• Written Communications: “You mean when she finally turned in the reports due a week earlier??” • Technical Skills: “Is zero in your rating scale?” • Interpersonal Relations: “He had a problem with a few of the people. I should have ended the relationship just after he started.” • Productivity: “Is there a rating less than inadequate? • Employee Relations: “There was a lot of he said/ she said happening with other employees. And other than her leaving, nothing else has changed. We haven’t had any problems since then, so we know she was the source of the problem.” • Decision Making: “He couldn’t make a decision if his life depended on it!” • Leadership: “He had no leadership skills.” • Crisis Management: “He [fireman] totally ignored the emergency call when it came in. He said he didn’t hear it!” • Short Term Planning: “Lousy - I can’t remember something that was completed on time!” • Personal Integrity: “I don’t think she had any integrity.” It is not uncommon to contact a reference and find them hesitant, evasive or annoyed by the call. Sometimes tone of voice and inflection speak volumes- many express anger, shock, unhappiness or disbelief that they have been called regarding the employee. We are calling you as a reference regarding (the candidate). • “I do not care to comment at all. I let him go and that’s all I care to say!” • “Are you certain he gave you my name?” • “Hold on, let me get the legal file to see what I am allowed to say” • “I’m surprised she even listed us on her work HI Chapter.” Allison & Taylor Reference Checking estimates that 50% of their references come back as “lukewarm” or “negative”. In view of the critical employment stakes involved, consider having a simple reference check conducted that will tell you definitively whether or not a reference is providing a positive, professional response to inquiries made about you. If they are not, you can take proactive steps to prevent this continued spread of negative information, either through a Cease & Desist letter or through more aggressive legal recourse. To find out more about reference checking, please visit Allison & Taylor Reference Checking . CHAPTER 57 Presenting a Wisely Chosen List of Employment References is Crucial - 5 Alternative References to a Bad Boss Over 50% of Job Seekers Find Out Too Late That Former Supervisors Provide an Unflattering Reference When selecting your references for job applications, two words of advice: choose wisely. You had better assume that potential employers will, indeed, contact these parties and that your former supervisors will likely be at the top of the list - even if you haven’t voluntarily offered up their names on your application. If you are concerned that you and your former boss didn’t part on the best of terms, you may wish to identify other corporate contacts with whom you had better relationships (or who are perhaps more likely to simply follow company policy and confirm only your employment dates and title). Alternative job reference contacts might include: 1.A 2nd level supervisor with whom you had favorable dealings or a dotted line 2.Someone in senior management who you believe might offer favorable, or at least neutral, commentary about you 3.Peers, co-workers or corporate clients who can personally attest to your skills and expertise 4.Your Human Resources representative, the party most likely to follow corporate policy and limit their commentary about you to prospective new employers 5.Your subordinates, who really know better about your performance • Long Term Planning: “He wasn’t here long enough to rate him.” • Overall Performance: “Inadequate would be a positive word for him!” • Managerial Skills: “He couldn’t manage a group of children!”
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