I am interviewing with a principal / ed at a pe firm who went to undergrad with one of my best friends from b school (they’re the same class). I know this because my friend is a common connection with the principal on LinkedIn. Should I casually bring up my friend during the interview with the principal to try and make a more personal connection? Of course the downside is that they don’t know each other and I look like an idiot. Thanks
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I would ask your best friend how close he is with the principal and go from there. It can be beneficial to establish a commonality like this, but sometimes may be awkward to plant the question. The principal could ask your friend about you to verify, "hey, is this guy a good dude?" kinda thing which hopefully is a good thing for you!
I wouldn't bring it up from the get go, establish some rapport and maybe towards the end of the interview, "btw I was on linkedin and noticed you are connected with Mr.XYZ, I'm curious...how do you guys no each other?
just like being a wingman with girls....you want your friend to talk you up before you walk into the building. its never a good idea to have to talk yourself up (it always looks bad)...but your friend can do it and that can be very beneficial.
here's how it plays out....you tell your friend that you are interviewing with MD John for xyz position....and you ask your friend if he can have a chat with MD John and talk you up. Your friend should say to MD John "hey John, i heard my friend A1 is going to be interviewing for xyz positions and he's schedule to meet with us...he's a really smart guy and he's got a great attitude...we would be lucky to have him join."
Now, this only works if your friend is really willing to go to bat for you. In order for your friend to be a good wingman...he has to WANT to be a good wingman. Otherwise, i wouldn't make a big deal about it.
Ok here’s my beef with asking my friend. I’ve been kind of recluse lately focused on recruiting and don’t feel like giving updates to friends. If I call him, I’ll need to give him a 6 month run down on my life. If I’m not willing to reconnect with my friend first, should I not bother mentioning him to my interviewer? They’re also Facebook friends and I think you need to be comfortable enough with one to add them on Facebook....thoughts?
you can't be a recluse if you want to go this career route...its a people business. Maybe if you were a quant programmer you could be a reclusive genius...but you are not...so you gotta suck it up and connect with your support network of friends and family. This will actually be good for you. I understand the desire to not show weakness...to project success. You don't have to tell your friend about how much your life sucks...you can just say that you miss him and you want to chat/hang out sometime.
I would suggest reaching out to your friend and asking to grab a beer. First reconnect your friendship...not job hunt stuff....but all the other life and family stuff. Then after you feel like you guys are on better footing, tell him that you've been on the job hunt and ask what his thoughts are about his company.. If your friend is too busy with work to grab a beer, then ask to chat on the phone sometime.
This is the kind of stuff that you want to do in person...not over text.
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