Elliott Whitlow (6/8/2011)
Revenant (6/8/2011)
Elliott, I guess you are right, in most cases and in this litigious society. However, so far I always got the answers I asked for -- I always stressed that getting this info is the last condition for the candidate getting the job. And if the candidate was as good as he (typically) claims and did a good job for them, they are willling to help.Then I think you have been lucky. A former boss was very clear about this, company policy is all correspondence about former staff is handled by HR, no exceptions. This is especially true as the companies get larger, smaller companies less so..
CEWII
I had one potential employer who admitted that they go to previous HR to confirm job title and length of service, because that is all they could get, or willing to give when they had to give a reference themselves. It was the next request that then flummoxed me, when they asked for a personal reference. Same conditions apply to being sued, even if it is a personal reference, unless your friend is a lawyer.