Why does this require a blog post I though this was obvious to everybody.

A recommendation from a friend will outweigh any bullshit a founder will spew at you.

Actually selling at that point is counter productive since if you are trying to sell too hard he will get suspicious.

If someone is _solely_ working at company because their friends work there, it can be a fragile engagement. What if one or more of their friends leave, or worse, are fired?

(Notice the emphasis on solely; obviously having your friends working at a company is a plus, but should not be your complete basis for working somewhere)

Of course it's fragile attachment to friends and family in a company can be more motivating then any speech a founder can give.

You are a lot more motivated to give it your all when you know a friend or family member is relying on you then some random strangers you happen to work with.

You can't have a united, motivated team that you can chop up however you like without consequences.

I think the author is pointing out that an applicant is more likely to believe that a job is interesting and a company is good to work for if their friend works there and is recommending it. So, those other things are taken into account, but the interviewer's view of them isn't necessarily important to the applicant.

This jibes with an anecdote in "Peopleware". A client staffed new projects by posting them internally where anyone could apply. The authors studied how projects were chosen by applicants, because the client was worried that important (but non-interesting) projects, would not get staffed.

Being friends with an existing team member was more predictive of choice than project interest, and for many of the reasons the OP's article cited (job satisfaction and trust)

It's hard to put faith in what someone during an interview is saying. It's a sales pitch on both sides of the table. This guy already had the inside scoop on what "a day in the job" was like and he was already sold.

Hi contactmatts,

I am the author of the post. You raise a valid point.

Just having your friends work there shouldn't be the only reason, but them working there and being happy is a good proxy for the work and the company.

Re: friends leaving, if you review the research in the post, it suggests that like refer like, i.e. your best performers will recommend others at a similar level. It's also symbiotic in that the presence of friends makes them stay longer.

Of course nothing is guaranteed. This approach just reduces the odds of disappointment on both sides.

Shailesh

I'm simply glad you turned your thinking around. I've applied at startups and other companies that seem disappointed I can't immediately point out for which team or project I'd like to work for. My friend referred me in and assures me the work is interesting. I am here because I trust their judgement.

To me, the job interview is a mutual interview, i.e., I am interviewing the employer while they interview me. And when it comes to deciding on teams/projects, I use the probationary period as if it were an extra due diligence after the interview to decide if the work is interesting (much as the employer gets the time to decide if I really am a good fit and productive).

I think many people have been sold by founders and interviewers on the greatness of a set of projects only to find the scope or robustness of those projects to be much less.

Thanks for the post.

I don't want to detract from what you are saying but you have a few typos in the article.

at one point you have "star-up" and in the very last sentence, "complement" should be "compliment."

Thanks much! Fixed.