Would you market your brother as an "MPC"?

Today on a Coaching Call I was asked by a recruiter in our group if she should market her brother as an "MPC" to help him find a job in a new location. FYI, her brother is a talented, experienced, in her niche candidate. Anyone have thoughts on this? Have you ever work with family members?

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Permalink Reply by pam claughton on March 16, 2011 at 4:47pm

Absolutely, why not?

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Permalink Reply by Amber on March 16, 2011 at 5:07pm

I guess it depends on the clients, and if they feel comfortable about their being such a close relationship between the recruiter and candidate. This relationship is going to be personal to the recruiter, no matter how professionally they act. And if the recruiter does not disclose the relationship, I think that would be considered unethical.

Also, she might want to seperate her professional and personal life in case something does go wrong. It's bad enough when there are hard feelings/difficult situations from a client, but it would be worse if it involved your family.

My general opinion would be for the recruiter to have her brother work with another recruiter that she can refer him to.

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Permalink Reply by Randy Alexander on March 17, 2011 at 9:31am

How about a free referral? Could build credibility with clients, and help her brother find a job. Plus if your brother does find a job this way, you've got a client for life...

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Albright on March 17, 2011 at 9:31am

Like Pam said. Why not?

A few weeks ago I sent my brother-in-law on a sendout. The next day I had to tell him he was out. It didn't really cause too much discomfort. Other than needing to dig into his compensation a little further than family members normally do......

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Permalink Reply by Jayne Hannon on March 17, 2011 at 12:33pm

I'm am IT recruiter and my brother is a Software Developer. I've placed him twice now, once with a scientific imaging applications author and in his last role with a major legal firm. I've always been completely transparent with clients when marketing his CV and no-one has ever had a problem with it. We've charged the same rate we would charge for anyone else - why wouldn't we? He's an excellent candidate :-)

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Permalink Reply by Tony Crisci on March 17, 2011 at 12:37pm

Done it and would do it again. I've also decided to not present certain family members and close friends. MPC means MPC.

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Permalink Reply by Charlotte Byndas on March 17, 2011 at 1:15pm

Thanks guys/gals for all the feedback! I agree with you all. It can work, it can be uncomfortable, and yes I would concur that there are friends and family that I will work with and friends and family that I will refer to another recruiter. Just like any MPC I think the most important thing is can you work with them, can they work with you, it is always about relationship. :)

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Permalink Reply by Suzanne Levison on March 17, 2011 at 1:17pm

Of course I would present my brother to a client if he is a viable candidate. Market him? Not likely. Help him research on his own?, of course.

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Permalink Reply by Charlie Allenson on March 17, 2011 at 4:34pm

I don't have a brother. I do have a sister who's a shrink (let that speak for itself). However, if I did have a qualified brother, I'd probably pass him along to a colleague to avoid any appearance of nepotism. And if my brother didn't get the gig, I could always blame somebody else and our relationship would remain reasonably intact.