black listed..........I just found out that I was black listed in the industry and I'm besides myself. I am scared that I won't find ANY job because of this. I went on a job interview and aced it with the production manager. I was suppose to go back for a second interview with the owner & his son. Within hours I was told that they got a really bad reference check on me. I didn't even give then a list of reference......they used my resume. I am thinking it was that crazy sock company that canned me after four months. It was a real cut throat company. Long story short of it I am a complete mess and don't know how to fix this. I can't understand why they would do this to me.....I never made any waves while I was working there. I gave the head hunter the name of three former employers. The headhunter says that she needs to call them in order to fix this. Strangely enough she didn't ask for the crazy sock company phone number.....the one that I am convince put the hex on me. She didn't tell me what was said or who said what. I am so confused and upset over this. I can't believe four months of working someplace can destroy 15 years worth of solid work history. Please does ANYONE have any suggestions for me? You need to get as cut throat as they are. If that is what the competition is tossing your way. Other than that I would suggest to constantly keep applying, I have applied to close over 1000 jobs from December to Jan and finally got about 4 interviews, which I decided what I wanted from a company. And also realize that if the new job isn' t what I want in a employment, I don' t have to stay. That swinging door also can be applied to the other side as they do for their perspective employees. Its how the business world works. I went through so much headaches and found that somehow I was going out of my way to find work and driving and commuting to these interviews which basically lead to nothing in the outcome. I finally sat down and decided how far am I willing to travel? How much am I willing to get paid? how much time do I intend on spending at this new job? Was I looking for full time/part time/seasonal? You get the point. You can always apply for unemployment anyway or as in my case I couldn' t but did have family to help me . Eventually I managed to get a check to come in, not necessarily doing what it was I had thought I' d end up doing.(Doesn' t mean I have to stay if not wanting to)I am going to see where this position would take me, I give it time and if after a while its doens' t seem to be what I am interested in, I can always move on to another job. But did get a higher rate of pay, nice choice hours, friendly staff (they joke a lot,but it has good morality) and managed to get a new car. So all of this just took place in less that a couple months. Don' t expect perfection! Its a job. I think what people don' t understand is that sometimes our journeys are taking us to uncertain places as it may seem,but in reality is keeps up the comparison of what we can accomplish in strange circumstances. You can call the companies on your own. Wither you or have a friend or relative do it. Pose as an employer interested in hiring you and proceed to ask standard questions regarding attendance, being punctual, efficient, etc. When you figure out which company is actually giving you a bad reference, be it the sock company or not, then explain to an interviewer that you would prefer to not have that company called. That is your perogative, although, I have to warn you, to state that you do not want a previous employer contacted for a reference sends up a red flag to a lot of employers. You may find that you need a reason for your saying no. When you go into interviews, have a list of people and companies who have agreed to act as a reference for you and present this list to the interviewer at the end of the interview. I think you' re taking a big leap prematurely here. It may not have been this short-term company at all and it may not have been someone in the HR department. It could have been just Joe Blow that answered the phone when they called. Start with calling the people that told you they received a bad reference on you and tell them that you' re quite surprised by that news and could they tell you which company that was and who they talked to? Unless you get the name of who they spoke to, you may end up spinning your wheels. Then ask them to tell you what was said that was negative. Then you need to ask YOURSELF, is there any germ of truth in what was said? For example, if they asked about attendance and were told that your attendance was poor, did you miss any days of work or come in late? There are many ways that someone can spin the same data to different results so you really need to see if there' s any truth at all to what was said. Then, you can pursue this topic with the company in question but only if what they said was a flat out lie. If there is any reason that it has some truth to it, or they could believe it be the truth, you won' t get very far. In the meantime, this is probably a time to spring a few bucks and have a professional reference checking company also check your references. To get to the heart of the matter though, you' ll be best off know exactly who said what to this company you wanted to work for.
I thought it was illegal for a potential employer to contact your former employers without your permission?
i guess so! And I am glad i know what is right. There are so many 'beliefs' out there that is impossible to know which ones are true and not. Tess, I actually had a question for you not related to this one, i posted it int he management section, but if you want i can send it to you or post it elsewhere? I alwyas enjoy your advice. This only applies to previous employers, right? A prospective employer would understand why someone would be reluctant to have their current employer contacted, no? Thanks--as always, great advice. | |
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Career Tips
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