employer is insisting on contacting my current manager before deciding whether to offer me a job by Alison Green on June 20, 2013 A reader writes: I have recently been told that I am one of two finalists for a new job but the interviewer (the director) wants to contact my current manager directly before making a final decision. I had already supplied four references, which included three managers from my previous jobs. Two of those manager references […] Read the full article →
did I make the right call in rejecting this job candidate? by Alison Green on June 18, 2013 A reader writes: I am a training manager for an independent cell phone retailer. Basically, I make sure all new hires in my district have their new hire paperwork filled out so I can fax it to our home office, and train them on store operations and customer service at my store location before we […] Read the full article →
don’t list your spouse as a job reference (and don’t lie about it if you do) by Alison Green on June 14, 2013 A reader writes: This happened the other week — Candidate for manager job interviews great. His second level interview goes great as well. He hasn’t provided us with a list of references, so I start calling the two references listed on his application. Our application asks for two “professional references” and has a “how known” […] Read the full article →
why do employers ask for personal references rather than professional ones? by Alison Green on April 24, 2013 A reader writes: I’m applying for a job that requests I send “three references other than previous employers or relatives.” Does this mean that I can’t use anyone I’ve worked with in the past? I’m several years out of school and nearly all of my references are work-related. Should I list friends? Old classmates? I […] Read the full article →
how can I be a great reference for a former coworker? by Alison Green on March 19, 2013 A reader writes: A former coworker reached out to me via LinkedIn recently to ask if I’d be willing to serve as a reference for him during his job search. He is leaving the company where I used to work in a role that was semi-managerial. He was a great coworker and valuable member of […] Read the full article →
giving a reference for a brilliant but abusive former manager by Alison Green on February 22, 2013 A reader writes: My supervisor was recently moved out of my department and I believed she would be looking for new jobs. Lo and behold, I get an email from an out-of-state colleague saying she has applied for the director position there, and would I be able to unofficially tell him anything about her? He […] Read the full article →
are your job references in order? by Alison Green on February 13, 2013 Job candidates often hand over lists of references without much thought to the people they’ve included. But references can play a big role in hiring, so it’s worth being thoughtful and strategic about who you include. Who makes the best reference? The best reference is someone who managed your work and will speak glowingly of you. […] Read the full article →
employers that ask for references but never call them by Alison Green on January 1, 2013 A reader writes: I have a question that’s more of a curiosity than a pressing concern, since I’m currently happily employed. When I was searching for a job, I had two in-person interviews (each preceded by a phone interview) that seemed to go really well. Both teams of interviewers asked me for references, which I […] Read the full article →
references for bad employees by Alison Green on November 9, 2012 A reader writes: This past summer, I worked as a supervisor for a pool management company, meaning that I oversaw the operations of nine neighborhood pools and managed about 50-60 life guards. Since this is often the first job they have, lifeguards do not always come with a sound work ethic. Recently — after the […] Read the full article →
should I tell my manager my concerns about a previous coworker she’s interviewing? by Alison Green on October 12, 2012 A reader writes: My department is currently interviewing for an open position, and I found out that one of the candidates is a former coworker of mine from the job I had prior to this one. I have not been involved in the hiring process at all; I just happened to see him/her in the […] Read the full article →