To do this for my friend’s DD

[Mummyissleepy]

I’m a head of department in quite a large corporation. My department gets quite a lot of unpaid work experience requests from young people. I have always declined them due to the volume we get. However now my best friend’s DD has asked if I have any unpaid work experience opportunities in my team. Would I be unreasonable to break my own rule (of declining work experience requests) and offer her work experience in my team?

That’s good. It should be of benefit because it would increase diversity which should give your company a better reach for clients / customers and be more attractive for new talent

@Hoolihan is referring to nepotism I imagine?

They have a point, but it’s human nature - what you can do is look for ways to mitigate as we were discussing above.

Yeah I’m going to do some research into organisations today. I would have to justify internally how it would have a benefit to the business in terms of reputation though, but will research an organisation and then scope it out internally

I’m thinking that’s how it would benefit the business too. But I might need to justify that it benefits the businesses reputation too.

Because there are a number of thoughtful posts on nepotism/structural inequality and still people coming on to trot out 'it's not what you know, it's who you know' and how brilliant it is that their child has access to opportunity at the expense of others.

I apologise, I am in a bad mood.

I was going to say this... Only if you'd do the same for your team, so yes, go for it!

There's a lot of handwringing on this thread for an unpaid job. Work experience does not guarantee success at interview either. I'd just do it for a friend.

I have been in Business for many years and worked with lots of different Businesses.
Of course you use your contacts. My DD has had work experience she couldn’t have got if I didn’t know certain people, we all help each other out, it’s called Networking.
I would never give anyone a job or similar if asked to but I would let them send their CV to me direct for example. The people I network with would never do anything illegal or unethical but we do help each other out with contacts or advice
I appreciate in larger companies there are rules about this but within smaller owner run companies it happens all the time
In your shoes OP I would agree to meet or speak to this person and IF you think they are suitable give them a chance

Work experience at a large firm could be literally life changing for some kids.

I agree with all of this

Nepotism
Ugh 😣

I think small businesses can't afford to ignore the benefits of working with people already known to them. It's a play it safe attitude.

Bigger businesses should be able to afford to take a risk on someone with potential.

I think it's ok to have different levels of operation in that way.

The ideal is the riskier strategy, if you can afford it.

It would certainly do that!

Companies in my sector tend to put Creative Equals (or other set ups) as a partner on their website pages. It’s a way of saying that you give a shit about diversity and you are trying to improve

Thank you I’ll look into it

@ChildrenOfTheQuorn

It’s not handwringing - WE is a foot in the door you can build from - it makes all the difference in the world.

A bit of nepotism is human, but it’s only responsible to balance that with some targeted access for kids that wouldn’t otherwise get it. Even if your company is very small there are ways to do that eg one member of staff going off to do a couple of school talks a year.

Thank you for the suggestion honestly. I’m going to look into targeted access and organisations in this area. I will also let my friends DD do work experience here but I will attempt to promote an opportunity internally for us to work with an organisation like you have suggested.

No, I agree with you and I’m not in a bad mood. I suppose I just find it depressing, though I accept that this is pretty much how the world works

I think YABU sorry

How do you think it will look to all the employees in the department, that you break the rules for a family friend, but won't consider any of their children or friends who may want the work experience too?

I'm not saying its right or fair @DuckTails & @Hoolihan, I'm just saying its what it is, another spring board. I've done it for people I know, and they have done it for my dc.

I am from a disadvantaged background and have never had any opportunities via my parents or parents friends, “who you know not what you know” has never been remotely true for me.

I am fully accepting that life is not fair, but I would never look to add to that unfairness by agreeing ti this whilst simultaneously refusing to look at other requests because you get so many. I would also lose respect for somebody if I found them doing this.

I have had a professional career and have occasionally worked with a work experience candidate although I have never picked one or arranged one. If I were in that position, I would look at all the ones that have applied and would pick the one that I felt I could most help. Not my friends daughter.

What a sickening thread, 'that's the way the world works' so nepotism is OK is it? It is bad enough that unpaid internships are a thing, excluding any applicants who don't have any parental financial support, but worse when you can't get a foot in the door because your parents don't work in the company. I know work experience is for a younger age group, and would not be paid in most circumstances, but a fair system could be put in place where an outside agency selects from applicants, if there are too many, or a junior employee could be given the responsibility to interview and select candidates, as training.

Not unreasonable but sods law it will blow up in your face. I did something similar and the young guy who was friend of a friend's son was a disaster...lazy, rude and entitled shit. Good luck

I wouldn't unless you're going to keep it up going forwards. Firstly you're giving an unfair advantage to someone you know over others and secondly, what about other staff who have had relatives etc request the experience and been turned down? If you can do it for her then you obviously can do it in general but you maybe need to agree to only taking one person at a time/ accepting x amount of requests per year for work experience to keep it fair and balance the workload. I think there's loads of benefits to taking on placement volunteers- leadership and management experience for people within your company, generation of new ideas and perspectives and if you partner with a charity to do it going forward then you're fulfilling your community responsibility and boosting your businesses status in the community while helping someone who really needs the break get one. Plus you have someone there to do work for free. So I would only do it if you're going to keep it up, otherwise I wouldn't for parity.

Yes offer them the work experience.
Both my now grown children and my neice and nephew did work experience (when at school and uni) gained through family or friends. It meant that they actually got a taste for the business/industry without having the soul destroying experience of being told to clear out cupboards, go to the post office, make tea/coffee etc like others, including me, had to do whilst doing unpaid work.
If you can provide the opportunity, I would.

If you are as senior as your post suggests then no, I don’t think you should do it.
The rest of the staff there will see you break the rules you have put in place for your mate. Stinks of nepotism unless you are offering it everyone.