Referring a friend?

Have a relatively close-ish friend who asked if I could help refer him to my firm's IB recruiting pipeline. Nice guy, but really doesn't make the cut in terms of past experience, technical knowledge, and soft skills. Does it look bad on you if you referred someone who did badly in interviews? My firm is small so higher chance of people remembering who you referred etc.

And if it does reflect badly on you, how would you weigh that with a friend asking for a favour? He's also polite about it, not pushy or anything.

3 Comments
 
Most Helpful

I would not refer anybody to my firm unless I 100% felt that they were qualified, interested and were going to interview well. I think it's a bad look on you if you refer someone that does poorly or is a bad fit.

More importantly, this means you're going to likely have to do something challenging. You'll have to tell your friend no and that you cannot refer them for the job. I know it's not fun, but this is an important social skill and being able to tell people no (even when you don't want to) will serve you well.

 

Asperiores vitae est aperiam incidunt iusto. Sed ipsam animi aut deserunt assumenda porro repudiandae. Eligendi accusamus distinctio voluptatum ducimus est adipisci. Sed ipsam sint labore magnam minima.

Adipisci soluta eius odio velit nostrum. Voluptatibus laborum reprehenderit qui consectetur ea animi suscipit. Debitis tempore rem id vero. Adipisci aut animi quis molestiae tempore.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (66) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”