Question:

If I have a friend at the firm I want to apply to, doesn’t it make sense to go through the friend as an “insider”?
 

Answer:

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It is not always in your best interest to ask your friend to forward your resume.

I often caution folks against going through a friend at the firm and I do so for several reasons: (1) there is no guarantee your friends will actually follow through and submit your resume for you (even if at the outset they have the best of intentions and want to help) (2) friends will likely not be following up with their own current employer after passing your resume along initially, and (3) should you actually move along in the process, your friends certainly cannot negotiate any terms on your behalf.

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For starters, while your friend may very well want to help, it may be a bit awkward for him/her to approach their current employer about finding you a job. In a way, your friend’s credibility is on the line when presenting you to the firm. This is especially true in the case when there is no actual opening at the firm; your contacts may feel as though they are asking for something “special” in requesting that your resume be reviewed. Since all the parties involved are presumably busy, with time and distractions, your friends may decide to wait to share your resume with their firm…indefinitely.
Even if your resume is passed along to the appropriate contacts at the firm, it is unlikely that your friend – a current employee of the firm who should be focused on his/her billables and work product – will have the time, inclination, or will to keep following up with the firm’s recruiting department to make sure that your candidacy is actually considered. With recruiting departments receiving hundreds—if not more—of resumes at a time, it can be difficult to ensure that a resume receives due attention unless the reviewer is followed up with regularly and at the right times. So while your friend may fulfill his/her promise of actually sending your resume to the right person at the firm at the outset, it may mean little if your resume is not actually reviewed with enough attention at the time that the firm could actually hire.

Finally, should you actually begin to interview at the firm to which your friend made the introduction, and you arrive at the offer stage, it is difficult to not have a third party advocating for you. Certainly your friend, an employee of the firm, will not be able to negotiate any terms (say salary or class year) with the firm that employs him/her. Moreover, because you may feel like your friend already did you a favor by “getting you in”, you may be hesitant to negotiate any terms yourself directly with the firm, for fear of asking for even more from the firm that employs your friend.

While it might seem like going through a friend is the best way to approach every firm, you should consider what your friend can and cannot do, and what will be in your best interest in the long-term.

Read Law Firms and Part-Time Attorneys - They Really Can Go Hand in Hand for more information.