What You Should Keep in Mind if Hired Based on a Referral

You got referred to a job position in the company of your friend. It’s a great opportunity since you passed the interview. You are hired, and the new chapter of your life has just started!

While you're getting familiar with your tasks and responsibilities, you should consider certain factors that may present as challenges in your future career. Don’t worry - Roango will give you some great advice on how to act responsibly in challenges you might face.

So, fasten your seatbelt - let’s talk about the stuff you should keep an eye out for when hired based on a referral.

Let’s Talk About the Pitfalls

1.   Your referral is a slacker

Oh, no.

You are close friends with your referral, but you didn’t know the person is an office sloth. Now you know, and your reputation might be ruined because everybody knows the greatest slacker recommended you for the job. And now you need to prove yourself more than you imagined you would have to.

2.   Now they expect a lot from you

Considering you came highly recommended by your friend, they expect you to be good. No, they expect you to be excellent. Let’s not overexaggerate, your supervisors won’t expect you to turn water to wine, but the pressure of proving yourself is much greater because you want to justify your friend's trust in you.

3.   Independence games

You might not even be aware of it, but it could happen that you start being dependent on your referral or feel like you owe them a lot since they helped you get a job. These things don’t necessarily have to end up in the show of power play, but you can feel blocked (in a way) or simply rely on your referee too much. In addition to that, it doesn’t feel the same if you are referred by your close friend, a childhood friend you haven’t seen in 15 years, your partner, or probably the most challenging one -  the company's boss. Each of these situations can bring all sorts of (worst-case) scenarios, and affect the level of dependency you feel.

Nevertheless, don’t get scared - the benefits are still juicier.

Exploring the Rewards

1.   Insider knowledge

It does feel great to get the information in advance, right? Your referral will probably tell you all about the company culture, what your future bosses treasure in their employees’ work, what to be aware of, what to do, and what to avoid. You will learn how to manage easier than a person who is not even remotely familiar with the company.

2.   Mentorship

If you’ve hit the jackpot, your referral works in the same department as you, and they might even be your mentor. This could be a great chance for you because you’re probably getting both a teacher and a friend.

3.   Confidence booster

You can feel proud of yourself and confident because someone believes you are good and they decided to refer you to the superiors to help you get the job you want- plainly, they sort of praised you. The confidence you get from that might be a great motivation to perform even better and make new friends.

Do This

Now that we’ve listed all of the positive and negative sides, it’s time to talk about what to actually do when you get the position.

1.   Acquire allies & build relationships

Now that you’re new and your only acquaintance is your referral, you should definitely consider making some new connections. At least professionally. You will prove yourself to be a team player and will have support when you need it. Also, building strong relationships with your supervisors will prove to be useful when you decide to advance to the next level.

2.   Prove yourself & take action

No matter the pressure level, work hard, and prove yourself so that employees and management see you have your skills and motivation for the job - prove them your referral was right about your expertise.

3.   Get independent, but stay humble

This is a solution for the third pitfall we mentioned above. The point is -  you should avoid getting overly “attached” to your referral. Sure, they’ve helped you to get where you are now, but it is your job and your career path. It is normal to be a little bit dependent on them in the beginning, but stay motivated to abandon that behavior as soon as possible. Also, confidence is a bonus, and supervisors usually prefer it in their employees but steer clear from getting overconfident - that could seriously affect your reputation at work.

Don’t Do This

1.   Gossip and bad-mouth other employees

Ok, we know we can’t all love each other, but there should be some professionalism in the workplace. You will probably be tempted to get into various conversations of bad-mouthing certain employees with others. Just don’t do that. Worst case scenario, someone could have a loose tongue and get you into a very uncomfortable situation - and how would that look like for somebody who just got hired, especially based on a referral?

2.  Be late or miss the deadlines

Of course, nobody is perfect, and we all make mistakes - sometimes we oversleep, or something urgent happens and we miss the deadline. The point is, don’t let this happen to you. At least not in the beginning. It leaves a bad impression on you, and also builds bad habits - and you don’t want to be seen as unorganized or even worse, lazy and incompetent.

3.  Overuse phone for personal matters

If your bosses see you texting or making private calls often during office hours, they might think you lack focus and dedication for the job. If it isn’t urgent, try to keep it at a minimum.

Concluding Our Business

With all this information, you should be well-equipped to tackle any of the previously mentioned challenges. With this new insight, we hope you will follow your own instincts (and a bit of our advice as well) and succeed in your brand, new business endeavor - and launch your career even further!