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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Job
Seekers Beware: Companies Frequently Break Reference Policies
DETROIT,
Mich., Nov. 25, 2009
With the national unemployment rate holding steady near 10
percent, it should come as no surprise there is a lot of competition
for jobs across the country. What is perplexing, however, is how
many people have bad professional references that can derail even the
most qualified candidate, according to Heidi Allison, president of
Allison
& Taylor,
the nation's leading reference checking and employment verification
firm.
"People
spend a lot of time working on their resume, brushing up their
interview skills and networking during job searches, but many fail to
select their professional references carefully," Allison said. "We
check references for clients and approximately half of our calls to
former employers produce an unexpected bad reference. The bottom
line is that people need to select their references more carefully."
Allison
says there is a common misperception that, when contacted for a
reference, former employers will only verify if a person previously
worked for them and provide his or her job title.
"The
fact is most people have no problem talking and, with a little
prodding, one can learn quite a bit from a professional reference -
some good, some bad," Allison explained. "You'd be shocked at
what some people selected to provide professional references have
said about candidates."
The
following are excerpts of real professional reference checking
interviews conducted by Allison
& Taylor
staff on behalf of clients during the past year:
Comments
regarding a candidate's skills, ranking them on a scale of 1-5:
Oral
Communications: "Can I give a negative number?"
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?"
Decision
Making: "He couldn't make a decision if his life depended on it."
Managerial
Skills: "He couldn't manage a group of children."
Financial
Skills: "That's why our company had a major layoff - we left
her in charge of the finances!"
Comments
regarding a candidate's strengths and weaknesses:
"I
cannot think of any strengths, only weaknesses."
"I'm
sure there are some strengths, but nothing jumps out at me."
"I'd
rather not comment - you can take that however you want."
Comments
regarding the reason for the candidate leaving the company:
"I
fired him! He and his buddy had some illegal things going."
"It
was a rather delicate and awkward situation. You should call her
other past employers. I made the mistake of not doing that."
"She
was terminated in an investigation."
Comments
regarding a candidate selecting a person to be a professional
reference:
"Are
you certain he gave you my name?"
"I
let him go and that's all I care to say."
"I'm
surprised she even listed us on her work history."
There
are some professional references that make one simply wonder how a
candidate would ever consider this person for a reference:
"No
comment, he could not do anything correctly in the position he held
with us."
"Let's
save everyone some time. Basically, you could rank him inadequate in
all areas."
"Inadequate
would be a positive word for him!"
"If
a person is struggling to find a job, there's a good chance a
reference influenced them negatively and, once that's happened,
it's often too late to resolve the situation," Allison said. "We
tell clients, don't let this happen to you. We encourage them to
work with us to check their references in advance and see if they're
positive. If not, there are several steps - some legal - that
can be taken to rectify the situation."
# # #
Allison
& Taylor: Find
us on Facebook,
and Follow
us on Twitter!
About
Allison & Taylor:
Allison
& Taylor, Inc.
and its principals have been in the business of checking references
for corporations and individuals since 1984. Allison & Taylor,
Inc. is headquartered in Rochester, MI. For further details on
services and procedures please visit http://www.allisontaylor.com/.
Contact:
Jeff
Shane
JeffShane@allisontaylor.com
800.651.2470
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