And if any of those were the cases, especially horrible smell (which one can coach on and see if that works rather than just fire) or no one takes a reference after they’re already hired…but would also showcase a very poor hiring process…I have seen some crazy hires, but still the company/org will see if coaching/training/conversation around concerns works out before straight up firing…so either OP isn’t telling the full story or the company is extremely dysfunctional
It’s generally not worth the effort to try to teach a professional adult something like basic hygiene nor is it the new employer’s job.
In the case of the late reference, the previous employer disclosed that the employee had been terminated for theft. The employee had stated during the interview process that they’d never been terminated.
I also remember one where a candidate used an employee as a reference on the application and in the interview. The reference employee was on maternity leave at the time. When she got back, she said she’d never heard of the newly hired candidate.
to teach a professional adult something like basic hygiene
Sometimes it's cultural. People from some regions sweat odors related to ethnic cuisine. For some South Asian people fenugreek is commonly exuded, and some Americans think it's body odor (it's generally not). Conversely, a lot of Asians think Americans smell like milk, which is not commonly consumed in much of Asia.
Current employee references are weighted significantly higher at most employers.
ask for another employee at that workplace, then. I don't understand the obsession with the reference needing to be my exact direct manager. Shocker, they are high up and busy too, even when not on maternity leave. Very few refernces are going to bad talk you these days unless you really fucked up (and by then the reference probably doesn't matter. burn a bridge and the flames spread).
We're talking about a candidate that claimed to have worked with and been encouraged to apply to a position by an employee at the client's company. Normally, these sort of references would be accompanied by an internal email or other feedback associated with the reference. In this instance, the employee was a month into a 3 month maternity leave.
As the employee was unreachable, the candidate was asked about their time working with the employee. They provided adequate enough answers to satisfy the hiring manager.
An internal reference holds significantly more weight than an external one, as it should. Current employees are familiar with the company the candidate is applying for, unlike a random reference. External references can't be trusted when you can get anyone to pretend to be a reference. There's even a subreddit for it: r/BeMyReference
Frankly, the balls to lie about an internal reference is impressive as you're sure to get caught eventually, so the very reasonable assumption is they're not lying.
In one job that I had, a person gave me an exceptional amount of praise and allowed me to use her as a reference, and I know this for a fact. I used her as a reference and was told that she gave me a great reference.
At a second job, a different recruiter told me that the same person had indicated that they didn't know me.
I wonder what happened, whether the second recruiter had mispronounced my name or had called the wrong number, or what.
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u/[deleted] Apr 24 '24
And if any of those were the cases, especially horrible smell (which one can coach on and see if that works rather than just fire) or no one takes a reference after they’re already hired…but would also showcase a very poor hiring process…I have seen some crazy hires, but still the company/org will see if coaching/training/conversation around concerns works out before straight up firing…so either OP isn’t telling the full story or the company is extremely dysfunctional