It is a weird time. A buddy of mine, who worked with me some time ago landed a position at another place along with a classmate of her at the same time. Long story short, he landed a senior position and she did not. Her initial reaction was to go HR and claim discrimination.

Since I do consider myself her friend, I tried to take her off the ledge. You are just starting there. You do not want to brand yourself from get-go. You do not know what kind of backing the guy had. HR is not your friend.

I did not hear from her for a while so I hope she took the advice. I would not dare to offer this advice to someone I don't trust.