acquaintances, friends or casual associates. Most important are your former supervisors and Human Resources department at your previous places of employment. Employers understand that while confirmation of your dates/title are all that a previous employer is supposed to provide, supervisors are frequently willing to offer them the candid input they seek. If you anticipate a poor reference from your former supervisor, what is your best course of action? One recommendation is to have a third-party reference checking firm like Allison & Taylor Reference Checking check your key references prior to beginning your job search. If you receive a “neutral” (employment dates/title) confirmation then you can rest easier that this reference will not cost you future employment. However, if a supervisor, HR representative or other party offers negative commentary about you (which, unfortunately, is a very common occurrence) consider a “Cease & Desist” letter issued through an attorney to the senior management of your former employer. Such letters are extremely effective, as the party receiving the letter tends to have little tolerance for someone within their company who is exceeding company policy in offering negative commentary and (in so doing) putting the company at legal risk. Also note that some negative commentary may be illegal – e.g. defamation of character, discrimination, wrongful discharge, etc. – and you may have stronger legal recourse than a Cease & Desist letter. In summary, understand that the job references who will “make or break” you are typically your former supervisor and Human Resources department. Never assume that they will follow the verbal indication they may have given you – you simply have too much at stake. Instead, conduct your due diligence and have their input documented by a third party. If negativity is uncovered, you will have some level of recourse as described above and ensure that your new employment opportunity presents itself sooner, than later. CHAPTER 67 Don’t Need to Check Your Own References? Better Think Again You May Be Surprised About What Your References Are Really Saying About You How many of us have heard this oft-spoken mantra before: Your former employer is only allowed to divulge your employment dates and title you held with the organization. Their company policy states that no negativity about you as a former employee can be offered. If you’re confident that your former employers will always adhere to this policy, you might want to think again. Reference checking firm Allison & Taylor Reference Checking indicates that approximately half of the thousands of reference checks they conduct, reveal some form of employer negativity (typically from either former supervisors or Human Resources personnel). Put another way, what you don’t know can – and almost surely will – prevent you from getting new employment at some future date. To address this, it is critical that you first identify exactly what your former employers are actually “offering up” about you to potential new employers. In addition to intentional negativity, employers sometimes inadvertently offer information that (for example) may contradict information you have put on your resume. Here is a summary of why you would be well advised to check your own references before embarking on a new job search: 1. Your references may not be saying what you expect. If your reference is offering any negativity about you whatsoever, it will put you at a disadvantage vis a vis other candidates whose references are either glowing or neutral. Your odds of landing that job will be negligible at best. 2. Prospective employers will not tell you if they have uncovered any reference negativity about you. Instead, they will simply tell you that they have “decided to go in a different direction” or – more likely still – you will simply never hear from that company again. 3. The company’s comment policy may not be what they think it is. Again, many people assume that an employer can’t or won’t say anything of a negative nature, and are unpleasantly surprised to find out this may not be the case. Employers all-too-often say unflattering things about former employees. 4. Your reference contact may no longer work for the company. Many job seekers make the mistake of not staying in close contact with the person they intend to use for a reference. You need to ensure that person is still there to respond
Resumes Win Interviews References Win Job Offers
70
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online