To avoid the "I'm a friend of [x] ..." email, I always say: "Send me your resume, and I will make sure it gets to the right person." I won't actually forward

To avoid the "I'm a friend of [x] ..." email, I always say: "Send me your resume, and I will make sure it gets to the right person." I won't actually forward the resume on, but I usually look at the resume for curiosity - and if it's a friend I might send them a few pointers on how they could improve their resume. Pick the "Don't eat where you shit", "Don't mix business and pleasure", or whatever cliche you prefer. Are you lying when you do this? Maybe. If they're not a good candidate, you might as well be the "right person" to discard their resume. Alternatively, you could say something like: "I had a bad experience recommending a friend, so I make it a personal rule that I don't do it anymore." (I would probably make an exception for exceptional people.)