Is my former company sabotaging my job hunt?

Dear Evil HR Lady,

I have been unemployed for about 14 months now. I have applied for many positions, even multiple times at the same company over time. I was with my last employer for about seven months, but was abruptly discharged even though just a couple of weeks before I had been told by HR that I was doing a great job. The company investigated me because they had received numerous phone calls from some staff that I supervised. I was never told what the complaints were and never had any counseling notice or disciplinary action. Nevertheless, I was discharged. I was given a severance package and praised for my work by my supervisor, who said she had enjoyed working with me but that the company had decided to make a change.

I am not sure if they (HR or an office manager at one of the facilities) is giving me a bad reference, but companies say they will follow up with me and then don't. Even when I have followed up with them, I have been told everything from "we decided to go with someone else," to "we put the position on hold." Often there is no call-back at all when I submit a resume. I leave messages and they just never call back. The last two potential employers went as far as to test me for my leadership skills and said they would call HR to see if they could move forward, and then never called back. One employer was impressed with me, but wanted me to speak to his wife, who was a partner in the business, before moving forward. I never heard back from either of them. I have not provided any references, or given permission for any of them to check references, so my guess is that they are calling a particular company on my resume as noted above and getting a bad reference, or calling people they know in the field who may have hear something about me.

Very few companies do reference checks before the absolute final stages. Checking references is time consuming, and if you don't know whether you want to hire someone you're not going to bother them. Second, very few companies will check references without asking for a list of yours. However, you do not have to give people permission to call references or prior employers. If I wanted to, I could pick up the phone and call anybody's boss and ask for a reference. (Whether they'd give it to me or not is another story.) 

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Recruiters will often call people who are not on your reference lists, but they generally ask for lists to begin with. In other words, while this may well be the reason for one of the places you've applied, it's highly unlikely that this is the reason none of the jobs work out.

Another possibility is that somehow you have developed a bad reputation. If your industry is small or your town is small, and everyone knows each other, then this is a possibility. However, then you wouldn't even get initial interviews, as you'd be blocked at the resume stage.

The third, and most likely scenario, is that recruiters aren't getting back to you because they don't get back to anyone. Seriously, it's a plague. For some reason, recruiters have got it stuck in their heads that they are so busy that they cannot possibly take the time to get back to someone who sacrificed a day or more of their lives to interview with the company. Because the 30 seconds it takes to send an email saying, "Thanks for interviewing. We've decided to go a different direction" is so burdensome that they just can't do it.

Or they don't know precisely what is going on and don't want to admit that to the candidate. But this would be nice and would treat the candidates like actual humans, and for some reason many recruiters do not want to do this. (And if you are a recruiter who wants to defend the practice of leaving candidates in the dark, please email me.)

The two companies that told you they "decided to go with someone else" and "put the position on hold" were undoubtedly telling the truth. This is what happened. You're definitely not the only candidate out there, and positions get put on hold all the time. Budgets change, needs change, headcount changes, management changes and income changes. All of those can lead to a position being put on hold. Companies would far rather leave an open position vacant than hire someone only to have to turn around and lay somebody off. This is normal.

You're getting interviews, so your resume isn't the problem. You're not getting the job, so it could well be your interviewing skills. It could be how you come across to people. It could be that you can't give a convincing explanation as to why you were let go after only seven months in your last job. Ask a friend in the same industry to give you a mock interview. Record it and study your performance.

If you're convinced that your previous employer is the problem, call and ask them. Call your former supervisor, who praised your work, and ask if she's been asked to provide a reference. Ask what she said. If she's still nice, ask her if it's possible that HR is saying something negative. Most HR departments simply confirm dates of service, but there are a few bad apples out there. Most recruiters will look to speak to the supervisor, not the HR department.

Since you received severance, you undoubtedly signed a release. This release may well contain information regarding what the company agreed to say about you. Check that out as well. If they are giving out information that is prohibited by the release, you can take them to court to get them to stop. (This, however, is unpleasant. They will generally stop it after a simple letter from an attorney bringing it to their attention.)

The most likely scenario is that it is a tough job market, you aren't the best at interviews and recruiters are just being lazy about getting back to people.

Have a workplace dilemma? Send your questions to [e-mail].

[tim.anderson]

I have two comments.

First, I have found a previous employer that appears to have sabotaged me. However, I am not entirely certain if it was intentional or due to human incompetence. In my case, my employee record at the former firm has only my initial job title and description. I was promoted twice, each with massively increasing job responsibilities. When the firm with whom I was interview performed the background check, they said there was some inconsistencies with my job history. I suspect they just then assumed I made up my job title and responsibilities. I never received a formal letter on my promotions, but I did have business cards with my last title. That was the only proof, as it was, that I had. Needless to say, I did not get the job I was applying to. I do not know if it was entirely because of the background check or not - I did have a final round interview and I assume the background check was done because I was on the short-list to get an offer. It does make me wonder how many other prospective employers used the same background check agency with the same results.

Secondly, the lazy HR recruiters are driving me nuts! I am a big boy and can handle being told "No thanks" but just tell me for crying out loud! The absolute worst instance was with a well-known global Fortune 500 firm. I had a final round interview, brought onsite, taken out to lunch, and conference call with a senior executive. I did the normal follow-up stuff. Weeks went by. Then on a lark, I went to the application portal on their career site and found the status of that position was changed to the typical "Thanks, but no thanks" rejection.

Not even a generic email! I would think at this stage at the minimum I deserve a phone call, but at at least some sort of template email. Nothing. Nobody has returned my inquires on what happened.

I can't believe that kind of stuff! I am applying to mid/senior level positions and it is indeed a small world. I just can't believe it is so common for companies to treat prospective employees so terrible, especially as these same prospective employees may have future relationships with the firm.

[mail2ri]

Totally agree with you. There are millions of articles on the web on how job-seekers must behave (or prepare) before, during, and after an interview, but NONE on how recruiters / hiring managers should show basic courtesy to at least those whom they have interviewed. If they are 'scared' to put things in writing, a response over phone (that too when the candidate calls) is the least one can / should expect from them. But then, seems "professionalism" and "courtesy" are only meant for job-seekers.

[credibility2]

I'd interview numerous times and then be told to call if I hadn't heard from the interviewer within two weeks. Leaving a message yielded no return call. Or interviewing and never hearing anything; sometimes you'd learn on the street of the position being filled. If a potential employer has that little respect for a prospective employee, a person is better off not working for a company that places little value on its staff. I also had situations where I suspected I was being blackballed by an abusive former employer, but wasn't able to prove it and didn't have enough money to hire an attorney. Companies stick together on matters like this, even to the point of lying.

[vic_napier]

Would you really want to work for a company that tolerates this kind of behavior:

"For some reason, recruiters have got it stuck in their heads that they are so busy that they cannot possibly take the time to get back to someone who sacrificed a day or more of their lives to interview with the company. Because the 30 seconds it takes to send an email saying, "Thanks for interviewing. We've decided to go a different direction" is so burdensome that they just can't do it."

It says a lot about the culture, and none of it is good. I interpret lack of contact after an application or interview as not just a rejection, but a contemptuous one and put the company on a spreadsheet to make sure I remember how they treated me. On the other hand I make make it a point to call or email every recruiter who is kind, courteous and treats me with respect and dignity. I thank them for their time and tell them what I've just written out here. If they hear these things often enough things will eventually change. Nothing ever changes unless we do something about it, but it might be like water dripping on a rock.

[Martha12345]

Employers very seldom give BAD references. It's just inviting trouble. They simply decline providing a reference as "company policy" and it ends there. It does sound like the letter writer is too busy finding fault with others and needs to focus on self improvement.

[MrsGrievous]

Unfortunately you have the same problem I have, and an attitude adjustment is the prescription. Try to think of ways to be positive. My last job only lasted 5 months because the position as eliminated, so I started leaving it off my resume. I'm getting more interview offers now (I suspect because they thought I was just a job hopper), and if they ask what I've been doing since my last job I say I've been job searching and haven't had any luck finding a long-term position.

I love rejection letters. I keep a copy of every resume I send out, and if I get a rejection letter I can put Rejected in the file name and compare it to other resumes that got interviews, phone calls, etc.

Really though I've been unemployed for 4 months and have been applying to every job available that I can do down to part time work at retail stores and haven't gotten a job; I suspect because I was being a cranky ***** and people could tell. :/ Here's a hint: If you're in the check out line at the grocery store and the cashier tells you you look like you're having a bad day and you're not, it's time for an attitude change. That woke me up very quickly.

[FormerUSMCSergeant]

You're attitude that everyone else is the problem, not you, tells me that you're the one with the problem.

[jaykay3141]

This doesn't surprise me one bit. A former employer made a big deal about "company loyalty". It eventually came out that 2 people in HR spent their days surfing employment boards like Monster.com to see if any posters' CV's could be matched to existing employees. When they thought they had a match, HR started talking to managers and co-workers to see if the person was in fact thinking about leaving. But instead of trying to resolve why that person was unhappy, HR tagged them as "disloyal" and had them transferred to dead-end projects. Anyone who didn't get the picture after a few months was none-too-gently pointed towards an exit.

That firm eventually imploded and was absorbed by a competitor, so I guess the marketplace does work once in a while. Unfortunately a lot of good people got nailed in the process.

[jdgalt]

Even if you have the legal right to stop your old company from saying bad things about you, suing is likely not just expensive but counterproductive. Look up "Streisand Effect" on Wikipedia to see why.

[Ulgnud]

Seems the bottleneck is in HR. Too many hiring managers never see your qualifications. Somehow you have to answer to the exact qualifications in the job postings, without lying. HR often has no clue what the job is, so they look for word matching. If you can get to the hiring manager then you can let your best qualities shine fort.

[HM8432]

HR and Recruiters can spot job applicant negativity a mile away! Sure, your last company may have wronged you, but one has to pick themselves up by the bootstraps a move on without looking back. One thing that Recruiters take note of, is what you have to say about the last people you worked for, in their minds, what you say about your previous employer is a look into your personality. Is this what he/she is going to say about us if we ever terminate them for whatever reason someday? In short, Recruiters/HRO's want to avoid any future drama that may involve their company. Just smile, shake your head alot, and don't let your emotions dictate your answers in a job interview. Use the 'KISS" principle.

[ssball]

Agreed. Surely the victim mentality that comes across in this letter comes across in interviews. Not only does this help explain why she's not getting hired, it may also help explain why people don't call her back about the jobs. People who play the victim, like the letter-writer, also have a reputation for being litigious, and companies, therefore, are going to be inclined to avoid giving her any information she might be able to use against them. (And, of course, some companies just never call back.)