Is it OK to reach out to an ex-employee via LinkedIn to ask information for his previous company

[toniriazor]

Hello people,

Has anyone asked via LinkedIn an ex-employee for feedback for the company where you might start? Do you think this is considered as normal or is a waste of time and inappropriate? What matters to me is company environment, mindset of employees and what is the direction from management towards quality in general. Does it make sense to ask for such an information, a person that you don't actually know.

What is your opinion?

 

[Jen Kirley]

I have not done this, it seems to me there is no ethical reason not to but you must understand the opinion will be singular and perhaps skewed by their individual experience there.

 

[QuinnM]

Hi Toniriazor,
For my contacts in Linkedin I reached out to them. During the search process, I request feedback on the company, recommendations, connections/introductions to others. I do this activity because the data may aid in the full analysis of the company, and will help me determine if i want to move forward with the company. I do not reach out to people who are not my contacts.

 

[FRA 2 FDA]

I think asking people who work at the company you're considering about the things you care about is really smart. If you have contact with someone who can give you the real deal, what better way to help assess your options? As Jen said, you have to take it with a grain of salt. I think whether or not it is inappropriate depends on the circumstances. If the employee left under bad conditions and you were a member of the management team that oversaw that employee, that would seem in poor taste. If you are just one guy who happened to know that this other guy used to work in another department and then he left for another job, I see no reason not to reach out.

 

[toniriazor]

Thank you all for your input. Really appreciated!

 

[Scanton]

If you know someone on the inside of a company that you are intending to start working for then of course you should get whatever information you need to be able to make the most informed decision about you immediate working future.

 

[Ed Panek]

Yes. To avoid bias I would avoid an open ended question. I would suggest a specific perspective the company was trying to impress on you that you think is important and ask about that.

For example, "I was interested in the continuing education program at X. Have you used it? How much did they reimburse?" Etc.