Is everything all about the Who?

How many of us have heard this before when it comes to finding employment?

"It's not what you know, but who".

"It's not who you are, but who you know."

In essence, it's who you know. I struggled with this statement early in my career, because the message this sent to me was that it didn't matter what skills I picked up or how hard I worked, as long as I knew the right people who would vouch for me. And to a young programmer with a fragile ego, that grated. I wanted to be hired on the basis of my suitability for the job, not because someone in the organization knew my friend, or my parents. I felt that hiring should be based on merit.

I felt that people who put to much emphasis on who they know, neglect their own strengths while depending too much on the strengths of others. Like the proverbial fox borrowing the tiger's aura. I didn't want to be the fox. That was a fate worse than death. I wanted to be the elephant.

The tiger and the fox.

Later in my career, professional experience had tempered that youthful arrogance somewhat. I had cause to rethink that stance. Not only did I land some jobs through recommendations of people in my network, I landed them much faster than if I had gone through the traditional application process. There are reasons for that.

Saving Time

Unless the job requires a Liam Neeson-type character with a very special set of skills, chances are there are plenty of equally qualified candidates on the market at any time. Nothing about you stands out (and let's face it, if you were that stellar, those employers probably couldn't afford you) and it's hard to make a choice... unless you know someone that the employer knows. Then, all other things being equal, you just got bumped to the top of the list. It's not because you deserved it more than the others. It's just that you happened to be spoken of well by a person that the employer trusted.

Number one on a
stack of resumes.

I lost my job during the COVID-19 pandemic, and landed a new, higher-paying job barely two weeks after. This was almost unheard of, and it wasn't because I was some special talent. (I'm good, yes... just not that damn good.) An ex-boss had gotten me a job by recommending me for a position at his friend's company.

Hiring by reference speeds up the process significantly for both employer and employee. That's no small thing.

Motivation for better performance

When someone recommends you as a hire, they are sticking their necks out and risking their professional reputations for very little in return. Seriously, at the very most I'd buy these guys lunch. If the candidate whom they recommended performs poorly or exhibits any objectionable character traits, they take a hit because people are going to doubt their judgement from there onwards. Therefore, nobody of sound mind does these things lightly.

A friend once got me a job by recommending me for a position, some years ago. I bore this in mind; if I failed to impress, his professional reputation was at stake. Not only did I buy him lunch, I made damn sure I worked my tail off at my new job. Just to prove that even if my abilities weren't up to standard, my attitude definitely was.

Putting in the work.

Any employer who values hard work, as foolish as I find that notion, is going to want to take note of this. Hires by reference are more motivated to put in the work. Not because they like you, but because they like the person who recommended them.

Should we network, or not?

As mentioned before, someone who recommends you for a job risks taking a hit to their professional reputation if you screw it up. Thus, it follows that being able to get someone to take that risk for you, already speaks well to your professionalism. They obviously thought highly enough of you to take that risk, at least.

A black and white issue.

As such, it doesn't follow that people who benefit from connections are automaticallydeficient in some way, or that fox riding on the metaphorical coattails of that tiger. It's not that black-and-white. Unless you're one of those habitual name-droppers who base their entire self-worth around how many powerful people they know. But that's a whole other topic.

You can be good at your job and benefit from having influential people in your network. These two things are not mutually exclusive. In fact, we should probably start thinking of these two things as part of a whole. Professionals have to be good at their jobs and have a healthy professional network. These things are part and parcel of being a professional.

In short...

It's not always or only who you know. As a tech, your technical ability is important. It is equally true that having a healthy network of professionals in relevant industries who are willing to (sincerely) say good things about you, is just as important.

Both things can be true at the same time While it wasn't entirely my skills and experience alone that landed me the latest job, I did last four years in it, so far. Pretty hard to do if you're unqualified. Was I the best possible candidate? We'll never know. What we do know is that my current boss saved time interviewing a whole bunch of people and picked the one that his friend (my ex-boss) recommended.

And my boss hasn't, despite his patience occasionally being tried, had serious cause to think that hiring me was a bad decision.

   

Boo-who,
T___T