My [35M] new friend [40M] wants a referral to my company…but I don’t think it’s the right job for them?
I [33M] am starting a new job in 2 weeks. I’m making a career pivot into a new but very small/competitive field where there aren’t that many spots that open up a year, and was lucky enough to also land at a great company with a great team.
The only catch was the role was a bit more junior than I’d like…so it’s important I come in and make a great impression so I can move up on a fast timeline (I discussed this with the company owner before joining, and they do this frequently with hires who come from other industries). It’s also a very small team (20-30 ppl), and the person who does hiring is someone I’d work closely with/is more senior than me.
I made a new friend Mark [40M] about a month ago who also kind of works in this field. I say kind of because i don’t think they’ve had a full time role in this field before…only commission based which is a little different.
Mark is also very interested at working at said company…but the company only has one open role left and I’m not sure if it’s a fit. Friend has around 20 years of work experience, and the role company wants is 5 years of experience. This field is also one where the bar is super high/it’s more competitive if you have over 15 years of experience, and this person doesn’t have the skills that are particularly in demand right now.
Mark asked me for a referral, and I responded saying it’s probably too junior a role. He responded saying he’d still love an intro and would see if he could talk the role up. He also has been extra nice, offering gifts/favors/etc…and I am not sure what to do. I like Mark and really want to help bc it’s soo hard to break in, but don’t want to make a bad impression to the company.
Redditors please help! What do I do to maintain a good relationship with Mark without hurting my job?
TLDR; Mark wants a referral to my company…but it’s a very small company and I am worried endorsing him will hurt my job.