Will they call my employer?

[Whiplash7828]

Hi,
I am a hirer in my current job, and will never call someone's employer if he is still currently employed there.

My dilemma is that I am interested in moving on in my career and am very hesitant to apply to jobs because I am worried they will call my current employer. I have been at the same company 10 years...so it is the only employer they CAN call....

What would most recruiters do? call? ask before? not call at all?

[kcorscadden]

Don't they need to have permission from you the applicant to contact the current employer?

If you don't give permission, they can't contact, but it also doesn't look good on your resume either.

[frankcow]

I would just list someone you trust as a referral. That may be internal or external to the company you work for.

But to answer your question, no, it's not likely they'd call your employer. Think about it, they'd have to say:
"Hey, we're from Campany XYZ, we're thinking of stealing so-and-so from you. How good of a performer would you say he is?"

[Whiplash7828]

Don't they need to have permission from you the applicant to contact the current employer?

If you don't give permission, they can't contact, but it also doesn't look good on your resume either.

I can't see why that would look bad...(especially considering I'm in a senior position after a 10 year tenure).

I do not know if they MUST ask permission to contact a current employer...makes sense...but I don't know.

[kcorscadden]

I can't see why that would look bad...(especially considering I'm in a senior position after a 10 year tenure).

I do not know if they MUST ask permission to contact a current employer...makes sense...but I don't know.

I think you would have to give authorization to the applying company to contact your employer. I don't think they can legally contact them without you giving permission. I think it would look bad because it looks like you are trying to hide something, at least that is how I would look at it if I was the hiring manager.

As a "hirer", shouldn't you know this?

[YnD]

If they need a reference from you... get one from a co-worker you have built a good relationship with... i.e friends.... but also keep in mind they must be able to give a good reference since a reference can be your ticket in or out...

I used to think that you HAD to use your "manager' as a reference...boy was I wrong back then... you don't need to... a reliable co-worker is fine....

[Whiplash7828]

I think you would have to give authorization to the applying company to contact your employer. I don't think they can legally contact them without you giving permission. I think it would look bad because it looks like you are trying to hide something, at least that is how I would look at it if I was the hiring manager.

As a "hirer", shouldn't you know this?

If a candidate explained to me that he works in a small company (<20 people), holds a senior (VP) position and really doesn't want the CEO knowing about his job search unless absolutely necessary (because knowing about the job search could impact the professional and personal relationship they have) then I think I would understand...

...but maybe that's just me.

A co-worker would be fine.

[kcorscadden]

If a candidate explained to me that he works in a small company (<20 people), holds a senior (VP) position and really doesn't want the CEO knowing about his job search unless absolutely necessary (because knowing about the job search could impact the relationship at the office) then I think I would understand...

...but maybe that's just me.

I assume you have said that to them? If you have, then depending on the recruiter (if you have spoken to them) they will understand I am sure. I mean you have to use your own judgment here. If the recruiter seems like a nice person, then it would be fine to say that I guess. If not, who knows what might happen.

I am just putting myself in the recruiter's role here and if I was looking at your resume and unless you say what you just said, sirens and emergency lights would be going off asking what are you trying to hide? I just know based on past hirings that I have been involved in, when people won't allow me to contact their employer, some thing is up.

I am not trying to be rude to you, I am just giving a different perspective.

[Whiplash7828]

I assume you have said that to them? If you have, then depending on the recruiter (if you have spoken to them) they will understand I am sure. I mean you have to use your own judgment here. If the recruiter seems like a nice person, then it would be fine to say that I guess. If not, who knows what might happen.

I am just putting myself in the recruiter's role here and if I was looking at your resume and unless you say what you just said, sirens and emergency lights would be going off asking what are you trying to hide? I just know based on past hirings that I have been involved in, when people won't allow me to contact their employer, some thing is up.

I am not trying to be rude to you, I am just giving a different perspective.

I have not taken offense to anything you wrote. Just a bit surprised by the point of view. It is never a good thing if your current employer knows you are looking for another job...especially in a small company so I thought the general consensus would be that it would be well understood. And as you say, if I have a chance to mention this, it would fly.

So, I guess the interview process is always ahead of reference checks anyway? I never really did a whole lot of reference checks...it's an odd industry I'm in.


Can anyone confirm if permission must be asked?

[kcorscadden]

I have not taken offense to anything you wrote. Just a bit surprised by the point of view. It is never a good thing if your current employer knows you are looking for another job...especially in a small company so I thought the general consensus would be that it would be well understood. And as you say, if I have a chance to mention this, it would fly.

So, I guess the interview process is always ahead of reference checks anyway? I never really did a whole lot of reference checks...it's an odd industry I'm in.


Can anyone confirm if permission must be asked?

I 100% agree that it is never a good thing for your current employer to know that you are looking as it shows you are dissatisfied in some way or another. It all depends on your relationship with the company too. A reasonable employer would expect that all of the employees are continuously looking for something better. Lets face it, everyone is looking for a better job with better pay.

Depending your relationship with your employer, it MIGHT actually be a good thing to tell them that you are looking. You are obviously looking for a new job for a reason that isn't presently being offered at your current position. Perhaps if you mentioned this to your employer they might be more accommodating to find you that something you are looking for. Again this all depends on your relationship.

[Pete Jones]

I have not taken offense to anything you wrote. Just a bit surprised by the point of view. It is never a good thing if your current employer knows you are looking for another job...especially in a small company so I thought the general consensus would be that it would be well understood. And as you say, if I have a chance to mention this, it would fly.

So, I guess the interview process is always ahead of reference checks anyway? I never really did a whole lot of reference checks...it's an odd industry I'm in.


Can anyone confirm if permission must be asked?

I don't believe there's any law that specifically forbids this. However, a good recruiter would at least ask permission if for no other reason that they wouldn't want to expose themselves to any potential lawsuits if they caused you harm.

But here's another thought. Lets suppose I knew where you work and called your employer to speak to somebody about your performance? I could be doing it just to cause trouble. Nobody's going to speak to me (at least I would hope not) out of the blue without asking for verifiable contact information. So if I do this and they get rid of you as a result, what's to prevent you to suing me for, essentially, ruining your career.

You've said in previous posts that you don't rely on references. I generally think that references are horribly overrated. I'm in much the same situation as you (time wise) and quite frankly, my attitude is that if you're interviewing someone whose been at a senior position for 10 years, they must be doing something right. The thing is that the probationary situation is such that the prospective employee is taking just as many risks as the employer is in hiring them.

As someone who hires, how many times has your "gut feeling" about someone you hired been totally wrong? I've seen people that had fabulous references that turned out to be virtual turnips and didn't last a week.

This is my way of saying, look for an employer that treats you the way you treat others you hire and you'll do just fine.

--Pete