Being hired through connections isn’t a problem. Everyone talks about networking and “who you know” being important, but then turns around and complains when someone actually gets a job that way. If someone has the right skills and a connection helped them get their foot in the door, that’s just how the world works. It’s not unfair, it’s strategic. Companies hire people they trust, and trust often comes through recommendations. As long as the person is qualified, I don’t see the issue.
(yes i was watching misaeng before posting this 💀)
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Wouldn’t most people want to help their family or a friend if they had a chance to
Kind of unfair if they are judged on who they know rather than what their skills are.
It’s not a problem as long as the skills match the job requirements, it becomes a problem when people with little to no skill or expertise in the area get hired because they “know somebody”
I don’t like it because it knocks out people who are capable, but because they’re stuck in a bubble outside of the connections chain, it means they’re stuck in that bubble they were born into or have to rely on pure luck to get their foot in the door to a career that interests them. On the surface level, no it is not a problem, BUT, when it’s closing doors for others who don’t have much of an opportunity in the first place, THEN it becomes a huge issue.
It can be a strategy in the current state of the world but can still be unfair. They have a leg up on people who don’t have these connections, and that’s undeniable.
Being born into a rich family and having more opportunities doesn’t make you a bad person, but it’s hard to deny you’re essentially living on easy mode.
yeah but if you’re going to hire someone you know then at least don’t advertise the job and waste everyone’s time. its grating when you apply and interview just to see the nepo hire take the role.
Agreed. Something I’m about to say is even more unpopular though. I don’t even necessarily feel that hiring someone you know who doesn’t have the qualifications to be a bad thing. Look, it’s VERY hard to get yourself in the door at most places. They want people with experience, but how do you gain experience if nobody is willing to take a chance on you and give you an opportunity to learn/grow on the job? Hiring someone you know without the qualifications gives them an opportunity to gain proper qualifications. Not always a bad thing and really wish it isn’t viewed so negatively.
Noone said its a problem. People might get jealous but thats different than a problem
The issue people have is when people act like it didn’t benefit them in anyway. Being hired through connections is fine just own it.
I was in an industry (advertising) where people would skip uni and unpaid internships through connections then act like they didn’t skip 3-4 years of studying, unpaid work and shitty grad roles. Like just own that you essentially got a 5 year jump on everyone because your mum is bff’s with the manager or it’s your aunt whatever and established your reputation off name rather than hard work.
Like most of them were good at their job but they were defs ahead out of nepotism and given better opportunities for promotions from it but acted like only silly sausages actually went to study advertising and would make comment that it’s not an industry where a degree is needed. While their aunt who got them the job would refuse to give an internship to someone she doesn’t know or isn’t sent by a uni professor 😊
As long as the person is qualified, I agree with this. What I hate is when a person gets easy get-in, refuses to learn and work.
I simply ask you to look at the cabinet members of the current president. Everyone is unqualified and most got their jobs based on their campaign support.
It absolutely can be if you aren’t qualified for the position SMH
What people hate is nepotism. Eg. “I hire you because you’re my nephew’s friend.”
What’s good is networking. Eg. “I hire you because one of my good employees has worked with you before and said your work is great.”
If the person is qualified as you say, then sure.
But, we are living in an era where regardless of how much experience and education someone has.. they will likely fill out hundreds of apps and get half dozen interviews only to be rejected, and then later to follow up and find out someone with half the experience and education was chosen, despite those being the reasons cited for rejection.
I have accepted that life isn’t fair and who-you-know is a big deal. Having family connections, or connections you made because your family afforded you a good education around other affluent families is clearly an enormous advantage and one of the reasons class mobility is shitty.
What’s actually annoying is when those who benefit refuse to acknowledge it. I actually know someone who told me his dad gave him his first 2 jobs which lead directly to a cushy job he has now, but also that “he’s worked and grinded for everything and every opportunity he’s had”… Within the space of about a minute.
Just own it instead of bullshitting, that’s all. Don’t try to sell me on the idea that you rose to the top of a pure meritocracy, because it’s delusional, and the dissonance between it and what is clearly true hurts my mind and soul.
Another point I think that needs to be stated: people want to work with fun charming likable people. If your goal is building a team that works well together and is tight/ willing to help others in difficult situations, it makes sense to go with the person you know is a team player/has traits you’re looking for even if the experience needs developed. Connections can tell you that. I’m in social services/ public schools and my current job was offered to me on the spot because my friend works for my current company and a principal at my previous school was best friends with the supervisor who hired me. I’ve no doubt I interviewed well but I know what pushed me through the door is important people in the industry also advocating for me. It is not nepotism (no one in this industry is making great money); it is work history speaking for itself.
I guess everybody would if there was a chance.
The only people who are mad are jealous people who either have the connections but lack the skills, or people who have not developed any connections that have gotten them jobs.
Connections only open the door, it takes skills to get through the doorway.
It is if the person is unqualified for the job.
But if the person is qualified its not a problem.
That’s how I got my job
Everyone acts like nepotism is the greatest evil. Sorry but if I can help family I will. Nepotism is only annoying to me when nepo babies act like they didn’t get any help or when they get the position over someone way more highly qualified.
Right skills and qualifications… that’s the important part. It’s when connections are the only reason for hiring that others really take issue. When positions are manufactured, not out of need, but simply to get a family member an easy gig. Or when positions get reserved well in advance of a family member even qualifying for the job.
When people complain about this, they are saying the person doesn’t have the skills/experience (usually compared to someone who was available internally).
Sometimes the claim is like the current claims of “DEI hire!” – just a presumption that because connections helped land the job, the person is not fit for it.
I worked with a guy named Frank from 2007-2013. Fast forward a few years and he’s retired. I interviewed at my current company 3 years ago. Frank worked here but retired 6 months before I interviewed. My boss was also his boss, and saw that we had worked together before and called Frank, even though he was retired and I hadn’t listed him as a reference. I’m a hiring manager and would do the same thing.
Every person we have hired at my company that used a reference we personally knew and gave a good referral has worked out extremely well 90 percent of the time.
People who don’t who aren’t new to the industry, who have experience and not a referral worth mentioning are a crap shoot. Majority of them fall short, or completely overvalued their skill.
Are you sure, that if you need a job and someone offers it, you would say no?
It should ofcourse be someone with the right qualifications or at least able to do the job and wanting to learn.
>that’s just how the world works. It’s not unfair
You contradicted yourself in one sentence.
it’s not an issue because 9/10 times someone isn’t getting hired just because they know someone. They have to have a baseline skillset for the role.
A semi known entity takes away a lot of the risk of a total stranger being an idiot.
People who whine about this stuff are always incompetent
The problem isn’t people hired by connection, the problem is incompetent people being hired by connection. Someone who’s connection is high up in the company, so they’re department manager but they know less about the job than the 2 week new hire
I see so many people complaining about not being able to find work, and then it turns out all they’re doing is clicking Easy Apply on LinkedIn.
You absolutely must network if you want a halfway decent job. LinkedIn is part of that picture, but not all of it.
If they have the right skills, you are correct.
If they don’t have the right skills, then it is a problem.
So many people refuse to acknowledge that networking is a skill. Redditors love to talk about how they refuse to engage in small talk with their coworkers or attend happy hours after work, but they fail to realize how important they are to their careers
Jesus, have literally a single one of you ever been a boss before?
Nothing-nothing-causes you to lose respect among your staff than hiring less qualified people because they’re your pal or your brother and then treat them better openly than everyone else because they’re your pal or your brother.
an other thing is, I only help someone when I know the person is good at what they do ….
if someone is just shit. I wont recomend them or hire them,
i think the issue is more how someone made the connection and what opportunities they were given/born with to make that connection.
The problem is that often times the connection hire isint the most qualified applicant. The familiarity bias with the person obscures the hiring decision and skews the criteria away from pure merit. Not all the time of course but very common
That’s how i got over half of my jobs. Half the reason to hire someone is for if they can do the job, and the other half is because they will be easy to work with and not cause issues. Having someone put in a word for you on the second one can go a long way.
The problem is that most who needed connection are probably not the best candidate. Why people see it as an issue.
I mean, for many of us that’s a reasonable conclusion. But to suggest it’s not unfair is absurd. It absolutely advantages those who are connected, whose families are connected, whose wealth has bought them access to opportunities they wouldn’t get otherwise. So it’s both. There’s nothing wrong with using every ethical resource at your disposal to land a job, including connections. But pretending that it isn’t unfair, or that the scenario you presented isn’t ripe for nepotistic abuse is just silly.
I mean it’s absolutely a problem if you’re unqualified for the job lol. If you are qualified, the connection really only got you an interview, which is fine IMO.
I didn’t realize this was a controversial stance, half the people who work for my company were recommendations and they are all great.
Absolutely. Knowing the right people and getting the right connections is in itself a skill. That’s how business is done.
(Nepotism is a different thing, and that doesn’t take skill.)
Lots or companies even offer referrals for hire.
Knowing the right people is normal and good. Nepotism is when it’s an issue.
Being hired through connection should get you landed in gulag.
It’s not a problem until it ends up exclusionary/absolutely not merit based.
Let’s pretend that there are blue people and they own a majority of the businesses. So they hire other blues because they happen to know them. Then the greens have no jobs despite equal qualifications. The blues all feel like things are good and don’t see the problem.
Or Mr blue hires his son to lead the transportation of a country because he likes looking at trains. Then the transportation system collapsed because of shoddy leadership.
Your network is worth more than your resume. That statement has never been more true in 2025.
Why is this unpopular?
You should see how jobs in Africa are. You barely get hired unless it’s through connection or bribe. That’s a serious problem
Idk, I’ve been from a job before because I was bossing the boss around… Turns out when you hire a 19 year old girl with zero experience at any job of any kind to be the store manager it may be a bad idea? Not because she was mean or stupid but she had no business being in charge… I’m fairly certain she was sleeping with the owner (who was married) and that’s how she got the job. And surprise surprise, she has no clue what she was doing and I did so I bossed her around so my job wasn’t harder than it needed to be and she didn’t like that. Got me fired for stealing, in a shop that sells product I find disgusting, that totaled maybe 400 sq ft and had a dozen cameras covering every single angle of that bitch. Owner yelled at me and refused to show me on tape where I stole anything from there but fired me anyways.
Being hired through connection crashed and burned what should’ve been a profitable shop. After I left everything feel apart quickly and she also got fired. They closed up shop a couple months after…
Very much a problem
You said it: if someone has the right skills and connection helped them.
That is not a problem, that is how it works. But that’s also not what people complain about, you must have gotten something wrong there.
What people complain about is nepotism. If you get a job regardless of your skill because your uncle owns the company. That’s a problem.
I will never be a fan of cronyism or nepotism.
More often than not, that person is not qualified. Thats where the core of the complaint comes from.
I’ve never known anyone to complain about this. Like never heard it, even once. What does get complained about is if someone is hired for a job they aren’t qualified to do because they know someone, and that’s very different.
In my experience, it’s 20% what you know, it’s 20% who you know, and it’s 60% right time and right place.
Being available and ready to make the move when an employer is ready to offer is the biggest influence.
It’s scummy, it doesn’t give opportunities to people who actually deserve them
> Everyone talks about networking and “who you know” being important, but then turns around and complains when someone actually gets a job that way. It’s not unfair, it’s strategic.
Everyone walks about the hurricanes, earthquakes and diseases existing too, especially when it is affecting their life chances. That doesn’t mean they agree with it or approve it.
The way things are supposed to work is the best person for the job is given it, and that’s supposed to go on merit, not who your dad’s buddy knows at some company.
>that’s just how the world works. It’s not unfair,
The world also used to work based on whoever was best with a sword or fastest at pulling a gun would determine the right and wrong of any situation. And before that it was whoever was the biggest and strongest. Fortunatlely we’ve grown beyond that and no longer decide who lives in your house, who sleeps with your wife (or you) or who gets to eat based on brute strength.
>As long as the person is qualified, I don’t see the issue.
The only reason they need a “foot in the door” is because they are less qualified that other candidates. That’s the entire issue, its giving them an unfair and unjustified leg up at the expense of the company and other candidates who aren’t as connected as some privilidged brats.
No one cares how you got the job so long as you can do the job. The judgement comes from low value networking and nepotism putting people in positions they are not prepared for. Causing disruption and distrust on a much larger scale.
Yes it’s strategic but it IS also unfair. Like many others mention the skill sets behind the face matters above all. In a perfect world where there is a job open for everyone then it’ll be absolutely fair for you to be hired on the sole fact you were in the same fraternity or went to the same college.
I don’t have a problem with the socially favored candidate receiving the job if all other factors are similar;
I have a huge problem with the socially favored candidate receiving the job when they are unqualified in comparison to the competition, which is how it usually happens.
Not a problem for everyone else but for maximizing your business it can be a problem.
Every time you hire someone that someone knows or your own family youre cutting out someone in the world way more qualified from an opportunity to make you business better.
the anti-nepotism sentiment was pushed primarily by the religion that is most nepotistic
It absolutely is unfair. 2 people having equal skills and 1 getting the job because his dad works there is like the definition of unfair.
If its a deal that doesn’t involve others but the company and the person hired, people don’t tend to care as much. Its when these companies post active job filling posts, accept applications, go through interviews, all for someone who had connections with the company that was going to get the job from the start look better that people start getting pissed.
You see how you put “someone has the right skills”? That’s the issue. They usually don’t and are there to learn on the job while productivity suffers for everybody else who now have to teach the nepo hire.
I don’t know man. I never wanted to get extra benefits because of who my family knew. I would prefer to earn my own success. You do you though.
In my field it’s probably the case with most new hires that aren’t directly out of school.
Is it a problem is we only hire through connection??
It’s never been easier to build a network.
If you don’t even try then you have no business being angry at anyone but yourself.
They got a problem dating someone their friend introduced them to?
I agree, but the first step,qualifications, is essential.
If they are hired only for their connection, then is a problem for me
> Everyone talks about networking and “who you know” being important, but then turns around and complains when someone actually gets a job that way.
The same people promoting this aren’t always the people who have a problem with this. The issue I find with this is mainly when it comes to office politics and having those hires being subordinates essentially building a group of people to support being an unquestioned authority figure. It’s toxic and makes promotions, opportunities, raises more prone to being skewed due to the non-work relationship the “connection” may have with this person. This is especially true if you’re in an environment that touts merit based advancement.
I don’t get distaste for the person, I just laugh at the company for hiring a person who will underperform.
there are two problems::
So long as the person is competent. I’ve seen leaders or board members who bring on their people without any background, knowledge or skills related to the position just so they can take care of them.
No one cares if nepotism results in a good employee lol
It is when it trumps merit. I currently have a coworker who is THE WORST PERSON IVE EVER MET ON THIS PLANT. And she’s THE WORST at her job while criticizing everybody else. I work in special ed. She didn’t graduate college and has 0 experience in education. She was picked over somebody who not only has a masters in developmental psychology but has over 10 years experience in education. She was hired because her mom is admin. Nothing more. And that makes her untouchable. She SUCKS at work but somehow speaks the word of gospel about everybody else’s work ethic. She sets students off just so she doesn’t have to go places and will complain about other staff doing nothing at job sites with her.. while she does less than nothing.
There is EVERYTHING wrong with it if you’re inexperienced or just unqualified.
My nephew hired my son five years ago. My son was kind of rudderless and had gotten tired of working in the food service industry. But he was smart and had a work ethic.
Before the interview, I told him, “Your cousin is sticking his neck out for you. So don’t walk into that interview without having combed through their website and having 5-10 good questions. I’ll help you with those.”
My son went in there, aced the interview, and quickly started hitting his numbers. A year later, they sent him as part of a three-man team to bring a newly acquired company on board. And two years after that, they promoted him into a new position with a nice salary bump.
Connections get you in the door. Performance keeps you there.