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Question about Ethics

Question about Ethics

Question about Ethics

(OP)
Hello,

A friend of mine would like to join my current company in a different position than mine. Lets call the advertised position the "subject position". I have to indicate that I have not been long enough with my current company (4 1/2 months).

The friend requested me to share some of my impression about the Company. My impression is so far negative (I can be wrong / biased - also my management suspects what I think about them but not the point it can be used against me, yet - as I never formally/directly complain about company to anyone) - anyway I don't want to share this negative feeling with my Friend ; in the meantime I do not want my friend to do a bad career choice as I care for them. I also don't want to be disloyal to a friend by staying silent or not helping them as standing my picture in the mirror is more important than career. But I also don't want to be trapped by misunderstanding I have on a situation before taking any decision.

My Friend has recommended me before and has some old ties with my current company managers, important to mention...
- How would you tackle this dilemma ?
Sometimes I get paranoid enough to think this is all a construction on purpose -again that's when I am too much paranoid!

I know one colleague who just left my current company and were incumbent of a position equivalent to subject position. How ethical is it if I get in touch with this former colleague and ask them "objective" questions like :
- What was your biggest challenge in the role
- What was obstructing your work progress
- How would you recommend this position
- etc.
The objective is that I can convey back to my Friend any feedback.
Not sure the former colleague would accept to answer my questions (no incentive to do so as I suspect) but I can give it a try. Before doing anything I am asking you help. I see many room here for conflicts of interest.

I don't want to compromise my professional integrity so please advise how to handle this.
Thanks

RE: Question about Ethics

The best advice I can give is just to be honest. Have the discussion, and tell him about your experiences, the good as well as the bad parts. I see no point in involving a third party and relaying hearsay advice.

RE: Question about Ethics

I think the most important thing to keep in mind is "your mileage may vary". I have entered several work-related situations against the advice of friends and had good experiences. I have followed the advice of friends and found myself in bad situations. A person's attitude colors their work experience and if you go into a job thinking "what a great company" then you will give a few non-great experiences a bit of positive spin that can lead to long-term happiness. If you go in with a negative attitude you will often spin neutral interactions as negative and that can drive your work experience to the dark side. When I've been asked similar questions my response tends to be "your immediate supervisor will color your experience here, the guy I work for isn't great but you won't be working for him."

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual. Galileo Galilei, Italian Physicist

RE: Question about Ethics

How is this an ethics or conflict of interest situation? Unless you have some heretofore unstated vested interest, where is the ethics problem? This may be a people problem, but not an ethics problem. Since you have no actual knowledge, you can only share your opinion about your own situation, nothing else. Seeking information from the ex-employee is the same thing, you can only get their opinion.

The reason most people don't give or ask for this type of information is not ethics, but liability, i.e., if a company says that an employee was a drunken SOB, that employee might decide to sue for defamation.

TTFN
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers

RE: Question about Ethics

Quote:

My Friend ... has some old ties with my current company managers, important to mention...
-

For that reason alone, you should say nothing to anyone.

There are too many ways for too many things to do sideways.


Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

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