Hire my Friend – Network Your Way to a New Gig

Scrolling through online job boards and blindly emailing hundreds of resumes to potential employers is one way to find a job, but Hire my Friend has a solution that’s much more likely to be successful. Hire my Friend relies on introductions from friends to help its users score dream jobs with outstanding companies.

Hire my Friend doesn’t deal with headhunters or recruiters. Instead, it deals with job hunters and their friends. Create an anonymous profile by signing in to Hire my Friend with Twitter. Your profile is where you’ll add important professional information like skills, location, and the type of role you’re looking for. Next, ask your friends for their support. Friends can support you by tweeting your anonymous profile out to their followers. Companies will see your friends’ backing, and the more backers you have, the more attractive you become. Companies have to ask your permission to see your full details. Assuming you agree, you and the company’s representative can take it from there by agreeing to meet for coffee on a telephone interview.

People who are job hunting while still employed will most be able to appreciate Hire my Friend’s anonymity features. Job hunters have complete control over who they share their personal information with and when they choose to make those disclosures. Although the web-based application could work for job hunters in every industry, it’s currently being utilized most by those searching for careers in technology-related fields.

Practical Uses:

• Privately start searching for a new job without letting your current employer know
• Get your profile in front of hiring executives at top tech companies
• Land a lucrative job at a prestigious tech firm
• Help your friend get a leg up in a new industry

Insider Tips:

• Asking friends to tweet out your message is a great way to spread the word about your profile
• Companies can search for candidates by location and skills
• Companies can sign up to get the candidate information delivered to their inboxes

What we liked:

• Hire my Friend is much more discreet than most job hunting tools
• Companies save money by not having to hire paid recruiters
• Friends can help each other out by distributing anonymous job profiles
• Job hunters have control over when they reveal their true identities
• A number of leading tech companies have already agreed to start searching for employees with Hire my Friend

What we didn’t like:

• Whether or not Hire my Friend is successful will depend largely on how many businesses start using the platform
• Some of a company’s contact requests might be rejected, which can be frustrating for employers

Alternatives:

• BranchOut – https://branchout.com
• jobdreaming – http://www.jobdreaming.com
• TalentBin – http://www.talentbin.com
• WorkFu – https://workfu.com

Company Info:

• Launched: July 2013
• Privately Held
• Headquarters: London, England
• Founded by: Makeshift
• Web site: http://hiremyfriend.io

Costs:

• Free for job hunters
• Companies pay £20 a message billed every month