Community Chat

[Shorty2U]

Someone close to my husband and I (a family member) went for a job. (I would rather not say who or where for privacy reasons).

They had an interview. They thought the interview went very well.

At the end, without saying if said person got the job, they handed them a paper and said have your "current boss" fill this out and fax it to us next week, and then we will let you know our answer in 2 weeks.

The paper asks the persons job history and many questions asking if there have been any problems and all kind of job related questions about the persons work history with them (You know questions a job would usually ask if calling to check your references, but in this case they are asking the interviewed person to do this themselves which to us is stupid!)..

We never heard of this and neither did others this person asked! In fact they know people that work at this place and they said they didn't do that when they were interviewed, However they did say they heard it is a new policy to do this.

Here is where the problem is; The person who went for the job has a terrible boss where they work now, that is not very kind to ANY of the workers. There are other issues at this job the person works at that could be considered illegal such as no proper breaks and a long list of things. Plus the person has not had a raise in 5 years. They really need a better job.

The place the person applied to is a fantastic top notch employer and the person wants this job so bad but is afraid to have their current boss fill out this paper for the possible future job because they are worried if they hand the paper to the current boss, the boss might get mad and fire them and they will have no job in the event the new job never pans out.

DH and I said we think the said person should call the job the interview was at, and explain the situation to the place they had the interview with and tell them that they don't want to hand the paper to their current boss to fill out because what if they lose their job, until they know if they have this job? We think it is worth a shot to call and see if the new place will still consider hiring them. (They have an impeccable resume and so we think it is worth a shot to call).

What would you do? Take a chance and hand the paper to the current boss to fill out, or call the new place and explain? Or just not even bother?

(Really we thought this person should have said something at the interview reguarding the paper, but they were stunned when handed the paper and did not say anything about the paper at the time).

[Lucky Charm]

I've never heard of this before.  But I'm out of the work force and things have changed.

Any way your person can give the paperwork to HR and let them fill in their current job description, attendance and anything good in their files as in reviews, recommendations?

[Moonchilde]

I don't know if it differs from state to state, but in my state what they are asking is illegal, and a "former" employer is not expected to comply either - and doesn't most of the time.

In CA a prospective employer can only ask you a proscribed small list of questions, and if called, a former employer can volunteer NO info about the former employee, and ONLY refer them to HR - who will then only verify dates if employment and "yes" or "no" when asked if the person is eligible for re-hire. If they say anything that makes the other company rule them out/not hire them at the point of the phone call, they can be sued, and former employees have won these suits.

It could well be a "test" to see how people respond. I know I would not want to work for a company (no matter how desperate I was) that would try/pull something like that.

[PeterDM]

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@Shorty2U wrote:

Someone close to my husband and I (a family member) went for a job. (I would rather not say who or where for privacy reasons).

They had an interview. They thought the interview went very well.

At the end, without saying if said person got the job, they handed them a paper and said have your "current boss" fill this out and fax it to us next week, and then we will let you know our answer in 2 weeks.

The paper asks the persons job history and many questions asking if there have been any problems and all kind of job related questions about the persons work history with them (You know questions a job would usually ask if calling to check your references, but in this case they are asking the interviewed person to do this themselves which to us is stupid!)..

We never heard of this and neither did others this person asked! In fact they know people that work at this place and they said they didn't do that when they were interviewed, However they did say they heard it is a new policy to do this.

Here is where the problem is; The person who went for the job has a terrible boss where they work now, that is not very kind to ANY of the workers. There are other issues at this job the person works at that could be considered illegal such as no proper breaks and a long list of things. Plus the person has not had a raise in 5 years. They really need a better job.

The place the person applied to is a fantastic top notch employer and the person wants this job so bad but is afraid to have their current boss fill out this paper for the possible future job because they are worried if they hand the paper to the current boss, the boss might get mad and fire them and they will have no job in the event the new job never pans out.

DH and I said we think the said person should call the job the interview was at, and explain the situation to the place they had the interview with and tell them that they don't want to hand the paper to their current boss to fill out because what if they lose their job, until they know if they have this job? We think it is worth a shot to call and see if the new place will still consider hiring them. (They have an impeccable resume and so we think it is worth a shot to call).

What would you do? Take a chance and hand the paper to the current boss to fill out, or call the new place and explain? Or just not even bother?

(Really we thought this person should have said something at the interview reguarding the paper, but they were stunned when handed the paper and did not say anything about the paper at the time).

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Your family member probably should have nipped this in the bud in the interview and explained the situation.  Since that moment has passed, I would take a different route.  I think it's pretty customary to tell a potential employer that one hasn't given notice, and has cause for concerns about current job security if they decide to stay in their current position or don't get the new position.  I would tell the tell the potential employer that I'd be happy to provide references for any employers previous to my current one, but that the implications of letting my current employer know that I'm seeking new employment outweigh the risk of not getting the job for which I am being vetted.  This way, the truth is still being told without speaking badly about the current employer.

[Shorty2U]

Thank you and I agree with everything that was said here.

I agree they should tell the new place what Peter said.

I also agree that since we never heard of this we wondered too if this is proper or legal.(this is in the state of PA). And like I said this place did not used to do this, so therefore I also agree it may have been a test to see how the person responded and they didnt respond to the paper at the time, so maybe? they blew it. OR perhaps they had trouble with others lying on resumes but really IMO they should have just called the other jobs the person had to check on it themselves!

I also agree is it worth it, if this is what this place does what else will they do?

We just find the entire thing bizarre about the paper.

Thank you and i will check back for more responses tomorrow, but I think the person will probably do what they said and call and explain. If it works it works, (if not then they must move on).

[Mustang Shar]

I wonder if they give these sheets out to the participants that aren't being considered! That's insane...give this to your current employer.....hello, you're fired.

I wouldn't even want to work for a company like that and employers who give out too much information that prevents the Applicant from getting hired, have been successfully sued.

[blackhole99]

I worked in PA. for years and had many job interviews and never had a request like that from a potential employer. If they wanted to call my employer to verify my references I would always tell them I was still employed there and to only call them if they were serious about hiring me.

[Kachina624]

No supervisor in his right mind would complete such a form.  The only things HR departments will supply are his dates of employment and his job title.  As soon as he'd hand this for r m to his boss, it would be known that he is seeking new employment and that could jeopardize his present position.  He would have to be nuts to do this.  This procedure sounds like it came from someone who doesn't know what he's doing.

I'd tell your friend to forget this job and move on.  Very unprofessional.

[Moonchilde]

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@baker wrote:

I worked in PA. for years and had many job interviews and never had a request like that from a potential employer. If they wanted to call my employer to verify my references I would always tell them I was still employed there and to only call them if they were serious about hiring me.

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Yes. That's pretty standard - what most people have done or would do - and any normal prospective employer would be well aware if that, so the weird request just sounds even more bizarre. They should be reported to the state employment office.

[Lindsays Grandma]

Shorty2U...I have never heard of such a thing.  First of all some people apply for a job without their current employer knowing about it.  Perhaps the person you are talking about can tell the person who did the interview that the employer doesn't know he/she is applying for a job.  Hopefully that will take care of the problem.  I wish your friend/relative lots of luck and hope they get the job.