Thread by @nicoleckohler, talking to a friend who's currently job hunting, and our of nowhere [...]

Nicole Kohler

nicoleckohler

talking to a friend who& #39;s currently job hunting, and our of nowhere remembered the time an employer called a former CEO (TWO jobs ago, not even my current manager) to ask about me without my knowledge or consent

I need to stop wondering why I ended up in HR

this probably goes without saying but this is not ok, you should never do this, and if your employee finds out you did this they will never be able to trust you

"but I want an honest opinion!"

well, so. the CEO that got called told everyone I was "extremely negative."

so I had this watchful eye over me for the first few months for any sign of negativity. my grandmother passed away, I was visibly upset, suddenly I was hearing about my ~*negativity*~

would this had even been a concern were it not for the reference biasing them?

the reality was:
- CEO upset that I quit (again, a job before this), after several tense conversations about pay/role
- he perceived my desire for growth as negativity
- I did not name him as a reference to begin with, because I had 4+ people closer to my actual (content) work

the tldr of this thread is that when employers request references - yes, we anticipate you& #39;re naming people who will probably say nice things.

but we& #39;re also anticipating that we get people who KNOW YOU BEST, and aren& #39;t biased in a strange way like this person (the CEO) was.

if you call somebody behind a candidate& #39;s back expecting to get ~*real*~ dirt, what are you really trying to do? confirm your own biases?

if you feel the need to do this, you& #39;ve already failed this person. and they will never be able to trust you, because you don& #39;t trust them.

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