Rashida Jones followed her dad's advice not to 'wait in line' for a job. Career coaches say using family connections in the workplace is fine sometimes.
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- Rashida Jones isn't afraid to admit the privilege she had due to her parents' success in Hollywood.
- Jones is the daughter of music producer Quincy Jones and the late actor Peggy Lipton.
- Experts say there's a fine line between using your network and taking advantage of your privilege to get ahead.
Rashida Jones isn't afraid to admit she's benefited from being a nepo baby.
In an interview with InStyle published on Wednesday, the actor weighed in on the "nepotism baby" discourse and acknowledged the privilege she had due to her parents' success in the entertainment industry.
"People like the story of a legacy family and it's fun to write about and it's fun to think about you know, the 'mini me' and the person who looks like their mom or their dad. And then there's the resentment there too," Jones told InStyle. "But I think about it as, historically, people go into the family business more than they don't."
Jones's father is music producer Quincy Jones, and her mother is the late actor Peggy Lipton.
"My dad said to me, when I graduated from college: 'You're gonna go wait in line with 70,000 other people for a job? That doesn't seem really that practical,'" Jones said. "And he was right, you know."
Jones attended Harvard, where she graduated with a degree in the comparative study of religion in 1997, per The Hollywood Reporter.
According to her IMDb page, she made her acting debut in the mini TV series "The Last Don" that same year. However, Jones was only cast in her breakout role on "The Office" in 2006, when she was 30.
A balancing act
Experts say there's a fine line between utilizing your network and taking advantage of your privilege.
"Using your network and personal connection to learn information and gain introductions is generally seen as acceptable, even sensible. However, using your network to get unfairly hired into a role you may not be deserving of is generally seen as unacceptable," Hannah Salton, a UK-based career coach and author, told Business Insider.
Indeed, Salton said, most reputable companies should have rigorous and fair recruitment processes that don't allow nepotism.
However, in practice, it's often hard to ensure impartial hiring always happens.
"Tools such as 'blind CVs' — where an applicant's personal details are removed from their job application — exist, or a ban on hiring senior management's immediate family exists to try to reduce nepotism, particularly in certain industries that have historically been prone to it, such as law," Salton said.
At the same time, leveraging connections isn't all that different from relying on other talents or qualities that one has, Allison Ching, a Singapore-based life and career coach, told BI.
"We possess different types of arrows in our quiver: some of us are blessed with high IQ, some with specific talents, and some with rich and well-connected parents. It is acceptable to use what we have," Ching said.
"However, parental connections, or any other arrows in our quiver, should be used as a tool at best, but never as a crutch," she added.
Pulling your weight at work
Should people be open about their family connections at work, then?
It's a tricky question to answer, Salton said.
On one hand, being honest and upfront about any connections you have may be the right thing to do in certain circumstances, she said.
"However, if you are involved in an objective recruitment process and keep talking about your family connections, it could be preserved that you are hoping for special treatment," she said.
Ultimately, people should use their judgment and be transparent about their connections when appropriate but avoid using these to intimidate others or imply that they want to be treated favorably, Salton said.
And if people do leverage their parental connections to kick-start or further their career, it must be approached with professionalism and humility, Ching said.
"Acknowledging the advantage and showing gratitude is crucial, as well as pulling your weight and demonstrating competence to earn respect on your merit," Ching said. "Expand opportunities and strengthen relationships based on mutual respect and genuine interactions, rather than feeling entitled to things and relying solely on familial ties."
After all, family connections can only go so far.
"Stay humble, and be willing to offer support and guidance to others who may not have the same advantage to foster a more equitable workplace culture," Ching said.
Hollywood aside, the business world also has its share of nepo babies.
All five of LVMH chairman and billionaire Bernard Arnault's children work at the company and its brands.
Mukesh Ambani, the owner and chairman of Reliance Industries, also has three children holding different roles across his empire.
A representative for Jones did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours.