Work through connections. Work under patronage

For some reason, many people are biased towards finding a job with the help of relatives and friends. It is believed that cronyism during employment will not bring anything good either to the one applying for a vacant position or to the one who hires " good man"to a "warm place." Indeed, some difficulties may arise. For example, it is often difficult for a newcomer to join the team. Office residents may suspect that the employee did not get the job thanks to his professional qualities, but only because of family ties with the authorities. Those who help their relatives find a job also often experience fears: what if the person you recommended turns out to be incompetent, and then you will certainly be accused of nepotism. And it is not always easy to fire an unwanted relative - this can negatively affect family relationships. But, despite these fears, finding employment through acquaintances has many advantages. For example, if the applicant has no work experience, finding a good place without connections can be difficult. In addition, by involving relatives in the job search, in addition to your resume, you get good recommendations. Perhaps, other things being equal, it is your friend’s guarantee that will play a key role, and the choice will be made in your favor.

Anyone who hires a loved one for work receives a loyal and reliable employee as a reward for his kindness - who else can you rely on in difficult times if not a friend or relative?

In general, employment through connections has both advantages and disadvantages. And it is entirely within your power to ensure that you get only the pros and avoid the cons.

Who are you from?

The correct line of behavior primarily depends on what position the patron and protégé occupy.

The boss is a subordinate. If fate has given you a leadership position, try to objectively evaluate the efforts expended by your protégé and evaluate them adequately. Even if the business situation requires additional labor costs, you should not think that all of them should fall on the shoulders of your friend or relative. If you act as a subordinate, do not try to gain any privileges through family ties with your boss. Maintain subordination, do not expose family or friendly relations with the boss to the attention of the team - familiarity is inappropriate in the presence of strangers!

Mentor - trainee. This situation is typical if yesterday’s student gets a job under patronage. Then the one who found a place for the former student often becomes his teacher. If you act as a mentor, your task is to teach your protégé to work, and not to protect him from the hardships and hardships of office life. Therefore, do not hesitate to load the newcomer with work and do not be lazy to give him the necessary explanations. Then soon you will turn from an incompetent trainee into a full-fledged employee. If a beginner with no experience is you, do not try to force your mentor to do all your work, do not shift responsibility for mistakes made onto him and do not be afraid to ask questions!

Equal partners. Family relationships at work are often very useful when the business is just beginning to be built and outsiders do not have much faith in success. Who, if not a close person, is capable of working for a long time with full dedication, understanding the need to spend evenings, and sometimes even weekends, at work? However, there is a danger that the boundary between family and production relations will gradually begin to blur. And then office disagreements can affect friendships or family ties. So try to approach family conflicts more consciously. Ask yourself: what is really causing your dissatisfaction? Maybe it would be better to discuss this during a work meeting? Just don't get too personal. Close people know better than others the weak and strengths each other. You don't need to use your knowledge to solve work issues.

Alla Reed, singer:

I have a good attitude towards working through connections. In my opinion, it’s no secret to anyone that everything always happens through friendship and good acquaintances, that is, through connections. There is nothing criminal about this.

Relatively recently, one respected sociological agency conducted a survey of Ukrainians on how they look for work, and it turned out that about 85% are looking for work through friends or acquaintances. Most likely, this is what happens. In life, I had to hire and fire people in different ways, and therefore it is quite possible to agree with people’s opinions regarding job searches. But why does this happen? We can’t say that this is a scientific study, but it’s worth saying a few words about why hiring through acquaintances is so popular in Ukraine...

There are several reasons for this.

Everyone understands that in their resumes people try to embellish themselves, and even more so their work successes. There is nothing surprising or wrong about this. Everyone does it. But some Ukrainians are so carried away by this embellishment that it is difficult to assess the qualifications of the applicant at all. Because if you read individual resumes for the job of a cashier in a bank, you might think that the applicant had previously worked at least as a top manager of the bank.

Very often we have a position and functional a person's responsibilities are not the same. It happens that in order to increase the salary of a good specialist, they give him a leadership position such as head of a department or head of a sector. In reality, he is not a leader of any kind, because he has no one subordinate to him, he himself is subordinate to his direct superior. And after reading the resume of such a pseudo boss, you can simply make a mistake in the selection of personnel. And it's good if he at the interview honestly admits that he has no experience in leadership work. But there are cases when a person deliberately keeps silent about this fact, and when you hire him to the position of even a small boss, problems begin out of the blue.

We have a lot of personnel and recruiting agencies. But finding a good recruitment agency is even more difficult than finding a good specialist. If you need specialists in simple professions such as a cashier, credit officer or accountant, then recruitment agencies, they can really help here. But if a specialist needs a more complex qualification, which requires the ability to make decisions independently, then recruitment agencies are of little help. History knows such a case: some very respected people decided to hire a mid-level specialist through a cool recruiting agency. And indeed such a specialist was found, all tests were carried out and interviews, but in the end, with great difficulty, these respected people endured the found specialist for a three-month trial period and flatly refused to sign a permanent contract with him. And then he sued them for another six months for lost profits and moral damages, citing an agreement with a recruiting agency. It’s difficult to say who is more to blame for the miscalculation here, but after this, respected people avoid various types of recruiting agencies.

Before hiring a person, they always try to find out more about him from other people. But our system of recommendation letters is not suitable for this. Very often these letters of recommendation do not reveal anything, and one gets the impression that they are all written as carbon copies. Therefore, most often you give preference to a candidate if a person you know can tell you about this person. And in this case, unreasonable praise and excessive admiration cannot be avoided. But in general, some information about the applicant can be obtained. One very smart person said: “If you know this person’s weaknesses, hire him without any problems - you know the most important thing about him, and the rest does not matter.” Maybe he's right. All people have shortcomings, and there is nothing worse than dealing with a person about whom nothing definite can be said, and you don’t know what can be expected from him.

Whatever they say, the ideal option is if you have the opportunity to take a closer look at the person while working at the same place. Then both the weaknesses and strengths of a person are visible, and no resumes are needed. The best option is if the applicant has been working in a team for many years, starting from lower positions. In this case, you understand what can be expected from this person, what can be entrusted to him, and what should never be entrusted.

Anyone looking for a job thinks that it is difficult to find a job. Those who are hired suffer even more when looking for the right specialist. The problem is eternal

Often, when you come to work and see a new person there, you ask your colleagues: “Who is this?” And in response you hear a dismissive: “They took it through connections.” Nowadays, social and family connections at work are not uncommon, and the word “blat” has long ceased to be a dirty word.

There are many examples, and each of us has come across them: a husband and wife are the owners of a company, a father and son are employees of the same company, a mother and daughter working hand in hand at the same enterprise, etc. It is clear that now it is not easy to find a job that would suit you in all respects: location, position, salary, prospects, etc. Therefore, many people find jobs through acquaintances or using family connections, quite rightly believing that this search option is the most profitable for them.

Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, this practice was strongly criticized and it was considered unacceptable for a person to work together with a relative. However, in the early 90s, in the wake of perestroika, when various companies began to be created that instantly grew, their owners appointed people from their own families to leadership positions in their businesses. Now in many large companies such connections are strictly controlled, and, moreover, from January 1, 2008, an amendment will come into force prohibiting relatives from working in management positions at the same enterprise.

IS IT GOOD TO WORK TOGETHER?

On the one hand, such an amendment is really necessary, since family ties of employees have their own disadvantages. Firstly, when working in one place, relatives, be it husband and wife or brother and sister, without noticing it themselves, transfer their personal relationships to work, and vice versa, work relationships overlap with their personal lives. And this has a very detrimental effect on relationships, especially relationships between spouses. On the way to work and home, during the lunch break, at dinner and breakfast, they discuss work, and at work they often sort things out among themselves. Such quarrels can also affect the team, which, seeing tension between a pair of employees, instinctively takes one of the warring sides for itself, thereby further inciting hostility. Therefore, in countries such as the USA, collaboration spouses in the same department is strictly prohibited and one of them must leave his post. In Russia this is possible, but not everywhere. For example, in large banks the joint work of relatives is prohibited, and the security service carefully monitors this. But in small company working hand in hand with a relative is quite common.

Secondly, when going to work for his relative-manager, the second relative-subordinate can immediately feel the distrustful attitude of his colleagues. And it will be justified. Who knows what prompted the boss to put “his own” in this place. Maybe he wants to receive information about who is doing what at his workplace, or maybe this “new guy” is going to “sit on” an old experienced worker? Of course, no one takes into account that that relative may simply need a job to earn a living.

However, you can look at family ties from the other side and find a lot of positive aspects. When hiring a relative, the boss understands that in him he receives a faithful comrade-in-arms and assistant in all the vicissitudes of his activities. In addition, it is easier to explain something to “one of our own” and to entrust something to someone. Therefore, it is easier for a new relative to get up to speed, understand the essence of the process and quickly get involved in it. As for trust, this issue is indisputable. Almost any boss, if his company is free leadership position, will take his relative or acquaintance to it, so that he always has a person at hand on whom he can completely rely. The same person who was hired for such a position, in turn, will feel more protected, feeling the patronage of his superiors. However, an experienced businessman will willingly hire “one of his own” for such a position only if he has the qualities necessary for successful work.

FEATURES OF "BLATT" WORK

The peculiarities of employment “through connections” include the fact that when applying for a job, a person receives a 100% guarantee that no matter the outcome, he will be provided with a job. Feeling the patronage and help of a relative, the “thieves” employee will behave more confidently and bring new ideas to the team that will work for the development of the business.

About the “warm place” in lately many people dream. Patronage, growth prospects, acceptable wages, a certain position in the team, some concessions - what could be better! All these moments are included in the concept of a “warm place”, so desirable for any employee. However, it is worth saying that, despite the “clan” and “warm places”, many people achieve success in their profession. They start working from scratch, without counting on help from above, and completely rely on their potential, strengths and capabilities.

Of course, you can prove yourself in a “warm place”, but the idea that everything you have achieved is only your merit and now you are considered an advantageous relative, friend and buddy, and they turn to you for help in finding a job, is much more valuable .

According to experts, about 60% Russian companies Today they select their personnel mainly with the help of friends, relatives and their own employees. The situation is slightly different in foreign companies: only 20% of them welcome this approach. In addition, according to sociologists, about 60% of graduates educational institutions get a job through patronage: through relatives or friends. But can this be called hiring “through connections”? And if so, how to evaluate this phenomenon: as a relic of the past or as fully motivated actions of employers? Let's try to understand these issues.

First, let’s find out what “hiring through connections” means. The roots of this phenomenon go entirely back to Soviet times. At that time, it was possible to get a good position, from government agencies to shops, only with someone’s help. Those who did not have this very “connection” worked in places that were not prestigious, received a small salary and did not even dream of any career growth. That is, selection for vacancies then took place mainly not according to professional criteria, but according to the criteria of nepotism and clannishness. And there was no competition at all!

Thus, we can derive an approximate definition of hiring “by pull”: a person is hired not because he is an excellent professional suitable for a given vacancy, but because someone asked for him, who for certain reasons cannot be refused. So, the primary criterion is subjective, personal, and the secondary ones are all the rest.

Is this happening now? In what areas are professionalism and personal qualities relegated to the background, and cronyism comes to the fore?

Firstly, this state of affairs has remained in all types of government agencies. All kinds of “open personnel competitions” that these organizations hold are in fact a fiction. According to experts, such competitions are accompanied by a lot of propaganda hype (articles in the press, stories on TV news, etc.), but are launched solely for image purposes. That is, government agencies are simply trying to create an image of “openness and accessibility for the people.” However, the probability of winning such a competition is minimal, since all places are usually allocated in advance and “strangers” are clearly not welcome there!

Secondly, approximately the same situation arises in many budget offices. With one exception: outsiders may well get there, but only if none of the relatives and friends, “their own”, lays claim to this place. But here career growth for people coming from the street, it is difficult or completely excluded. " Say thank you for being hired at all, sit quietly in your place and don’t rock the boat.”- this is how they treat “outsiders” there.

Thirdly, positions in various foundations and parties. Only friends and relatives “sit” on them. Or relatives of friends... Or friends of relatives... In general, “strangers” have no place there either.

Fourth- in very rare cases! - in Russian business structures. In order for a commercial organization to hire a person solely “through connections,” that is, without looking at his professional qualities, very compelling reasons are needed. Yes, management or company owners sometimes do this, but this is the exception rather than the rule. In principle, an employee can be accepted based on this criterion in two cases: either he has the necessary connections for the business, or someone asked for him and it was impossible to refuse him. According to experts, “blat” in business is a pass to the company, but nothing more, and it does not affect career growth in any way. Moreover, such people in modern commercial structures a little, and they usually move horizontally, moving from company to company in equal positions. Although there are exceptions. In principle, everything depends only on the person himself. If he demonstrates his professionalism and good personal qualities, he may well achieve a lot in the organization.

Let's summarize some results. Yes, today hiring is practiced “through connections”, but only in government agencies and budgetary organizations. This approach is not typical for Russian business structures. This is even less typical for foreign companies, working in Russia. In many of them, on the contrary, it is considered bad form to try to get a job for someone you know, and even more so for your relatives. Let me give you a real life case. A friend of mine’s sister works in the Russian representative office of a large American corporation, and not in an ordinary position. About six months ago, this friend of mine found himself without a job and was actively looking for one. During the search process, he learned that the above-mentioned representative office was looking for a specialist for a vacancy specifically in his profile. The working conditions and wages were simply excellent! He immediately asked to help him get a job in their office, to which he received a laconic and firm answer from his sister: “No! This is not accepted among us...” And it wasn’t that the sister didn’t want to help him, she just really couldn’t do anything: if she had come to the HR department with such a request, they simply wouldn’t have understood her!

These are the conclusions drawn. So the figures given at the beginning of the article speak exclusively of the fact that the selection of candidates through acquaintances, relatives and one’s own employees is the main channel for finding employees for many companies. But this is by no means the main criterion! All candidates undergo a competition and are selected solely on their professional qualities. And this no longer corresponds to the definition we derived and is not hiring “through connections.”

However, there is also a fly in the ointment. Everything written above is typical only for large cities with a developed labor market. The situation is completely different today in most regions. After all, unemployment is still one of the most current problems Russian province. And besides, the share of government agencies and all kinds of budget offices there is much higher. A commercial organizations- These are mainly small family businesses where outsiders are not needed at all. Therefore, in the regions, hiring “through cronyism”, and even for bribes, is one of the main forms of employment. Therefore, excellent specialists, especially young ones, cannot find work without family ties and patronage. So most of them go to large cities, where their future career depends solely on their personal qualities and determination. And they do it right!

And in conclusion, I would like to say that hiring “through connections” is exclusively a relic of the past. Which is a “reality of our time” in a number of Russian structures and in the Russian outback. But we sincerely hope that over time there will be nothing left of him. And all people will have equal starting opportunities. And their career will be derived solely from their professionalism and business qualities!