Hired College Friend

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Andymoler58
Posts: 152
Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2014 9:10 pm

Hired College Friend

Post by Andymoler58 »

I run an insurance adjusting firm and a friend of mine from college has been having some trouble finding a career path so I agreed to have him come work with me to see if he liked it.

He's been with me 9 months, he failed his licensing exam twice before passing it and he's been really slow to understand things. I can't really tell if he's slow or just lazy. I'm thinking it's laziness since he has a college degree.

To make matters worse, he's asked me from time to time over the years as friends what my net worth was and I've told him after a couple of drinks. He also has a pretty good idea of how much I make at my job so I'm concerned that he's just looking for a free handout.

I told him I would give him a year and 1k/month to train and see if he could get up and running and it's been 9 months. I really don't think it's going to work out because his attention to detail and drive just isn't there. I've warned him multiple times that he's got to perform better or he won't make it.

I don't think this isn't going to end well but do you think I should cut the cord now or honor my twelve month commitment and then let him go?

Your thoughts would be appreciated.
Normchad
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Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2011 6:20 am

Re: Hired College Friend

Post by Normchad »

Ouch! That’s a tough spot to be in.

In addition to making the deadline and expectations clear, spend the time mentoring the dickens out of your friend.

So the message is “I’m going to do my level best to help you succeed, but ultimately your future here is determined by your own efforts and accomplishments”.

And if it doesn’t work out, you did your best and you can move forward without regrets.
J295
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Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2012 10:40 pm

Re: Hired College Friend

Post by J295 »

Normchad advice makes sense.
qwertyjazz
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Re: Hired College Friend

Post by qwertyjazz »

You could give him a heads up that he is 9 months into his 12 months and that you are not sure he will make it. That gives him warning. Depending on how close of friends you have been, I would not want to yank it away from him with only 3 months to go.
G.E. Box "All models are wrong, but some are useful."
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Regal 56
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Re: Hired College Friend

Post by Regal 56 »

In my entire life, I’ve never asked a friend to divulge his or her net worth. So that’s a huge red flag. And your experience as employer is shining a light on why your friend hasn’t done well in finding a career. You naturally feel that you should honor your one year offer. But bear in mind, your offer implied a good faith effort from him. He’s not holding up his end of the deal.

He likely won’t see it this way.

As you suspect, this won’t end well. Prepare for it. For example, your warnings about his job performance should be documented.
Jeepergeo
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Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2020 1:33 pm

Re: Hired College Friend

Post by Jeepergeo »

A grand a month does not encourage much employee loyalty.

There is a good chance this is not going to work out. You need to be ready to lose a friend.

Because he is a friend and employee, you need to give him clear milestones and metrics to measure and gauge progress over the next few months. Be clear, have him write them down and email them back to you to create a common understanding, and meet as often as needed, likely every two weeks to a month, to gauge progress.

Good luck.
Topic Author
Andymoler58
Posts: 152
Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2014 9:10 pm

Re: Hired College Friend

Post by Andymoler58 »

The milestones are pretty clear.

In April, I gave him a 3k draw which means he's supposed to find his own claims or I'm supposed to hand him claims where he gets a % of the revenue to offset the draw.

I can't trust him with claims to manage though because he isn't picking anything up. We write a lot of construction estimates and he'll try to write the estimates and he'll have a pedestal sink and a vanity in the same bathroom. So it's ridiculous errors.
Normchad
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Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2011 6:20 am

Re: Hired College Friend

Post by Normchad »

Andymoler58 wrote: Sun May 09, 2021 9:27 pm The milestones are pretty clear.

In April, I gave him a 3k draw which means he's supposed to find his own claims or I'm supposed to hand him claims where he gets a % of the revenue to offset the draw.

I can't trust him with claims to manage though because he isn't picking anything up. We write a lot of construction estimates and he'll try to write the estimates and he'll have a pedestal sink and a vanity in the same bathroom. So it's ridiculous errors.
That does sound bad.

A rule of thumb I like is this. If I’m working harder to save you than you are, that’s the end.

Good luck to you. I know it’s unpleasant.
Flyer24
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Joined: Sun Apr 08, 2018 4:21 pm

Re: Hired College Friend

Post by Flyer24 »

Topic is locked (employee relationship issue). Topics need to be about a personal finance situation.
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