A good rule of thumb is to never, ever burn bridges with past managers. Keep your dignity and remain professional. You never know when you’ll need them as a reference.
In the US, that’s straight up illegal unless they write you a reference separately. When the hiring company calls they can only give the legal answers.
Also, you could just write that letter yourself and have a friend be your ex boss. The rules are meaningless and the points are made up.
It is not illegal to call and talk about you with a reference that you gave them - that’s the whole point of a reference. Separately, yes, calling a former boss may only get the prospective employer answers like “they worked here and are eligible for rehire”, but that’s usually a human resources policy to avoid a costly, but ultimately winnable if you only tell the truth, lawsuit. It’s not illegal for a former boss to shit on you if you were shitty, and it happens all the time at smaller firms, in small industries, or small towns.
Why in the name of Murphy would you give them a bad reference?
This is explicitly an issue with employment verification and there are very clear legal boundaries there. Your revenge fantasy does not apply to reality.
Because you seem hellbent on finding a way around the law. HR departments don’t do more than dates, rehire eligibility, and character of termination specifically because of legal liability.
So who am I going to believe, the guy saying you can shit talk whoever you want, or the professionals who do this every day in a legally safe manner?
A former manager of mine has been trying to convince me to return anytime she sees me since I left almost 2 years ago, offering me better pay and a position much higher on the foodchain. She also respects why I left (I had bigger ambitions that they couldn’t meet at the time) and respects my reason that I haven’t taken her up on that offer (that place only has really garbage benefits)
One of my wife’s friends babysits for the director of IT at a large company 2 hours away and apparently I can get an interview with them if I just say the word.
Being professional and staying on good terms is not just for the employer, but it can also be a safety net to fall back on if things go sideways. Being able to reach out to contacts and say “Hey, I’m unexpectedly looking for a job now, do you have any openings?” is a very good place to be, plus sharing openings with former colleagues is a good way to help eachother out.
A good rule of thumb is to never, ever burn bridges with past managers. Keep your dignity and remain professional. You never know when you’ll need them as a reference.
Yes, and references are not the same as employment checks.
All the jobs I’ve applied to have had a reference check. I’ve been a reference.
It is very valuable to have a former boss say “oh, X, I liked them, they were professional and good at XYZ”.
In the US, that’s straight up illegal unless they write you a reference separately. When the hiring company calls they can only give the legal answers.
Also, you could just write that letter yourself and have a friend be your ex boss. The rules are meaningless and the points are made up.
It is not illegal to call and talk about you with a reference that you gave them - that’s the whole point of a reference. Separately, yes, calling a former boss may only get the prospective employer answers like “they worked here and are eligible for rehire”, but that’s usually a human resources policy to avoid a costly, but ultimately winnable if you only tell the truth, lawsuit. It’s not illegal for a former boss to shit on you if you were shitty, and it happens all the time at smaller firms, in small industries, or small towns.
Why in the name of Murphy would you give them a bad reference?
This is explicitly an issue with employment verification and there are very clear legal boundaries there. Your revenge fantasy does not apply to reality.
What on earth? I don’t know why you’re trying to make me out like I have a revenge fantasy. Did you read anything I wrote?
Again, what you’re saying is wrong. It’s not illegal. Show me a law where telling the truth about someone is illegal. It’s not illegal in employment verification, and it’s definitely not illegal for a reference which is what you were talking about about, and does not need to be some separate written document. As I wrote, it is a common HR policy to not give feedback to avoid a costly but ultimately winnable lawsuit, always in the case of truth and often in the case of opinions: https://www.findlaw.com/employment/hiring-process/is-a-former-employer-s-bad-reference-illegal-.html#:~:text=Legal actions based on misstatements,employee to a potential employer.
It’s a common misconception, so totally understandable, but if you’re going to be very wrong don’t be a dick about it.
Because you seem hellbent on finding a way around the law. HR departments don’t do more than dates, rehire eligibility, and character of termination specifically because of legal liability.
So who am I going to believe, the guy saying you can shit talk whoever you want, or the professionals who do this every day in a legally safe manner?
Please show me the law.
A former manager of mine has been trying to convince me to return anytime she sees me since I left almost 2 years ago, offering me better pay and a position much higher on the foodchain. She also respects why I left (I had bigger ambitions that they couldn’t meet at the time) and respects my reason that I haven’t taken her up on that offer (that place only has really garbage benefits)
One of my wife’s friends babysits for the director of IT at a large company 2 hours away and apparently I can get an interview with them if I just say the word.
Being professional and staying on good terms is not just for the employer, but it can also be a safety net to fall back on if things go sideways. Being able to reach out to contacts and say “Hey, I’m unexpectedly looking for a job now, do you have any openings?” is a very good place to be, plus sharing openings with former colleagues is a good way to help eachother out.