I Recommended a Great Candidate to Another Company. Was That the Right Thing to Do?

Inc.’s Ethics columnist weights in on a sticky hiring question.

EXPERT OPINION BY MINDA ZETLIN, AUTHOR OF ‘CAREER SELF-CARE: FIND YOUR HAPPINESS, SUCCESS, AND FULFILLMENT AT WORK’ @MINDAZETLIN

A Reddit member writes: She was a technical artist on my team before we got shut down. Genuinely good, learning fast, writing code on top of her art work. When we closed I was hiring at the next place and she applied. But I also knew a studio that was a better fit for where she wanted to go, so I recommended her there too.

She took the other job. Told me later she was surprised I’d done it.

Getting someone the correct job matters more than

Getting someone the correct job matters more than getting them onto my headcount. But I won’t pretend it didn’t sting a little. What do you think? Was it a good thing to do?

What an interesting question! The quick and easy answer, and the one most commenters chose is: yes! You helped someone land in the place that was just right for her. And as several people noted, that could serve you well in the future. You have earned her trust and respect, and she will likely look to return the favor someday.

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One commenter raised a thought-provoking question, though. Should your loyalty lie with this former employee, or with your employer? If your greatest loyalty is to the company you work for, you did that company a disservice by sending a talented re

The person who raised this objection was speaking

The person who raised this objection was speaking from personal experience. As a manager, they once had an employee who was badly underpaid for his skill set. Then they learned of a better opportunity for him at a client company. They wanted to help this employee move into the other, better-paid role. But their boss dissuaded them, saying that their job was to do what was best for their own company. Ultimately, this manager came to agree with their boss that keeping the employee in his role was the right thing to do.

Should you be loyal to the person or the company?

So there’s the ethical dilemma. Is it better to do what’s best for your former employee, or what’s best for your current employer? I think reasonable people can disagree about this. But I believe we can and should be loyal both to the people we work with and the institutions we work for.

Source: www.inc.com