I promised you information about job-related references, good and not so good. First, the rules or laws concerning giving references to interested parties. Employers should only give work-related references to interested parties through their human resources department if they have one, or through an owner or manager if the employer is too small to have an HR department.
The only information previous employers are obligated to give are dates of employment, position, title, and/or job responsibilities. Any information that is negative is liability-laden, and employers should refrain from volunteering it.
So, on this basis, there should be no reason to get a bad, or not-so-good, reference from a previous employer, right? No, not right! There is one question that any interested party or employer can ask a previous employer that could result in a negative response, and that question is:
“Would you consider rehiring this individual?”
Bingo! A simple “No” answer is as bad a reference as you should ever get — in our perfect hiring process world.
The hiring process is far from being perfect, so help out as much as possible.
» When listing work-related references on an employment application, list the name of the business and the person, by name and title, you want contacted.
» Do not list the name of a former co-worker as a work-related reference. You can list someone as a personal reference, but please make sure that that person only gives out personal, not work-related, information.
» If you do not want a previous employer contacted, you can state that; however, you’re raising a red flag whether they are contacted or not.
» If a previous place of employment is no longer in business, simply state that information. If the previous HR manager is no longer there, simply refer to the current HR manager.
» Never change dates of employment or present anything untruthful on a resume or employment application.
As always, do what others fail to do.
