Ethical Dilemma/stealing a job?

[cinnamon]

Hi I need some advice
I heard about a fantastic job through a friend.
The job description sounds like it was tailored exactly to meet my brother-in-laws experience and expertise.
The problem is that the same friend is currently working for this company and is going for this job.And more importantly would love to get it
However he is not actually qualified for it and does not have the appropriate skills or experience.(he said so himself)
My brother in law has been cooling his heels in jobs that he is over qualified for as he hasnt been able to find anything that would ustilise his skills.
I have told my brother in law about the job... but of course I dont want to upset my friend.
We havent been able to find the job advertised anywhere in the market yet, so he cant even act as if it was a co-incidence that he applied for the job.
firstly am I wrong to give my brother in law this insider info
and secondly if not, how would we go about applying for the position without upsetting my friend?

[Lammarite]

Tell somebody else to tell him about the job- then you can have a clear conscience because, literally, you didn't tell him about it! So long as that person didn't tell your brother in law it was you that told him.

[jimbo]

Technically its not stealing though as its not your friends job in the first place and theres no guarantee that he will get it due to his lack of experience and skills anyway.

Get your brother in law to send in his c.v on spec and not to mention the specific role on the covering letter and just wait and see what happens.

[KnowItAll]

May the best man win ... you might be doing your friend a favour by recommending your BIL. If he's not qualified and messes the job up he might just get fired. So... there is always a way to justify ethical situations like this.

[Lammarite]

Interesting.....there are also ethical solutions. Hmmmmm

[Mat]

Hi I need some advice
I heard about a fantastic job through a friend.
The job description sounds like it was tailored exactly to meet my brother-in-laws experience and expertise.
The problem is that the same friend is currently working for this company and is going for this job.And more importantly would love to get it
However he is not actually qualified for it and does not have the appropriate skills or experience.(he said so himself)
My brother in law has been cooling his heels in jobs that he is over qualified for as he hasnt been able to find anything that would ustilise his skills.
I have told my brother in law about the job... but of course I dont want to upset my friend.
We havent been able to find the job advertised anywhere in the market yet, so he cant even act as if it was a co-incidence that he applied for the job.
firstly am I wrong to give my brother in law this insider info
and secondly if not, how would we go about applying for the position without upsetting my friend?

Screw them both and take the job ....

[Max]

Screw them both and take the job ....

LOL, and that is certainly not one of them....

Seriously, as KiA suggested. May the best man win. If the job was advertised, then I'm sure that your B-I-L would have had a fair shot. The fact that he's applying for a job he heard from your friend might be in his favor depending on how the potential employer thinks about his resourcefulness.

[tsuiwah]

I would not trust the HR department to do the right thing if you sent in a CV on spec.

Your brother in law needs to find the name of someone else in that division/department and make a phone call. Ask if there are any jobs opening up, then send the CV to that person.

[Sleuth]

I agree with Jimbo, not sure you can steal an open position.
All ethics aside, if your friend is the type of person who will become upset about this if your BIL gets the job and he figures out you told him, then he is going to get upset regardless of the method you choose to tell your BIL.
Skipping the philosophical ethical question, it comes down to whether you care if you upset your friend by telling your BIL. Once you tell your BIL you have to be prepared for the possibility that your BIL gets the job. Another question is what will your reaction be if you don't tell your BIL and is it better or worse than the outcome of telling your BIL and he gets the job?

[Katanga]

I agree that the best person should win.

The bigger issue is how do you target the CV/Letter for your BIL to the right person in the company so HR don't bin it (per the previous post)

I suggest you speak to your friend and be honest and open and say that you happened to have mentioned the role profile to your BIL who would also like to apply for the job. See if your buddy gives you the contact details.

Best to be upfront with your buddy as you will only have more explaining to do later on if your BIL gets the job and your friend finds out you are related.

Look at it from the hiring Co's poitn of view - they want the best person for the job.