GPA is a lot better than mine, and it wasn’t even better because some of the teachers were chauvinist pigs.” “OK, so?” “So, she’s my sister in law!” “Is that a personality defect now?” “Only in that if she comes she’ll be staying with us during her probationary period and I won’t be able to wear just my underoos around the house :(” “Then I’d like to have her resume in my table tomorrow morning, thank you. I’m sure you’ll survive three months of keeping your trousers on.”
She was indeed very good, by the way.
I was in exactly the opposite position - a friend recommended me for a job at his firm, and excused himself from the interview on the grounds that he had nothing more to add at the interview stage.
I got the job.
I’d say no. If you’re involved in the hiring process, your friend might have to deal with future accusations that he got hired through favoritism. You can offer your opinions to the people who will be doing the interviews but don’t participate in the decision making.