Question on References
 

I need to ask a question on a "private" site.

I worked for a family business for most of my working life, and eventually was a partner in this business until it was dissolved last year.

I'm applying for a job, and the CEO seemed to really like me. He asked me to also interview with the woman who's in charge of the office. In turn, she's asking me for references from several years from now, from hospices, from hospitals, from companies I worked with here in Chicago. I've worked for two companies here, one a good experience, the other not so good.

I realize that the hiring process is a bit different when one works for a family business, but I've never been asked for more than two references before, and have already provided four. Is this strange behavior, or is this normal? Help!

I have never had that experience.

I find it weird and a bit of a red flag. Like they have been burned by previous hires. I would be wondering if they have trouble holding on to their employees.

I think anything beyond a couple is just asking you to show how hungry you are. Or desperate, and that is not a good place from which to approach a new job.

Having grown up in a family owned business and working in one now, REALLY try to figure the family dynamic. The one I work for now is great. I have no idea why anyone would work for my family. Constant conflict and power struggle.

Most of their employees have either been with them for over 10 years, or are family. I'm wondering if they worry that I would not fit into their dynamic, or can smell the desperation.

I doubt they smell desperation. I bet that they have no idea how to make good use of references, and feel like there is some way they can get to know as much about you as they can about a family hire.

I haven't had that experience myself. If its a close knit group that you might be potentially working for perhaps Delta Baby said they might want to try and get to know you, as well as see how your interpersonal interactions with others in the community are. Are you still pursuing a similar line of work where your paths with this company may have crossed? Good luck with this potential job, I started a new job a few months ago, so I know the hiring process can be a bit of a nail biter.

I have only worked for major international corporations, and they barely check references at all -- at least the kind the employee provides. They employ professionals to run background checks and they do call the HR department of previous employers to confirm that the employment dates, role, and salary information you provided match up. But official representatives of big companies are very wary of providing more than that. And the hiring company knows that the professional references the prospective employee provides are pre-vetted to stress only the most positive attributes of the prospect. So asking for more than a couple of these references does strike me as a waste of time. But, again, I don't have first-hand experience with how smaller family-owned companies research their potential employees.

That's exactly what I thought. We are now hiring to replace a bad hire (basically she lied on her résumé) and I'm more than a little wary. Small places take a longer time to recover from that than a larger company would.

Four--and maybe more--references is a lot for any situation especially when you were at one place for a very long time. If they're that unsure, they should just do a background check.

The Plot Thickens!
 

I have been researching the one company for which I worked last year, and literally everyone in the office has left since I was there! Of the nine people, two left on their own accord; the rest were let go, or demoted so that they quit. I'm thinking that this wouldn't be the best place to use for a reference!

I hate, hate, hate to lie, but I'm seriously thinking that, should this particular job not pan out (yes, it is in my field), I'm going to amend my resume to say that I've telecommuted until recently. I have several former clients AND former staff who want to give me a good reference.

Just asked hubby about this one. His suggestion is if you use it to state that everyone you worked with is no longer with the company. Should be easy enough to verify on their part and you can still sleep at night for being truthful

I agree. It's always best to tell the truth.

Can you provide updated contact information for the folks you worked with, explaining that they are no longer with that company, but can still provide a reference?

I worked in the administration of two elected officials, and in both cases I left the staff shortly before the end of their final terms in office. There was high turnover anyway, but after any transition in leadership, the staff is 95%+ different. For references, I provided the updated contact information for my previous supervisors.

This is very common in education, as well. Of all the administrators who evaluated me, only one is still employed at my former school and she is the one who forgot to file my evaluation until past the deadline. Three have retired, one has passed away, and one is currently working in another district. He is the one who did three of my 15 evaluations, so I use his current school's address as his contact info.

The Office Manager AND the CEO both called me to tell me that I was still very much in contention for the position. I have provided them with a total of seven references (eight, if you count the one client has two daughters who are collaborating), and am now in the waiting game.

Just out of curiosity, has anyone ever tried one of the thousands of online customer service or other type of telecommuting jobs? I'm toying with signing up with one of those, just in case this falls through. I do like the idea of not commuting, not having to maintain a career wardrobe, saving the money on gas & lunches, etc, etc.

Never done it but I do know someone that was an Apple At Home Advisor and it was a great job. They made $14/hour, received benefits, and Apple provided a computer for business use. I always thought it was interesting and I know they usually have quite a few openings. It's listed by city and state but you should be good if you're in the same state, even if you're not in the specific city.