The word was out on Jim Walters. Someone was telling prospective employers that they shouldn’t hire him. It cost him at least twelve top job offers, kept him unemployed for over a year, and forced him to dip into more than $100,000 of his retirement fund.
Walters, not his real name, has since found work, but two years later he is still angry with his former boss for nearly ruining his life. Walters was able to stop his boss from spreading more lies, but he wonders how many other job seekers are not so fortunate.
“For months I suspected that my former boss was saying something about me. The problem was I didn’t know what he was saying or how to prove it” said Walters, a former General Manager for a manufacturing company.
Job seekers can now turn the tables on their former bosses. Many are starting to check up on former bosses, colleagues and even trusted friends, by using professional reference checking firms.
“When you get right down to it, you just don’t know for sure who you can trust. There is simply too much at stake – your job, your income, your family’s well being – to chance it that your references are positive and accurate” says Heidi M. Allison, Managing Director of Allison & Taylor, a professional reference checking firm.
Allison & Taylor has been checking reference since 1984 for a wide variety of clients, from nurses and teachers to senior managers and even corporate presidents. Allison & Taylor’s clients also include attorneys, professional recruiters and companies who hire them to check out potential employees.
Ms. Allison states that about half of the reference evaluations they receive rate their clients mediocre to downright negative – often to the surprise of the client. “People they believe are giving them a good reference are frequently not” she says. “And just as many who have assumed they are getting a bad reference, are not.”
Next time I will look at more at how your references can sabotage your job search and what you can do about it. Don’t wait until its too late to learn what past employers are saying to your potential employers.
Here is what one Allison & Taylor client had to say after using our professional reference checking services:
“I am very satisfied with this service! My consultant was excellent!”
For more information about Allison & Taylor, Inc.’s professional reference checking services and how they can help you in your job search click here.