Negotiating a fair severance package is common when a person involuntarily leaves a company. What many people fail to realize, however, is it’s just as important to negotiate a fair professional reference for use in landing one’s next position.
This is one of the biggest blunders people make when they lose a job, according to Heidi Allison, president of Allison & Taylor, the nation’s leading reference checking and employment-verification firm.
“No matter how you leave a company, you need to know what your immediate past employer is going to say about you to prospective new ones,” Allison said. “People mistakenly think that all employers will simply verify your past employment, but this couldn’t be further from reality. In many cases, people talk more than they should when providing a reference.”
When negotiating a professional reference, a person needs to confirm if he or she is eligible for rehiring, what is the specific reason for losing the job and, if the employer will provide a reference, what exactly is going to be said? Like any negotiation, Allison recommends getting the answers to these questions in writing.
Job seekers also need to know who is going to be providing the professional reference, for it is not just what is said but how it is said. A reference’s voice inflection can tell a prospective employer a lot about a person’s true feelings.
“In many instances, it’s best for a human resources executive without emotional ties to a former employee to provide the reference,” Allison said. “The worst case is an emotional boss who one day may provide a favorable reference and the next day the opposite just because he or she may be having a bad day.”
If there is a concern that a former boss may say something derogatory or untrue about a former employee when asked for a professional reference, the human resources department should be contacted to clarify the company’s reference policy.
“Believe it or not, many managers don’t know the official reference policy of a company and inadvertently say too much,” Allison said. “Someone in human resources needs to remind them of the rules, which force former bosses to temper their comments.”
In some cases, prospective employers who cannot reach a candidate’s professional references simply eliminate that person from contention.
“The interviewing and reference-checking process is all about impressions,” Allison explained. “What kind of impression do you think a candidate provides if a so-called professional reference refuses to acknowledge a candidate worked for them? Not good.”
So, what is a job seeker to do if a former employer drops the ball, so to speak? According to Allison, one may have to hire an attorney to prompt the company to cooperate.
“A letter is sent on one’s behalf to the company, explaining that the candidate needs a job and asking them to provide a professional reference following set policies,” Allison said. “Most companies are sympathetic to a candidate’s efforts to find another position and then return the call from the prospective employer.”
An “official” letter of recommendation never replaces a professional reference verbally provided to a hiring manager, she stressed.
“Letters of recommendation really aren’t effective in today’s job market,” Allison said. “A candidate can work with the letter provider to assure the letter says all the right things so, in the minds of many hiring managers, they have little credibility no matter who it comes from.”
Career Sabotage: Negative Influence from a Past Employer
The word was out on Sam Edwards. Someone was telling prospective new employers that they shouldn’t hire him. This single “bad reference” cost Sam at least seven job offers and forced him to tap into more than $50,000 of his retirement fund. This, in spite of his solid credentials.
Edwards (not his real name) has since found work, but two years later he is still angry with a former boss for nearly ruining his financial life. Sam was able to stop his former boss from spreading more negativity, 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 Edwards.
However, job seekers like Sam can now turn the tables on their former bosses. Many have begun to check up on former bosses, colleagues and even trusted friends, by using professional reference checking firms to see what those references will say about them to prospective new employers.
“When you get right down to it, you don’t know always know for sure who you can trust. There is simply too much at stake – your job, your income, your family’s well being – to leave to chance that your references are positive and accurate” says Heidi Allison, Managing Director of Allison & Taylor, Inc. (www.allisontaylor.com) a professional reference checking firm.
Ms. Allison states that about half of the references they investigate offer mediocre to downright negative input – often to the surprise and dismay of the clients. “People they believe will give them a good reference, frequently do not,” she says. “And the likelihood is that such references will continue to “poison the well” unless their negative input can be documented and addressed.”
Causing further aggravation, it is not uncommon for references to pass out inaccurate information. Dates and title of employment, the reason for the separation and salary information offered by references are sometimes provided in error, and it is (unfortunately) often assumed by potential employers that the job seeker is being dishonest.
The first step in counteracting such issues is to obtain third-party documentation, and 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 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. Under no circumstances do we ever disclose 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”.
Fortunately, there is recourse for those whose reference(s) have been documented as offering negative commentary about them. Cease-&-Desist letters or potential litigation may be appropriate tools in the hands of an employment attorney.
If you suspect that a reference may be sabotaging your chances for employment, the first step is to obtain documentation by a third-party company indicating exactly what they are saying. And, the sooner the better – a negative reference can plague you indefinitely. Identifying such a person and preventing any further damage caused by them will surely be one of the best investments you will ever make.