If you are a sales professional or want to become one, or if you are looking for a new sales job, you will face one of the toughest interview processes of any job seeker.
Career Sabotage: The Influence of a Past Employer
The word was out on Jim Walters. Someone was telling prospective employers that they shouldn’t hire him. It cost him at least twelve top job offers, kept him unemployed for over a year, and more than $100,000 of his retirement fund.
Walters, not his real name, has since discovered work, but 2 years later he is still angry at his former boss for nearly ruining his life. Walters was able to stop his boss from spreading more lies, but he wonders how many other job seekers are not so fortunate.
“For months I suspected that my former boss was saying something about me. The problem was I didn’t know what he was saying or how to prove it” said Walters, a former General Manager for a Manufacturing Company.
Job seekers can now turn the tables on their former bosses. Many are starting to check up on former bosses, colleagues and even trusted friends, by using professional reference checking firms. Let’s face it. Companies have been checking out potential employees’ backgrounds for years.
“When you get right down to it, you just don’t know for sure, who you can trust. There is simply too much at stake – your position, your income, your family’s well being – to chance it that your references are positive and accurate” told Heidi M. Allison, Managing Director of Allison & Taylor, Inc., a professional reference checking firm.
Allison & Taylor, Inc. has been checking reference since 1984 for a variety of clients from nurses and teachers to senior managers and even presidents of companies. Allison & Taylor’s clients also include attorneys, professional recruiters and companies who hire them to check out potential employees.
Ms. Allison stated that about half of the references they investigate are mediocre to down right negative – often to the surprise of the client. “People they believe are giving Them a precious reference aren’t” she said, “And just as many who have assumed they are getting a bad reference are not.”
Allison & Taylor, Inc. is up front with the people they call to check a reference. “When we call a reference we simply state that we are calling to do an employment verification and reference check on (name of client). Typically the reference assumes we are considering hiring that individual or we have been hired to check Them out for a company that is considering hiring Them. No matter what, we never disclosed who has actually hired us to perform the reference check. This allows our client complete confidentiality and the ability to use our information in court should the need arise” stated Ms. Allison.
It’s not uncommon for references to pass out inaccurate information. Dates and title of employment, the reason for the separation and salary information are typically mistaken and unfortunately it is assumed by potential employers that the career opportunity seeker is lying.
Sometimes information is subtle. For instance, if a reference doesn’t return 2 or 3 calls, that raises a red flag. Innuendoes such as, “Are you sure he listed me as a reference?” or “Well, according to our agreement I can only confirm that she worked here” offer additional clues that things are just not right.
Ms. Allison has also noticed that the higher the job, the more freely references divulge damaging information. “Clients often assume that company policies to only confirm limited information are strictly followed. I usually ask them if they are in a hurry and don’t see a police officer if they tend to push the speed limit. References are no different. If someone really liked you and wants to help you land another job, or if they had a problem with you and don’t wanna see you working, they can and will break company policy.”
In a slight turn of events, Ms. Allison stated that over the last few years, her clients have used positive references to assist ‘em in their court cases. “In the case of wrongful termination, a positive reference can be used as support of litigation. In fact, our clients have been awarded settlements in excess of $1 million.”
The purpose of checking your references shouldn’t be to file a lawsuit. However, a candidate does have to know the quality of their references and whether former employers are passing on personal opinions, conjecture, rumors or accurate legal facts.
HOW TO CHECK YOUR OWN REFERENCES
A poor or even luke warm reference can sometimes cost you the job you want. If you are worried about what a former boss will say to a prospective employer, consider using a reference checking service as seen in the Wall Street Journal. The industry’s big and oldest reference checking firm, JobReferences.com, an Allison & Taylor, Inc. company, provides reference checks for position seekers that range from $69 for basic to $99 for executive level reports. In business for 20 years, JobReferences.com will confidentially contact your references, inquiring about performance – managerial skills, judgment, integrity, productivity, technical skills – as well as employment dates, position description and reason for departure. Within an average of 10 days, you will have a complete dossier on your reference, including how long it took for a response, general tone and verbatim quotes. For additional information on this crucial service, call Eight hundred 651 2460 or visit their comprehensive web site at www.JobReferences.com.
by Heidi Allison-Shane, Managing Director, Allison & Taylor Reference Checking
Article courtesy of Peggy McKee - Owner / Senior Headhunter at the nationally
recognized clinical and clinical laboratory sales recruiting team of PHC Consulting.
© Copyright 2008 PHC Consulting | All rights reserved
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