Connections in the Company: Good or Bad?

by | Apr 24, 2017 | Blog | 827 comments

In the  1990s, one of the top pharmaceutical companies located in Makati, Philippines posted an advertisement on the major newspapers.   The job opening was for an HR Assistant. The requirements were the following:

1.      A graduate of psychology, or any behavioral sciences courses

2.      With HR experience, but not required

3.      Fresh graduates are invited to apply

Cindy was a fresh graduate of psychology from a government school in the Philippines.
When she saw the advertisement, she immediately prepared a resume and supporting documents
like her transcript of records (TOR) and NBI clearance, even if these were not mentioned in the
ad.

She went to the company’s office on Monday for the screening of applicants. She

dressed conservatively.   She brought along a blazer in case the temperature in the room became cold, as is the case in most air-conditioned facilities of big companies.

As she approached the office, she was amazed to see a line of people outside the gate of
the building.   She thought that the people were a mix of employees and applicants but she was
wrong—they were all applicants for the HR Assistant job and they were more than a hundred!

That’s a lot of applicants for one job opening! Cindy was thinking of backing out, but since she was already there, she decided to take her chances and observe what would happen.

All applicants were requested to enter the company’s auditorium.   They submitted their
resumes after entering the facility.    When all applicants were seated, the recruitment officer
introduced herself and gave an overview of the company and the flow of the screening process.

There were three steps:

1. All applicants will introduce themselves by stating their name and the school where

they graduated.

2. Applicants will have the chance to ask questions about the nature of the job.

3.  All applicants will take an intelligence test administered by the HR Officer and her

three staff.

4. The recruitment team will provide final announcements at the end of the screening

process.

While the introduction was ongoing, Cindy noticed that the recruitment officer was
segregating the resume based on what the applicants stated. Cindy’s seat mate told her that the
resumes were being segregated based on the school of the applicant.  Resumes of all graduates of
private schools were in one tray and those from graduates of government schools are placed in
another tray.

For the question and answer portion, the applicants’ queries revolved around how soon the results would be released, how applicants will be informed, and whether there were any other job vacancies in the company.

The 30-minute intelligence test was then conducted.   For Cindy, it was easy and not a
challenge.   During college, she took the subject psychometrics and tried all types of industrial
tests so she knew the answers.   Psychometrics is a field of study concerned with the theory and
technique of psychological measurement (National Council on Measurement in Education).

After the test, the recruitment officer announced that qualified candidates will be notified
for the final interview by the requesting department.  She thanked them and wished them luck.

Cindy’s seat mate, who was a graduate of a government school, became her friend.  They chatted while leaving the office building and had lunch together before they separated.   They exchanged information of the companies that they will try to apply in.   Both of them wished to be hired by the pharmaceutical company, but since the company was just looking for one employee and the applicants were a hundred, the chances of being hired was small.

After a month, Cindy accidentally encountered her friend in the mall.   They were both excited to see each other.  Cindy learned from her that the one who was accepted as HR Assistant in the pharmaceutical company they both previously applied to was a graduate of a top private school in the country.   The person was also personally connected to one of the leaders in the company.  Cindy told her friend that it was a case of, “tell me who you know in the company and I will hire you,” and both of them laughed.   This happened regularly in the Philippines, after all. Even though they didn’t land the job, they viewed it as a learning experience.

Before the 2000s in the Philippines, when all of the applicants are qualified for the job opening, the screening committee would also consider in their screening process applicants who were connected or could be endorsed by someone inside the hiring company.

There are advantages to hiring applicants with credible connections inside the company. These may include having someone who can help the new employee adjust to the company as the person inside can act as a guide, mentor and friend.   Should problems arise involving the newly hired employee, the person who knows him or her could provide insights and information as to the character of the newly hired employee.

However, there are also disadvantages such as cases of favoritism, bias or partiality. Rather than a help, it became a hindrance to employee performance.    To avoid this, many companies in the Philippines today have regulations against hiring an applicant who has family relations up to the fourth or fifth consanguinity to a current employee of the company.  While the right endorsements are still important, most employees from staff to middle management are hired primarily on skills and credentials, and a favorable employment history.

Do you want to successfully achieve your #CareerGoals? 

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