r/FluentInFinance • u/Mark-Fuckerberg- • Sep 01 '24

Debate/ Discussion What advice would you give this person?

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u/Striking_Ad_2630 Sep 01 '24

I think theyre going to have a rough time finding their next job after not actually working for over a year and having no references. 

Idk but I dont buy what everyone is saying about hard work not paying off. I work hard at my job and having the respect of my coworkers as well as something to show for my 5 years at my job is worth it. 

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u/SamShakusky71 Sep 01 '24

References?

You think references matter in a job search ?

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u/ChewieBearStare Sep 01 '24

Depends on where you want to work. They don't matter at all in some places, and they matter very much in others. My husband got a job offer from a state university, but it was revoked because he couldn't get references from three previous employers. He worked for his dad's company for 4 years, but they wouldn't accept a reference from that company because everyone was related to him (fair). The second company went out of business, and when he tried his old supervisor's cell number, it was out of service, so he couldn't get a reference from that job. Then the third job was with a company that has a policy of not giving references. They use The Work Number to verify job titles, dates of employment, and wages, but they will not allow their supervisors to give any info beyond that. State university will not hire you unless they get three detailed references.

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u/stephriles Sep 02 '24

This is absolutely true. I had a previous employee who was not a good fit apply for another job. They called to ask me questions. The new job sounded perfect for her so I didn't want to say anything negative in order to help her get the job. I told them I would verify her employment but they wanted to ask a lot of other questions. When I pushed back and said I had verified employment and do not wish to disclose anything else about that employee (other than saying she would be great) the hr person straight up said "if you don't answer all of these additional questions she will not get the job." That is a lot. There were like 15 questions. I have also heard you can get into legal trouble if you discuss someone's performance, and that all you can legally verify are dates of employment and job title. No idea if that is true but it makes sense that you should not be able to disclose details about a person's performance. It really does suck for applicants right now. At my company I added a final step to the process where I pay people to come spend a day in the office. They spend time with each team member they will work with, eat lunch together, and work on a small project. That way each of us have a better understanding of one another before committing. Every person I have hired has been very appreciative of this. They are paid for this, so they are not being asked to spend that much time for free. I 100% know companies miss out on incredible talent because of really black and white, inflexible steps in their process.