You: Victim Of Employer Incompetence?

(NAPSI)— You may have heard a former employer is allowed to divulge only your employment dates and title—but that may not be quite true. 

If you’re confident your former employers will always adhere to this policy, you might want to think again. Allison & Taylor, Inc. The Reference Checking Company, found more than 57% of the thousands of the checks it conducts 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 likely will—prevent you from getting new employment at some future date.

To address this, you need to identify exactly what your former employers actually “offer 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.

On the other hand, some employers who promise to give former workers a good reference merely say, “Well according to our agreement I can only confirm that he worked here.” Some will also say “let me get the legal file” which will dampen any chances for an offer.

To put it less charitably: Employers sometimes make bad decisions when offering commentary about former employees. With a little pressure, many managers break company policy and speak their mind jealous colleagues could sabotage you. The victim of employer incompetence is, sadly, very often the job seeker.

Check Your Former Job References

Here’s why you should check your own references:

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-à-vis other candidates.

2.Prospective employers will not tell you if they have uncovered any reference negativity about you. Instead, they’ll simply tell you that they have “decided to go in a different direction” or—more likely—you’ll never hear from them again.

3.The company’s comment policy may not be what you think. 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 use for a reference. 

5.Your resume information may not reflect their HR records. Your former employer may have different employment dates, position title, or supervisor listed than you presented. This might suggest to a new employer that you’re less than truthful.

6.You may have been omitted from the HR records entirely. This can occur in the case of mergers, where not all records make the transfer into a new system. It’s also not uncommon with the self-employed; many companies don’t hold records for contractors in their HR system. It will reflect poorly on you if an employer calls and is told that there’s no record of you ever having worked for their company.

7. Peace of Mind. For that, you need to know just what is being said about you.

What You Can Do

Fortunately, reference-checking organizations such as Allison & Taylor, which consistently has a five-star review from Trustpilot, can quickly and easily help you verify exactly what your former employers will say about you. If any “unpleasant surprises” are revealed, there are tools—such as a Cease & Desist letter—that can ensure a successful solution to the problem. The company’s consultants actually call to find out precisely what your former company will say about you and send you the results in writing. Last year alone its clients were awarded more than $2 million in settlements.

Learn More

For further facts and tips, visit www.AllisonTaylor.com.

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