Do Employers Check References?

Do employers check job references? If you're asked to provide references, what do we do with them? Or maybe you're worried about what your old employer will say about you. In this video, we'll talk about what we do with references and how you should handle the reference request.


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As a corporate recruiter with over 20 years of experience hiring thousands of employees at all levels into major corporations, I’m going to spill the beans on how to get noticed by recruiters, start getting more interviews, navigate through each step of the hiring process and ultimately land the dream job you deserve.

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[Sephiroth]

Corporations: We do NOT give out references.

Also Corporations: We demand several references.

[starbrand]

I interviewed for a very menial position in a hospital's gift shop. They required references, which I provided, but then they demanded I provide my previous manager's personal e-mail address. Not the company's HR contact information but the actual manager's private e-mail.

I explained to the hospital that my previous employer was a bank, and because of security reasons managers weren't permitted to get close to employees. I couldn't just call up my previous manager and ask for him for his personal email.

The hospital said that they understood, but it was their policy and required for all applicants. Then the hospital said something that really pissed me off.

After I called the hospital's HR department to question this policy further, they said that they too have a policy against managers giving out personal information to employees. So, basically they were asking for something that they themselves weren't permitted to provide.

When I pointed out the hypocrisy of the situation, the HR lady got very nasty with me. I immediately withdrew my application stating that I rather not be associated with their hospital and their unfair hiring practices.

I wonder how many applicants faked it. Gave a fake email and just pretended to respond as their previous managers?

[prxZen]

I was advised early on: Get someone to actually call your references first (a non-recruiting person you trust), hear what they have to say - _before_ putting them on paper for job application.

[Jollyprez]

I once had one of my references DISSING me when he was called. We'd worked together a couple of years before, and all was fine. But, the work was drying-up and competition was fierce. Since we'd worked together, I'd learned more about HIS specialty ( USB Macintosh Drivers ) and was now a competitor to him. He didn't even live in the same area, so I didn't think it was a problem. The employer called me, and told me that my reference had obliterated me - then hired me on the spot.

[TheAsylumchild]

I once told an employer that I was going to have a problem with references because I didn't know anyone. I don't know anyone personally to give address or phone for, I mean to say. They thought this was weird until I told them this: "I'm not here to make friends. I'm here to work. When I get a job, I clock in, do my job, and clock out. I don't have time to 'socialize' or 'get to know people'. I have a job to do that I am getting paid for, so I do it."
I got the job. The references I gave were my mother, sister, and girlfriend.

[numbers]

I wish I could use my previous employer as a reference, but I can no longer trust them.

[JohnDoe-pfqp]

I actually think the practice of asking for references should just be outlawed. If you call me to ask about a previous employee more than likely I'm just going to say yes they worked here and decline to answer any additional questions. If you are going to answer any additional questions you should NEVER stray outside of what can be factually documented (start date, end date, salary). Any sort of opinion based statement can land you in a world of shit and it's just not a good idea to even address the question.

[turnne]

The comments about giving refences are spot on. The last company I worked for strictly forbid managers giving out references and all they would do is refer the person to HR and verify employment dates and title

[Octoberfurst]

The problems I had with providing references is that I rarely had contact with my manager. I just saw him once every blue moon. And the people I worked with were not buddy-buddy with me. They were just coworkers so I had no personal info on them like phone numbers and addresses. So I always ended up giving friends names. It wasn't exactly what employers were looking for but it is all I had to give.

[jameskeane]

I find it strange when companies won't give out references but to work there you have to give them references...

[jennifergermain]

was part of a mass lay off, I requested a reference letter and was told they do not provide but they insisted on my providing 3 when they hired me.

[JUMALATION]

I have once in my life been asked to be a reference, and at the time I worked for a fairly big company (3000+ employees) even though I was pretty low down on the corporate ladder. The reference request was for a friend of mine, applying for a job in a completely unrelated field (in which I happened to have some summer job experience lmao), and apparently the fancy exclusive corporate ending in my email address impressed them so they asked about my friend and her work ethics. I of course praised her to the skies and she got the job :D

[Herefornow-]

The interview process is brutal. Went through it once for a shit job... Decided self employment was the only way for me at 20 yrs old. I've never looked back...

[yamnayaseed]

Everyone deserves a second chance. If you didn’t perform in the last job it doesn’t mean you can never ever perform in your life again.

[desiderataification]

I've been tossed around a lot at jobs and had just had it up to here. Then a friend asked if I wanted a job. I said no, changed my mind 2 months later and now work in the chillest place keeping fabric in the wear house in order, making sc, po and invoices documents. The boss is very kind and I never even gave a resume or had an interview. Life is good again 🙌☕

[darrell_dee]

Because of the slander liabilities now, I've found that former employers will now only confirm two things about former employees when a prospective employers calls for references; the former employees job title and their hire and separation dates. That's the only info some are willing to give out.

[qeetta]

A lot of these large corporations actually outsource the hiring process to employment agencies as well to get the majority of their employees. I work for JP Morgan Chase and I originally got hired as a long-term temporary employee, and after a few years, I ended up getting hired by the company since they are very big on hiring within. I guess it makes it easier and less costly for them to just outsource that hiring process to another company, and when they feel that you will be a good asset to the company after working there as a temp for a while, that makes the process of hiring you permanently a lot easier for them. It also helps them weed out all the bad apples because temp agencies are known for hiring anybody, so when you get those rare employees that are actually good at their jobs, it’s less of a headache for the large corporation.

[fusionshredder]

I appreciate the video. Makes me real confident about my references. ALL MANAGERS. They've all been with me in the trenches.

[msdiamondpiggy]

Nowadays references are just difficult to have. If you're a good employee, I have noticed companies are bitter when you do leave for better pay and a higher position.

I had a company put me on the no-hire list because I had to leave 2 days early on my 2 week notice, but I notified HR a week before.

The job was a good reference for quality of my work because they use me to cover multiple managers that would leave the company.

But after my hard work, the only reference they would give "I'm on the no-hire list". I was hurt.

I bust my ass for that company. I called the company explaining I was a good employee, they said "HR policy is no 2 week notice, then you're on the no hired list. But I gave them a two notice and worked, left 2 days early with advance notice too.

Work for them or fuck your career future is how they do people.

[Brathsolus]

I've never had an issue with references, but this one job for an entry level position had asked me for 5 references within a week, and I thought it was insane given how little time and how busy they are..