That's a tough one. We have an employee who pressured us to hire both her son and her daughter, neither of whom were really qualified for any position. She is important to the company, and we did not want to upset her, so we wrote up the specific qualifications for each position, and showed her the written description. It was obvious to her that her kids didn't have what was necessary, and though she lobbied for us to change our standards so they would qualify, we just kept telling her we would not lower our standards because it would be detrimental to our company and unfair to our clients. It took awhile, but she finally understood (especially when the people we did hire clearly did better work than her kids would have). Having it in writing was the key. It will also help you be clear on your personnel needs; it's funny how the right person just seems to appear when you really know what you need in a new employee.

Why does this ee feel like she's obligated to be involved in the hiring process. This isn't the nicest way of handling things, but thank her for recommending her daughter and let her know that after interviewing several candidates you will hire the person most suitable for the job. end of story.

Agree 100% with Alex and Tobi, I process referrals like any other applications and I would never discuss an applicant status with an employee and this scenario is no different. Thank her for the referral and that is all. She will eventually get it, stick to your same response every time.