know your new contact information. The most important rule for job seekers is to never leave your professional references to chance. If you are not 100 percent convinced that your professional references and past employers will relay positive comments about you to prospective employers, consider having them checked out. A professional reference-checking firm can either put your mind at ease, or supply you with the critical information and evidence that may be blocking your job search efforts. So, what happens if a professional reference is indeed providing unfavorable or inaccurate information on a candidate to a prospective employer? Note there are indeed available remedies for such situations. “Our firm hears poor to bad references on a daily basis,” says Allison. “We work with clients to explore the options available to them to assure their professional references portray them in the best light possible. The key is to first know what people are saying about them and then proactively addressing the situation as necessary.” CHAPTER 30 Former Job References Who Over Share Information and Cost you the Job Offer There seems to be one (or more) in every workplace: the “over sharer” or unregulated speaker. This is the person who has not quite mastered the “think before you speak” philosophy, who has yet to realize that “loose lips sink ships.” In the professional world, this behavior often manifests itself in the workplace as an inappropriate joke, sharing too much personal information or leaking confidential company data. And while this person can be a challenge to work with on a day to day basis, they can be downright catastrophic as a reference, providing much more information than is warranted or requested (or prudent) to a potential employer. With 30 years as a reference checking and reference consulting company, Allison & Taylor Reference Checking has heard it all: discrimination in many forms, references explaining the relationships / sleeping habits of former employees, HR Managers refusing to comment until the “litigation is complete” and Board Members who say “Are you sure he listed me as a reference?” If you are considering or in the midst of a career change, and suspect that someone may provide negative input as a reference, take the proactive step of a reference check... before the office “over sharer” has a chance to torpedo your chances of landing that great new job. Professional reference checking may have one or more objectives, e.g. damage control, name clearing, warning the former employer that the employee is in the marketplace [the sanguine employer realizing it does have a duty to mitigate both its and its former employee’s damages], extending the opportunity to the former employer to aid the former employee in securing employment so the former employee can discontinue unemployment compensation chargeable to the employer, etc. Professional reference checking firm Allison & Taylor Reference Checking offers three common reference scenarios where references offer too much information, and what can be done: Scenario #1 - An employer calls for information on you, a job applicant aged 40+. In the course of discussion, the reference makes a comment such as “Well, we both know that this industry is a young man’s game- he’s a good worker, but I don’t know how long he’ll stick around- he is 52 years old, after all.” What can be done: Age Discrimination as defined by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, relates to individuals 40 years of age or older who have been discriminated against based on their age. These kinds of age-related comments might be considered discriminatory. Depending on the nature of the comment, you may have legal recourse, and a professional reference check from Allison & Taylor Reference Checking is admissible in court. Scenario #2 - After a wrongful termination, a former boss is divulging specific details of your exit from the company. “I
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