Q&A talks about the art of references with Jeff Shane of Allison & Taylor Inc., a reference checking firm based in Michigan.
Q: The letter of reference is a thing of the past. Why is that?
A: While letters of reference are still alive and well, their significance has diminished in recent years. Many such letters are negotiated as part of a settlement between a departing employee and their company, and the favorable nature of such letters may not truly reflect how the corporate references view that employee. Prospective employers are aware of this and prefer to conduct their own reference-checking effort, either directly or by using a third party.
One ramification is that candidates with a letter of recommendation sometimes have a false sense of security that their reference will offer favorable input about them when contacted by a prospective employer. Job seekers not only need to know what is said by a reference but how it is said. A reference’s voice inflection can tell prospective employers volumes about a person’s true feelings. For references that are particularly important — or of potential concern — a job seeker would do well to consider having a third-party reference checking organization verify both the content and the tone of input offered by their references.
Q: You advocate negotiating for a fair, professional reference if you were involuntarily terminated from a company. Why is this important?
A: While negotiating a fair severance package is common when a person involuntarily leaves a company, many people fail to realize that it’s just as important to negotiate a fair professional reference for use in landing one’s next position. Failure to do so is one of the biggest blunders people make when they lose a job. 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. Many people mistakenly believe that all employers will simply verify their past employment, but this is frequently not the case. In many instances, people will 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, the specific reason for losing the job and — if the employer will provide a reference — what is going to be said. Getting the answers to these questions in writing is a highly recommended.
Q: If you’ve been fired, what leverage do you have to negotiate a fair reference and who gives you a fair reference from the company?
A: 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. Many managers don’t know the official reference policy of a company and inadvertently say too much. In these instances, someone in human resources needs to remind them of the rules, which forces former bosses to temper their remarks.
Q: Let’s look beyond involuntary terminations. Should you negotiate fair references if you are laid off, too? After all, some layoffs are used to mask terminations but the employee may not be aware of that (or blissfully ignorant).
A: Your references should always be negotiated regardless of the circumstances involved in your departure from the company. Many layoffs do indeed mask terminations whether the employee is fully aware of this or not. It is in the employee’s best interest to negotiate fair references before they separate from the company, when they still have some degree of leverage.
Prior to final separation from the company, you should confirm the answers it will give to prospective employers.
Q: How do you handle an unfair reference that might come via a search engine? Prospective employers typically search online for information about new hires. What happens if the details of a past dismissal are online, say in a newspaper article?
A: The communicator of an “unfair reference” can be discouraged by the threat of legal action against that individual/their company. Consider using an attorney to generate/send such a letter, which can be sent to the communicator’s senior management (with a copy to them as well). Offering a negative reference about a former employee is likely a violation of corporate policy, and perhaps of federal and state law as well — it’s unlikely that an organization receiving such a letter will invite possible legal action against them by ignoring it.
Q. Are there defined laws on references that former employers can give or are they more guided by potential liability concerns?
A: Negative input a reference offers about you is not wrongful or unlawful per se. Negative input may be illegal — some categories include discrimination, defamation, retaliation, disparagement or sexual harassment. Where a third party can document that a reference’s communication was wrongful, inaccurate, malicious and/or may fall under one of these categories, you may indeed have the ability — through an attorney — to pursue legal recourse. In situations where a reference’s negative input is or is not unlawful but is restricting your ability to secure future employment, it can typically be addressed through the generation and transmittal of a cease-and-desist letter (again, through an attorney). Remember, unless required by law — and most states do not require that a former employer disclose information about your prior employment – former employers are not required to respond to a reference request.
