It’s Not What You Know.

How 'raccomandazione' decides who gets a chance in Italy -- and why the practice endures

A strategy meeting in Rome (Jeff Curto photo)

‘Who helped you?’

During lunch, years ago, I told my landlord, Massimo, I needed a new part-time assistant. It was a work-from-home job: producing daily news summaries, setting up interviews, answering correspondence in Italian and English, and arranging travel.

“I’ve got just the person for you,” Massimo said.

Federica was the younger sister of Massimo’s wife’s closest friend. And she was not a good fit.

Before I could ask a single question, she told me she couldn’t start working right away because her family would be at their beach house for two weeks. She thought starting work at 8 a.m. was too early. She didn’t speak much English. She didn’t own a personal computer.