Nepotism in Dallas, have you seen it? (office, deal)

[Bjones1976]

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy,
Describes this word as :
nepotism [(nep-uh-tiz-uhm)]

Favoritism granted to relatives or close friends, without regard to their merit. Nepotism usually takes the form of employing relatives or appointing them to high office.

Disclamimer: This thread isn't intended to offend anyone.

I relocated to the Dallas area about 2 yrs ago and I've seen and heard that "it's not about what you know it's who you know". It wasn't something I thought about alot until I began to see it. At first I thought "oh it's just simple networking strategies" but when I looked a little deeper I saw that way too many people were in positions not because they were qualified or because they know their jobs well , but because they knew/know someone who was in a position to get them in certain positions! Now I understand the networking concept but, shouldn't whether or not your qualified be the most important criteria before promoting someone to certain positions? I've gotten to the point where as a customer I go straight to top when having to deal with certain compainies (grocery stores, utility companies, etc) because I'm noticing that more than likely a lot of companies have employess that have little to no knowledge about the actual job itself!

Has anyone else experienced this?

[Spree]

I don't think this is an issue unique to Dallas :-)

[MaryS80]

It happens, I've seen it. Most companies have policies against such actions, but they are loosely enforced.


I doubt its anymore common in Dallas than any other city.

[Bjones1976]

I don't know, but then again I haven't been EVERYWHERE either!

Originally Posted by Spree

I don't think this is an issue unique to Dallas :-)

[lh_newbie]

This is quite normal in business - regardless of which city, state or country for that matter.

My wife got an interview because she had an internal recommendation. After all was said and done, her boss told her that he wouldn't have interviewed her since she was changing industries... but is happy he did, because she's the best hire he's ever done. So the "who you know" doesn't always mean you'll get the job, but it does increase your chance to get in front of the interviewer.

[galore]

I think that Freunderlwirtschaft existed since the dawn of humanity. I don't think Dallas is exceptional in that regard.

[Bjones1976]

The response is a little vague and I don't want to misinterpret anything. So I'll ask.

Was she hired because she was a friend of a friend or because she was a friend of a friend and has the know-how for the job she was hired for?


Thanks for your repsponse.

Originally Posted by lh_newbie

This is quite normal in business - regardless of
which city, state or country for that matter.

My wife got an interview because she had an internal recommendation. After all was said and done, her boss told her that he wouldn't have interviewed her since she was changing industries... but is happy he did, because she's the best hire he's ever done. So the "who you know" doesn't always mean you'll get the job, but it does increase your chance to get in front of the interviewer.

[Bjones1976]

I've experienced a difference in other areas of the country, maybe its that they practice it less.


Thanks for your repsponse.

Originally Posted by galore

I think that Freunderlwirtschaft existed since the dawn of humanity. I don't think Dallas is exceptional in that regard.

[Bjones1976]

I'm starting to think that some companies enforce it some don't.


Thanks for your repsponse.

Originally Posted by MaryS80

It happens, I've seen it. Most companies have policies against such actions, but they are loosely enforced.


I doubt its anymore common in Dallas than any other city.

[BstYet2Be]

Put the shoe on the other foot... if you were the employer and one of your highly-regarded employees, or coworkers, or even friends, recommended someone for a position, wouldn't you show preference to that candidate that was being recommended by someone you knew and whose opinion you valued, rather than an unknown candidate coming into an interview?