(Note: A prospective employer does not require your permission to check any reference.) 5. Keep those workplace bullies off your reference list- they can destroy your chances for new employment. Despite negative press about bad bosses (or co-workers), bullies still abound in the workplace and can adversely affect your current or future employment. Even if you’ve left a negative employment situation, these people will sometimes continue to sabotage your job-seeking efforts with unflattering responses to a reference check. Try to keep these people off your reference list if at all possible, perhaps using a different company contact. If this isn’t an option, try checking your reference before you go to that all-important job interview. If they are providing negative information about you, you do have recourse . Keeping tabs on the way employers evaluate your references is a critical element in getting that new job. An up-to-date, thoughtful, and well-planned reference list can be your strongest chance to stand out in a sea of qualified applicants. Craft yours to reflect you in the best possible light. CHAPTER 53 How To Stop A Bully or Former Boss from Giving An Unwarranted Bad Job Reference A “Cease & Desist Letter” Is an Effective Means to Counteract Bad Job References from A Bully or Former Boss Leaving one job and moving to another can be a challenge, but sometimes opportunity presents itself and you find the job that’s a fit. Imagine the frustration, then, of having successfully navigated the demanding pre-screening process; having “nailed” your interviews; perhaps having even being assured that an offer was imminent…but then to never hear from that prospective employer again. Clearly, something went awry- but what cost you that job? At this point, consider that one of the final phases of the hiring process - namely, the employer check of your references - may have been your undoing. “A majority of the references we check are for job candidates who suspect negative feedback from former employers,” says Jeff Shane, President of A llison & Taylor Reference Checking, a firm that offers professional reference checking services. Despite the fact that many companies prohibit managers from providing references, “We find that the people most likely to provide negative references are former supervisors,” says Shane. “Perhaps a position of authority makes them feel that the company reference policies don’t really apply to them – or that there is no way that their former employee will ever become aware that negative feedback about them has been given out.” Unfortunately, it’s not just an overtly negative reference that can be problematic. A simple “not eligible for rehire” from Human Resources can also doom an applicant’s prospects for future employment. The most reliable way to ensure that your references are responding appropriately to employment inquiries is to conduct a reference check(s). If a reference check confirms negative or inappropriate feedback, don’t despair; you have the ability to take action to prevent further harm to your employment opportunities. One of the foremost options is to have a Cease & Desist letter issued that will help ensure that the transgressor will stop their actions out of fear of corporate reprisal. In offering this service, Allison & Taylor Reference Checking works with attorneys well-versed in employment law who will review the client’s report from a negative reference , speak directly with the client to discuss protocol and options, and then issue the letter to the organization from which the negative commentary originated. As part of the overall fee, Allison & Taylor Reference Checking then re-conducts the original reference check to determine if the negative reference is continuing to offer harmful commentary. This very rarely turns out to be the case – the documented “success rate” of the letter through attorneys working with Allison & Taylor Reference Checking exceeds 99%.
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