Job References
Comments
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marmite1979 wrote: »What should I do then? When filling in online applications you have to fill the reference part in there and then. I have a small number of people who may give me one so add them. All I'm really after is a quick Telephone/Email Reference
I apply for at least twenty jobs a week even the most patient will get cheesed off with a few contacting them for references every week.
Some Employers will contact Companies I have worked with, sadly the best places I worked that would give glowing appraisals for my performance at will not give out references as company policy.
I have done an awful lot of entry level Agency/temporary jobs so rarely get to know colleagues that well, let alone well enough to ask them to be a referee and rarely even speak to management levels.
Other old employers/colleagues have either closed down, retired, moved & don't bother with social media so finding them is hard.
Other than being dishonest and finding Fake References I'm stuck.
Normally, if you've asked someone about giving you a reference, you ask in a general way and can give them more than once rather than asking every time. Most employment references are dealt with by the HR department so you can get a reference even after your manager or supervisor has moved on.0 -
Past employers are contacted all the time for references, it goes with the territory of being a past employer, so I doubt they'd take offence, even if you hadn't let them know at all.
I understand it's fairly common now for past employers to only provide very neutral written references (basically just confirming your job title and employment dates) for fear of being sued if they say anything detrimental, or held liable if they are too positive! What they might say if the prospective employer simply phones them up could be different of course.
Also it's not even been a week yet since the reference request went out, so I would sit tight for the moment - after all, you don't even know there's a problem yet.
Thanks for your reply, I need to be more patient and not think the worst thing will happen ; by product of the anxiety.
I need to stop checking my phone every two minutes and wait to see what will happen.
Thanks again0 -
Debtfreemoo wrote: »Hi
Thanks for your reply.
When I handed my notice in with previous employer , I put in my resignation letter ' I hope I can count on your for a reference in the future' or something along those lines and they were fine. So I had already mentioned future references as soon as I left.
My email wasn't just that one line I wrote above, I just shortened it for on here.
The exact email was
Hi ********
It's been a while, I hope everything's ok with you and your family and your still loving the new office
Just wanted to give you a heads up that ******** will be getting in touch with you for a Job Reference as I have passed the interview stage for a job there.
I hope this is ok with you ?
I feel that I had already permission to request a reference back when I resigned and then rather than just letting prospective employer contact them, I emailed first to let them know.
Not nearly as bad as it sounded in your earlier post, certainly. I hope it all goes well for you.0 -
missbiggles1 wrote: »Not nearly as bad as it sounded in your earlier post, certainly.
I think my previous boss will probably take there time as it was a small family run business, they were part time and always took a while to email people back.
Plus the job reference was 3 pages long !0 -
That is unlikely to satisfy and employer, most references will be sought from previous HR dept.
The problem I have though is that the Companies I worked with that are big enough to have a HR department. Will not even give a Reference. Others I have worked with through an agency will not give one as I wasn't employed by them.
Those agencies are reluctant as they then lose me for further contracts and even then I have never actually worked with those in the agencies office.
One Big Company gave a reference that only consisted of the Day I started and the day I left.
Others are companies where the only people I worked with were like me on short term contracts on a site 100's of miles away from HQ whom I've never seen again.
I am volunteering but have yet to build up enough relationships to be confident that they could give a reference yet.
It was fine Fifteen years ago, you went to an Employer, asked for a Job, they gave you a week to try it out. 9/10 This is was successful.0 -
Debtfreemoo wrote: »I think my previous boss will probably take there time as it was a small family run business, they were part time and always took a while to email people back.
Plus the job reference was 3 pages long !
There you go then. The local authority HR will no doubt follow-up and chase references if nothing is received within a particular timeframe - and I'm sure they would wait at least a week before chasing.0 -
If they have to chase it up and receive no response, would they ask for another reference (which I can give) or just go off the reference from my current employer.
Thanks0 -
Past employers are contacted all the time for references, it goes with the territory of being a past employer, so I doubt they'd take offence, even if you hadn't let them know at all.
I understand it's fairly common now for past employers to only provide very neutral written references (basically just confirming your job title and employment dates) for fear of being sued if they say anything detrimental, or held liable if they are too positive! What they might say if the prospective employer simply phones them up could be different of course.
I almost always found that despite demanding several references, employers and employment agencies had a policy not to provide them.0 -
Debtfreemoo wrote: »If they have to chase it up and receive no response, would they ask for another reference (which I can give) or just go off the reference from my current employer.
Thanks
At my local authority this would be the norm.
Nothing received is VERY different to a refusal to give.
If your former employer (for whatever reason) doesn't respond you would normally be asked to provide another suitable reference. Again, in my authority, this wouldn't have to be an employment reference, provided at least one of my referees was a current or former employer.
For your interest, the chase-up time for us is as follows:
E-Mail request sent
2 weeks after - Reminder (in case of going to junk, etc.)
3 weeks after initial e-mail - Phone call or postal request if details provided.
4 weeks after initial e-mail - contact conditional employee for additional reference.0 -
At my local authority this would be the norm.
Nothing received is VERY different to a refusal to give.
If your former employer (for whatever reason) doesn't respond you would normally be asked to provide another suitable reference. Again, in my authority, this wouldn't have to be an employment reference, provided at least one of my referees was a current or former employer.
For your interest, the chase-up time for us is as follows:
E-Mail request sent
2 weeks after - Reminder (in case of going to junk, etc.)
3 weeks after initial e-mail - Phone call or postal request if details provided.
4 weeks after initial e-mail - contact conditional employee for additional reference.
Thank you for that
Didn't realise it could be drawn out for up to a month eeeek
Just had a colleague messaging me saying 'heard your leaving, when will it be' etc
I just hope it's all done and dusted quickly, rather then it dragging if my previous employer doesn't get the email/ignores the email etc0
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