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that's why you put down a friend to act as your former boss as a reference on a resume.
Problem solved
Did I forget to mention that I caught out a couple of those too? When you know what you're doing they're SO easy to weed out. Nobody with half a brain pulls that one - which probably demonstrates that there are those among us who ...
This is also very insidious. Someone can keep giving you terrible untrue references behind your back and noone will ever let you know.
My colleauge who failed a string of interviews finally hired a reference check service and found out the PI from the U had been sabatoging her for no good reason and alerted me. That is just an awful situation to be in where you lose one job opportunity after another never knowing why.
What this article says to me is that 62% of the people polled aren't asking permission first when selecting references.
You are suppose to ask people first that will give good references. Too many people just add names and cross their fingers.
Exactly. I'm amazed that people don't seem to know this, but you see this right here on CD. Mostly younger people who don't seem to know that you ask someone to be your reference.
You should also call/email them when you have interviewed to give them a heads up that they will be receiving a phone call about them.
1. There's no law against giving a bad reference. The only law that exists is the law of slander, so unless your former employer is slandering you, and you can prove it, then you can do nothing about a bad reference.
2. If the employer has proof that you did something wrong, then they can talk about it and it will never be slander. For instance, if you were written up three times for being late, and the fourth time you were fired, they can tell future employers, "This employee was let go for being chronically late. They were written up three times for being late, and the fourth time they were late, they were fired." There's nothing you can do about it. Literally, if they have the write-ups in their possession, than any lawsuit you tried to bring against them would be thrown out.
I have never heard of a reference speaking to specific personnel-related discipline against an employee. I suspect that is because it could be a confidentiality breach, and perhaps there is a law prohibiting such a breach of confidentiality involving a personnel record. I could be wrong about that, but I wouldn't be so quick to state that the only applicable law is slander.
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Originally Posted by MisfitBanana
3. The only "laws" that companies have regarding what they'll say about a past employee is usually just a company policy (not an actual law). Companies generally have policies in place like they will only tell someone the following: Name of employee, position title, date of hire, date of termination (your last date of employment - termination does not mean fired), and whether or not the employee is eligible for re-hire.
4. Many companies will ignore their policies and say something "off the record." They may say something like, "Off the record, I don't think I would ever hire this person again." They don't have to say why, in fact, not saying why protects them from slander, because it's not slandering someone to simply say you wouldn't hire them again.
No. But if you make that statement without any backup or other information (which could be slanderous, depending on what is said), that takes away from your credibility.
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Originally Posted by MisfitBanana
5. A boss who has good things to say about the employee, will probably answer the basic questions and then add something like, "I think soandso was a fantastic employee, and I was really sorry to see her go. If you hire her, I know you won't regret it." Trust me, it will mean a lot that the person said that. Likewise, if NOTHING good is said, and the person sticks to only the most basic information, that could tell a future employer that the employee wasn't well liked.
An unpopular employee is not necessarily a bad employee. But interviewing companies may take the scant information and run with it because they are trying to avoid hiring a "problem employee." What is amusing is that the well-liked employee who receives many accolades can also turn out to be a bad fit. I have heard that some employers will be cool with the references to avoid being accused of not only slander, but also exaggerating the attributes of an employee to get them hired elsewhere (or get rid of them).
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Originally Posted by MisfitBanana
If you got fired for reason, and you know that your former employer has proof, do NOT offer that former employer up as a reference. Provide ONLY references from people who you are very sure will give you at worst a neutral review, and at best a great review. You do NOT have to provide a reference for every job you've ever had.
I agree. In fact, if you can find a way to leave the job off your resume without leaving a huge, awkward gap, I would do so.
Did I forget to mention that I caught out a couple of those too? When you know what you're doing they're SO easy to weed out. Nobody with half a brain pulls that one - which probably demonstrates that there are those among us who ...
Exactly. I'm amazed that people don't seem to know this, but you see this right here on CD. Mostly younger people who don't seem to know that you ask someone to be your reference.
You should also call/email them when you have interviewed to give them a heads up that they will be receiving a phone call about them.
Or you can be like George Costanza, and ask your friend to answer his phone as, "Vandelay Industries."
1) Many companies do not allow their managers or employees to give out any references anymore for obvious legal reasons. At most, they will confirm that the person worked there and the dates, but that's it. Many of them will expect you to call "The Work Number" to verify employment, but that's it.
2) Note that laws and rules are meaningless unless enforced. Former managers can still give bad reviews if nobody catches them, or they can give "shady" answers to questions that translate into bad reviews. Examples would include: giving very faint praise of a former employee, saying things like "well, at least he showed up to work," refusing to answer very basic questions thus implying an answer, etc.
So, despite the rules in most larger companies, managers can still give lousy reviews. This is even easier if they are called on their personal phone numbers and thus are not at work when replying. At that point, they can bash a former employee freely since they are not at work and thus it is unlikely anyone else will know about what they said.
3) As for non-manager references, if they are bashing others, that's just pathetic since usually they are picked out as people who are considered friends. If they instead turn out to be backstabbers, that's just yet another sign of the times in which we live.
If someone id doing this, you can actually make money by having someone you know call the company asking for a references and then recording the call. You can then have that person send a transcript (if the person is outside of the US or in certain states they can record the phone call) to the company's human resources department and demand an explanation of their statements. If you have an attorney do this and the information is untrue or particularly disparaging, you may be able to get a small settlement.
Frankly, if someone gave me a bad reference when they were supposed to be a "friend", they might find some of their personal secrets (not information, just things that their wife,husband or girlfriend didn't know) posted online. Turnabout is fair play.
I have never heard of a reference speaking to specific personnel-related discipline against an employee. I suspect that is because it could be a confidentiality breach, and perhaps there is a law prohibiting such a breach of confidentiality involving a personnel record. I could be wrong about that, but I wouldn't be so quick to state that the only applicable law is slander.
No. But if you make that statement without any backup or other information (which could be slanderous, depending on what is said), that takes away from your credibility.
True, I tell my clients all the An unpopular employee is not necessarily a bad employee. But interviewing companies may take the scant information and run with it because they are trying to avoid hiring a "problem employee." What is amusing is that the well-liked employee who receives many accolades can also turn out to be a bad fit. I have heard that some employers will be cool with the references to avoid being accused of not only slander, but also exaggerating the attributes of an employee to get them hired elsewhere (or get rid of them).
I agree. In fact, if you can find a way to leave the job off your resume without leaving a huge, awkward gap, I would do so.
Yup I tell clients all the time employers don't care about you being diured if it wasn't last job
Yup I tell clients all the time employers don't care about you being diured if it wasn't last job
If you mean "fired", this is really what you tell your clients - that being fired doesn't matter to a prospective employer as long as you weren't fired from your LAST job?
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If you mean "fired", this is really what you tell your clients - that being fired doesn't matter to a prospective employer as long as you weren't fired from your LAST job?
