referring a friend for a job? not so fast… by Alison Green on January 3, 2011 A job opens up at your company. You have a friend who’s job-searching. Yay, get your friend a job and get to work with someone you like! Not so fast. Referring a friend for a job can have consequences that people often don’t take the time to think about. While there are of course times […] Read the full article →
my former boss told a background checker that she didn’t know me by Alison Green on December 16, 2010 A reader writes: I applied for a job and they did a background check and called my ex-boss. She told them she doesn’t know/remember me. I worked there for four months, four years ago, but I worked with her directly and there is no way she wouldn’t remember me. Plus, I went and talked to her beforehand […] Read the full article →
unreasonable job application instructions by Alison Green on November 19, 2010 A reader writes: OK, is it just me or is this crazy-making? I found a job listing via a national job bank specific to my field. I’m interested, but…it’s unclear to me if this position is based in their East Coast office, or if, since it’s a “Field Organizer,” it is based elsewhere. I’m only […] Read the full article →
don’t check references? here’s a horror story for you by Alison Green on October 20, 2010 This post is for anyone who has ever said or secretly thought that reference-checking is a waste of time. Not long ago, I had a job candidate on the verge of being hired. He had wowed everyone in the interview and clearly had the skills to the do the job well. Something was strange about his […] Read the full article →
must your resume say that your “references are available upon request”? by Alison Green on August 20, 2010 A reader writes: Do hiring managers still desire the “References Available Upon Request” line on a resume? They do not. It goes without saying that your references are available upon request; it would be really odd if they were not. Get rid of the line and use the area it frees up for some soothing […] Read the full article →
it’s not illegal to give a bad job reference by Alison Green on June 23, 2010 A reader writes: My wife and I go back and forth about this one all the time. A former secretary of hers was moving and searching for a new job in her new city. The problem was that this person wasn’t the most reliable employee. She was always late, took days off without calling and […] Read the full article →
should my boss proactively email a prospective employer to recommend me? by Alison Green on June 1, 2010 A reader writes: I’m applying for a job in research at a big university, and a career coach gave me the following advice: in addition to submitting my resume and cover letter through the online system, I should also have my current boss (principle investigator) email the hiring manager with a short and sweet “hey, my assistant applied for the […] Read the full article →
a tale of bad interviewer behavior, this time with reference abuse by Alison Green on April 21, 2010 A reader writes: After a 45-minute phone interview with a small non-profit in another state, I was invited to interview in-person. The interviewer contacted me two days prior to the interview to request that I provide the following to her, in less than 24 hours: – Phone numbers for four references, who were then subjected […] Read the full article →
does a request for my references mean anything? by Alison Green on April 13, 2010 A reader writes: I know you’ve answered a plethora of questions regarding references…. but. I had a phone interview last week with the person who would be my hiring manager (VP of Marketing). It went very well, and she invited me into the office for an on-site interview. The on-site interview entailed interviewing with first […] Read the full article →
current employer won’t give me a reference by Alison Green on January 15, 2010 A reader writes: The company I work for has a no-reference policy. From what I can gather, it’s because the managers I work for aren’t permitted to speak about my performance on behalf of their area managers. I have worked for the company for 2.5 yrs and have performed well, risen to supervisor, and have […] Read the full article →