What’s in a name? Not everything you might expect, experts say
You want that job with that great company and you have secret weapon: You know “that guy.” Which guy, you ask? You know, “that guy,” the company hero, the beloved manager or the genius analyst. So when do you pull out that card and drop the name that you know can get you the gig?
Well, depending on how you handle it, “never” might be the best time of all.
“If you have a great reference, you use that reference to get the interview, not score the job,” says Raven Vicone, a former HR specialist for Motorola and IBM. “Managers will accept the name of an applicant if it comes at the start of the hiring process but if you wait too long, you lose that opportunity.”
Leave the driver alone
In fact, Vicone says most hiring managers resent being told a certain candidate knows you-know-who once the application process has begun. “It’s someone putting their hands on the wheel, someone guiding these managers to a place they may not want to go,” she says.
Vicone compares that late-card strategy to a little league baseball team, a comparison she says that’s fresh on her mind after her 9-yearold son’s stint in a Sacramento, California, league this summer. “The players and parents know going into the season which kid belongs to the coach,” she says. “There’s no confusion and no issues. If it’s handled fairly, he’s just another player on the team.”
But announce that relationship a few games into the season? “Not fair,” she says. “The kids are all having fun and taking turns at different positions, then all of a sudden, they get leapfrogged by one of their friends and there’s nothing they can do.”
OK, not that great of an analogy, Vicone admits, but she says the point is valid. “Lay out your cards up front,” she says. “Don’t wait for a chance to drop some game-changing info on someone. This isn’t ‘Game of Thrones.’”
Some harm, some foul
There may be times when a last-minute name-drop isn’t welcome.
“Networking works best when you’re able to work with people you know who can help connect you to new opportunities,” says career adviser Pamela Lowell. “The entire process usually begins with networking. You try to cultivate a network that can help you get your foot in the door.”
If you wait too long, things can get messy. “If your dad plays golf with the CEO of a company you’re interviewing with, you might want to hold onto that information,” Lowell says. “Once it’s out there, you’ll be judged differently. People who you have yet to interview with may judge you as someone who is getting a shot simply because of who she knows. That can work to your disadvantage.”
Lowell says working your relationship with someone into a casual pre- or post-interview conversation is fine, as long as you’re not forcing the issue.
“Some managers like any dotted line relationship to the power brokers in their company,” Lowell says. “You have to feel a person out to determine whether or not they’ll be threatened or offended by your suggestion. And even if you think you know, it’s still a risk.”