When it comes to references, you may be spending way too much time worrying about what you can’t control and too little time working on what you can. With that in mind, let’s put reference checks and checkers in perspective so you can put your energy where it counts.
For starters, a company representative will likely check your references If you are one of the top candidates for a job opening. If you’re not in that top tier there’s no reason to check your references.
If you are in that top tier of candidates and your former company is called to provide a reference, the person contacted will likely provide the start and closing date of your employment and little else.
Bottom line, there’s nothing to be afraid of.
But I am afraid. I got fired from my last job! Won’t the company reference say that? And won’t that ruin my chances of getting the job?
Most companies have a policy that restricts employees from revealing anything more than provide employment dates and name or title of the position held.
But what if my prospective boss knows my old boss ? Aren’t they likely to talk about my candidacy?
Yes, it’s likely. If you burned bridges where you were last, your former boss is apt to share that information along with whatever redeeming qualities you demonstrated while working there. Your prospective boss will make a hiring decision based upon a combination of factors, the greatest of them being a gut reaction to your ability to solve their problems and fit into their culture.
So instead of worrying what people will say about you, be sure you give them reason to talk about what you did that made a difference where you worked; how you were a strong team player; how you were focused on outcomes and did what it took to successfully achieve them.
We all make mistakes. Hopefully, we learn from them. If you’ve made mistakes, on the job mistakes that cost you your job, and you’ve learned from the experience and know what to do differently going forward, you can do yourself a favor. Contact the boss who let you go, and say so. Acknowledge what went wrong, your role in it, what you’ve learned, and how you’re applying that learning going forward. That simple concession can make the difference between a bad reference and one that does no harm.
Just about everyone I know is working hard. And many of them are working scared. They’re afraid of failing and having no place to go if they do. So they dig in, dig down, and do their best, every day. Yet for all this effort it seems that recognition and appreciation has been replaced by finger pointing and “not my job” thinking, at a time when, more than any in memory, people need to hear what they’re doing right, not just what they’re doing wrong.
When you go to work this week tell three people what they’re doing that’s making a difference for the company. And do it again the next week, and the next. They need to hear it. You need to say it.
