Reference....What's asked?

Strike

I was just wondering what information does a prospective employer ask when contacting a referee?

Is it generic info i.e length of service, dates, would you employ them again etc? and finally are ex-employees able to ask for a copy?

Any information would be much appreciated.

Googlewhacker

Would you hire this person again?

November5th

Googlewhacker wrote: »

Would you hire this person again?

Seriously? That question would almost always get a no, logically!

MX5huggy

Dear Sir,

You would be very lucky to get Strike to work for you.

Regarsd

tizerbelle

November5th wrote: »

Seriously? That question would almost always get a no, logically!

No, not always. Last reference I did, it was yes, we would re-employ them.

Reference before that I didn't answer the question at all.

Other questions include:
How did they leave - resigned; redundant or dismissed?
How many periods of sickness absence did they have in the last 12 months of employment and what was the total of days sickness?
Why did they leave?
How would you rate them on a scale of 1-4 for honesty; productivity and efficiency; punctuality; reliability; relationships with colleagues?
How much parental leave have they had with you during their employment and on what dates?

Basically any question you can think of can be asked.

Whether any or all questions are answered is down to the employer replying to the reference. They could ignore it and not respond; it could be a line saying "Fred Smith was employed as a dogsbody from 1 May 2009 to 8 August 2010." or it could be a page of prose that says it all or says nothing!

Under Data Protection you have a right to ask for a copy of pretty much any documentation held about you by any employer; ex-employer or potential employer. You can be charged for this (£10 max I think) but don't forget even if it paints a picture of the worst employee in the world ever, as long as it is factual you can't do anything about it.

Googlewhacker

November5th wrote: »

Seriously? That question would almost always get a no, logically!

No it wouldn't, some companies have a blanket 'no' answer but alot would answer yes.

It's not the be all or end all question and alot of companies don't ask it.

The most standard referance is just the basic facts such as date of employment, responsibilities etc etc

Though the employee has no right to see it from the ex employer but they can request it from the employer they are trying to get a job with.

elsien

Varies according to the company - some have quite specific forms that they send out along with a job description, asking about suitability for the role applied for along with all the stuff tizerbelle mentioned. Ability to lone work under pressure / use initiative has cropped up a few times. Plus an "any other information you consider relevant to the position" section. And if they had any disciplinary actions against them in the last x years.
The last request I had was a vague email just asking for a reference, with no real information on what the job entailed. So I had to give quite a bland generic one which probably didn't do the candidate any favours.
I've also come across a company that has a policy of not giving references at all, not even to confirm that you actually worked there.

Strike

Thanks for the replies, is appreciated. I guess I should go into more the reasons why I asked. I left a company in 2009 after 7 years service. The manner in which I resigned/left was in no way perfect. My GP and a Hospital Dr both wrote letters to my employer along with my own resignation letter asking for resignation with immediate effect due to me going through treatment for an addiction. They were happy to do this and agreed a date.

As you can appreciate the whole situation was far from ideal as they were a fantastic employer and equally I think they thought a great deal of me but I understand they have to be truthful in their references about reasons why I left and also the sickness I had whilst working for them.

Since then it has been so difficult to find work as my only option is to give them as my referee but I know it will not be a good one purely based on the sickness and manner I left. Of course in hindsight I deeply regret it but alas at the time as it was my only option and under the guidance of medical professionals.

During the mean time I have been trying to find voluntary work to see if I can get a recent referee but I am also desperate to return to work. I am just unsure what to do to make myself more employable and overcome this hurdle which I have to regret for the rest of my life.

tizerbelle

Strike wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, is appreciated. I guess I should go into more the reasons why I asked. I left a company in 2009 after 7 years service. The manner in which I resigned/left was in no way perfect. My GP and a Hospital Dr both wrote letters to my employer along with my own resignation letter asking for resignation with immediate effect due to me going through treatment for an addiction. They were happy to do this and agreed a date.

As you can appreciate the whole situation was far from ideal as they were a fantastic employer and equally I think they thought a great deal of me but I understand they have to be truthful in their references about reasons why I left and also the sickness I had whilst working for them.

Since then it has been so difficult to find work as my only option is to give them as my referee but I know it will not be a good one purely based on the sickness and manner I left. Of course in hindsight I deeply regret it but alas at the time as it was my only option and under the guidance of medical professionals.

During the mean time I have been trying to find voluntary work to see if I can get a recent referee but I am also desperate to return to work. I am just unsure what to do to make myself more employable and overcome this hurdle which I have to regret for the rest of my life.

If they were such a good employer, why not contact them and ask if they would be able to provide a reference that did not refer to your reason for leaving; time off work etc but focus on the positives eg length of service; reliability etc. Just because a form is sent, your employer does not have to use it, they can write a letter saying anything they want irrespective of the questions asked.

Strike

tizerbelle wrote: »

If they were such a good employer, why not contact them and ask if they would be able to provide a reference that did not refer to your reason for leaving; time off work etc but focus on the positives eg length of service; reliability etc. Just because a form is sent, your employer does not have to use it, they can write a letter saying anything they want irrespective of the questions asked.

Thank you, to be honest I never thought of that as an option. They are a a big global company (15k+ employees) so understood all HR related matters are centralised so they would work off my file. Is worth a try

mandragora_2

I've also seen candidates add a note to their application giving details of difficult circumstances. When I've seen it done, we've appreciated knowing, and we've been able to consider whether it's a factor for us - for example, a CRB check revealing a criminal charge relating to drunk/disorderly, but while still a relative youngster, many years ago.

Another alternative might be to get some voluntary experience under your belt, and garner references from that.

Reference requests that come in can be as varied as the companies that send them. Sometimes they're very simple, and just a tick box/grading thing, sometimes they're very vague and expect you to work out the sort of things they need to know, sometimes they demand a long essay! I try to be fair to the employee in what I write. You do quite often get 'Would you employ them in position X' I don't think it's a fair question, and I have declined to answer it in the past, giving my reasons why I've declined the question on the form.