Is Your Past Haunting You?

Job search not going well? Interviews, but no offers? If you are a job seeker, you know all too well that finding the right job can be a tedious and frustrating experience. Advice abounds on every aspect of the job search, from perfecting resumes to picking out the right outfit for the interview. You can also learn step by step how to discuss your previous employment history so that your skills and accomplishments are highlighted and your strengths identified. There is enough information available so that the average job hunter should be able to secure any job they set their sights on.

So why does all this effort succeed for some and not for others?

If you left your last interview thinking the job you spent so much time searching and meticulously preparing for was yours, only to be disappointed by a rejection letter or worse, no response at all, the reason could surprise you.

Remember that final piece of paper you handed your interviewer as you left? It was the one that listed your references. Did you check them? You can be sure that your prospective employer did and if you don’t know what your old bosses are saying about you, you could be handing your interviewers the one piece of information that will cost you your dream job.

Some people believe companies don't check references. The word on the street is, `We can beef up our resumes and no one will find out.
But with one-quarter of job applicants misrepresenting their achievements and experience on resumes and applications, employers have a compelling reason to check all references.
How many of us apply for car loans or mortgages without knowing exactly what our credit report will say? Too many job seekers send out their resumes without making sure that their references are accurate and positive and this one omission in the process costs them jobs.

According to industry experts a full 64% of all references checked by her company are either negative or indifferent. Many job seekers are under the false assumption that believe previous employers won’t give bad references, that legally they are somehow prevented from telling the truth... but they are wrong and a bad reference can stop your job hunt dead in it's tracks.

Some states, for example, gives qualified immunity to employers who provide bad references. "An employee can't sue a former employer for giving a negative reference even if it was a false statement, as long as it wasn't made in bad faith," one expert explained. If a bad reference is truthful, a former employee usually has no recourse.

So what can you do to remove this threat to your career? Check your references in advance; get copies of any formal evaluations in your file and request copies of all letters of recommendation before you send your resume

Despite all of this, if there is most likely a negative reference that someone will give on you, tell that prospective employer up-front. If it was something you did wrong, explain who you learned from your mistake. If it is inaccurate then explain what really occurred.