May we contact your employer"Yes or No"? If you had a situation where you had a previous employer you did not get along with, would you put "yes or no" If you put "No" would it raise suspicion? If you put "Yes"...they contact the employer, and they find out from them what's up? You say yes (except to a current employer). If there's something you need to explain, you do so up front. Interviewer: We'll be contacting references next week. You: You should know that although I had a very productive 3 years at Acme Dog Washers, they are a small family business and were very unhappy when I gave my notice. I'm not sure what they may say since clearly they took it very personally and there were hurt feelings. I do have other references that will vouch for my great work ethic and magical ability with dogs and their owners. OR You: You can see that I was terminated from Acme Dog Washers. Unfortunately, there were a lot of difficult personalities there and the environment was just not a good fit for me. I've never run into that problem anywhere else but what I learned from it is that I need much more of a team environment where I can make the best use of my skills and experience. From what I know about this company and your culture, I think this is going to be an excellent fit!
Tess
In my resume's and applications, one of my former employers was a nightmare, to put it mildly. So for that one, I put "no"; so far I haven't really been asked why they can't contact. The fact is, they were the ultimate in toxic workplaces, and if questioned, I just say things have become very disorganized there, and they probably wouldn't remember me (at least, that's what I plan to say--in truth, the place has gone rapidly downhill since I left.). I've found that usually a prospective employer will respect that. | |
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Career Tips
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