5 ms·

>insist that one be their a current manager That's inviting imposters. Most regular people applying for a job wouldn't provide their current boss as a referenc

>insist that one be their a current manager That's inviting imposters. Most regular people applying for a job wouldn't provide their current boss as a reference, but the people who would provide fake references? No problem! You can talk to my current boss, or even my boss in 5 years time, whatever you want!

extra88 8y ago
Having a friend pretend to be your boss for a reference would be risky. I could look up the contact information you provide to see if it matches the manager's name, I could call a general number at the business to be connected to them. Is the friend supposed to answer the phone pretending to be someone else for an unknown period of time? There are many ways in which they could screw up their performance. This is real life, not TV. If a candidate attempted that, I would definitely look into what options there are for consequences beyond not getting the job.
- learc83 8y ago
  > I could look up the contact information you provide to see if it matches the manager's name, I could call a general number at the business to be connected to them. I've never done this when checking references, and I've never known anyone who does it regularly. It seems that there is a disconnect here between your sector and private industry. Your hiring practices seem a bit off to people coming from private industry, so you're seeing people here trying to come up with ways around it. >If a candidate attempted that, I would definitely look into what options there are for consequences beyond not getting the job. If you mean legally, no one is going to prosecute this even if their technically could be criminal penalties. You could sue the person to recover damages, but you don't really have any damages beyond a bit of wasted time. The person they are impersonating could sue the person for defamation, but they'd have a hard time proving damage as well. You could also try calling up their current employer, but then you're opening yourself up to defamation claims that would have a very clear damage component. Truth is a defense in defamation cases, but you're going to need to prove it and it's not going to be pleasant.
  - extra88 8y ago
    I don't automatically mistrust reference contact information provided, I'm just explaining some of the risks. The risk wouldn't end after the reference checks, the truth could come out at any time and could result in dismissal. > Your hiring practices seem a bit off to people coming from private industry I don't care what handful of people think, especially when they seem to be just thinking adversarially and not speaking from experience. None of us are in a position to speak about what practices are prevalent in any sector. But you can now say you've encountered someone who claims to have been a hiring manager that, on at least one occasion, didn't just go by the contact information provided for a reference check. > If you mean legally I don't mean anything beyond that I'd have a strong emotional reaction to such a large deception and would wish for there to be consequences so they would regret it and never do it again. Courts didn't cross my mind but in then little that I have thought about it, my guess has been that there wouldn't be anything to do.
    - learc83 8y ago
      >None of us are in a position to speak about what practices are prevalent in any sector. I don't think that's true. I've been around long enough to know that insisting on getting a reference from someone's current manager is not a common practice for developer jobs in private industry. Like I said, it may be common in your sector, but it most definitely is not in mine.

extra88 8y ago

Having a friend pretend to be your boss for a reference would be risky. I could look up the contact information you provide to see if it matches the manager's name, I could call a general number at the business to be connected to them. Is the friend supposed to answer the phone pretending to be someone else for an unknown period of time? There are many ways in which they could screw up their performance. This is real life, not TV. If a candidate attempted that, I would definitely look into what options there are for consequences beyond not getting the job.

learc83 8y ago
> I could look up the contact information you provide to see if it matches the manager's name, I could call a general number at the business to be connected to them. I've never done this when checking references, and I've never known anyone who does it regularly. It seems that there is a disconnect here between your sector and private industry. Your hiring practices seem a bit off to people coming from private industry, so you're seeing people here trying to come up with ways around it. >If a candidate attempted that, I would definitely look into what options there are for consequences beyond not getting the job. If you mean legally, no one is going to prosecute this even if their technically could be criminal penalties. You could sue the person to recover damages, but you don't really have any damages beyond a bit of wasted time. The person they are impersonating could sue the person for defamation, but they'd have a hard time proving damage as well. You could also try calling up their current employer, but then you're opening yourself up to defamation claims that would have a very clear damage component. Truth is a defense in defamation cases, but you're going to need to prove it and it's not going to be pleasant.
- extra88 8y ago
  I don't automatically mistrust reference contact information provided, I'm just explaining some of the risks. The risk wouldn't end after the reference checks, the truth could come out at any time and could result in dismissal. > Your hiring practices seem a bit off to people coming from private industry I don't care what handful of people think, especially when they seem to be just thinking adversarially and not speaking from experience. None of us are in a position to speak about what practices are prevalent in any sector. But you can now say you've encountered someone who claims to have been a hiring manager that, on at least one occasion, didn't just go by the contact information provided for a reference check. > If you mean legally I don't mean anything beyond that I'd have a strong emotional reaction to such a large deception and would wish for there to be consequences so they would regret it and never do it again. Courts didn't cross my mind but in then little that I have thought about it, my guess has been that there wouldn't be anything to do.
  - learc83 8y ago
    >None of us are in a position to speak about what practices are prevalent in any sector. I don't think that's true. I've been around long enough to know that insisting on getting a reference from someone's current manager is not a common practice for developer jobs in private industry. Like I said, it may be common in your sector, but it most definitely is not in mine.