Ask the Experts: Letter of Reference Unavailable Because Employer is Out of Business
Question:
I’d like to apply for a position but the requirements indicate that I must provide references or letters of recommendation from my previous employers.
I am looking for a new job because my most recent supervisor lied about my
performance. Also, I cannot provide references or letters of recommendation
from a previous employer because that organization no longer exists. What do
I tell the potential employer?
First Answer:
You have some work to do before applying to any position:
One, you need to develop an “exit statement” about your departure from your last job, and it has to match what that employer’s human resources department will say when called to verify your employment. Most HR departments will reveal nothing more than your dates of employment and title, and will refuse to answer even “would you rehire?” because they are afraid of being sued for libel. That’s the theory; I know one situation where the phone in human resources was answered by a temp who went to the file and read out that the former employee had been fired.
You cannot tell a prospective employer that a former supervisor lied about your performance; first, because you are criticizing that employer, leading a prospective employer to believe you will criticize them publicly for any shortcomings and second because you will not be believed unless you took your former employer to court and won a lawsuit for illegal termination, which is exceptionally hard to get in “employment at will” states where an employer is not legally obligated to give you so much as a reason for your termination beyond “your services are no longer needed.” Unless you are in a protected class (race, age), most such lawsuits fizzle.
So, you need to talk about “reasonable people differ” and that that different prism led you and your supervisor to have irreconcilable differences about how to perform and measure your work. Conflicts with supervisors are the most common reason jobs are left and lost. End with a statement about your focus on your next job and the opportunity to work with a collaborative team.
Two, it’s an injurious myth that you can’t use references from a former employer who no longer works in the organization where you worked together. Because of policies muzzling current employees from talking, your references are better situated to speak to your skill sets AFTER they leave the place where you worked together. It’s also a myth that every reference must be a former supervisor; find a colleague or higher up in your former organization who believes in you and has reasonably close knowledge of your talents. Never, ever lose contact with people who think highly of your work. Your first job is to FIND these people, using a search engine if necessary, and everyone you ever knew in common with that supervisor or other former colleagues who can stand in to recommend you.
Clergy and family friends are character references and will not work; employers want to know about your skills and experience.
If you are a recent college graduate or have kept in touch with your professors, you can also call on them for letters of recommendation and use one of them as a substitute for a recommendation from an employer.
— Carol Anderson, Career Development and Placement Office, Robert J. Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy at New School University in New York City
Second Answer:
I’m going to start with the second question first – providing references from a previous employer that no longer exists. A critical lesson here is the need to practice the art of lifetime networking. The need to maintain your contacts from previous employers is one of the most critical career success skills. Sure the company no longer exists but unless your supervisor has pulled a Harry Houdini and disappeared, they’re certainly alive and working somewhere else. Don’t know where they work? How about finding where they live? Try switchboard.com or any Internet people finder website and call them. This is critical – make a real effort to find people from this now defunct company.
Having run the staffing function at several companies, I find it odd that a requirement for a position are references or LORs – if it is a company policy, it sounds outdated to me. Nonetheless, I would engage the company gatekeepers and let them know about your current company predicament – certainly, a rational person would recognize the downside of presenting references for a current employer. What I would say to the friendly folks in Human Resources is this: “I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to interview here. I will be happy to provide you with a list of references when I receive a conditional offer of employment.” Meaning, when make you an offer, conditions of the offer are typically positive references, drug checks, etc.
Now we come to a fork in the road – what will the HR people say now? The Bad HR Person says, “Unfortunately, our company policy requires that we have references on file before the start of the selection process” while the Good HR Person says, “I understand your predicament – it’s quite common to interview candidates who are looking to leave an unpleasant organization. Just include references from companies other than MyLyingSupervisor.com…”
Bottom-line? There’s really no excuse for not having any references on hand. If you know you’re going to be interviewing, do everything you can to identify people who can vouch for your professional side. Stay in touch with these people through thick and thin. Practice the art of lifetime networking.
— Steve Levy, Principal of outside-the-box Consulting
Third Answer:
Honesty is always the best policy, although there’s the risk you could get yourself into sticky ground too early in the recruitment process by talking
about how your supervisor lied about your performance!
Two things occur to me about your situation. Firstly, with regard to previous employers, it’s always a good idea to ask a supervisor or someone
in a responsible position within a company to write you a general ‘to whom
it may concern’ letter of recommendation just before you leave, in which
they include a personal telephone number or email address for future
follow-up. That way, if the company does disappear, then you’re covered.
If you’ve been a valuable employee and formed a strong and respectful
relationship with members of the management team then there should be no
problem requesting this.
With regard to the issue of your most recent supervisor – is there any way you could go around this person and request a letter of recommendation from
someone who knows you to be a productive, honest, invaluable employee?
Again, if you have demonstrated your worth to the organization then there’s
no reason that one individual – even if it your supervisor – should scupper
your future employment opportunities. You need to show that the issues you
have with your supervisor reflect a single relationship dynamic and are not
representative of who you are as an employee.
If that is not possible, then I suggest you take the bull by the horns and in your covering letter state that instead of providing references which are
very subjective and rely on just one person’s opinion, that you’d like the
opportunity to illustrate your value to the new company with very specific
examples of how you (choose whichever you think would be most relevant to
that new employer) effected cost savings, built relationships, boosted
productivity, came up with a creative solution to a long-standing problem or
invested in your own training and development. Just be sure that you have a
number of really good examples to back up any claims.
— Elizabeth Barnes, motivational speaker, workshop leader, author, journalist, and forum panelist
Fourth Answer:
First, it raises a number of red flags with me when you say your most recent supervisor “lied about your performance.” What would
be the supervisor’s motivation for doing so? Your accusation may be on
the level, but make sure you’re not in denial about your own
performance.
If you can’t count a good reference from your supervisor, consider others at that company, perhaps former co-workers, or supervisors in
other departments who knew your work.
As for the company that’s out of business, it’s not as though all the employees no longer exist just because the company doesn’t. Track down
your former supervisor from the defunct company and ask if you can use
him/her as a reference. The current nonexistence of the organization
is no reason not to get references.
Do the references you must provide absolutely have to come from former employers? If you have some latitude, consider college professors,
college administrators, internship supervisors, supervisors from
volunteer work, and character references, such as a family friend,
athletic coach, or clergy person.
Finally, it may be helpful to know, that for fear of lawsuits, many employers will only verify employment and dates you worked there — and say nothing
about your work performance. So the supervisor who allegedly lied about your
performance may not trash you at all. It’s also possible to hire a
service that can find out what your references will say about you. For more,
read an article by my writing partner, Dr. Randall Hansen, References: The Keys
to Choosing and Using the Best Job References in Your Job Search.
— Katharine Hansen, former speechwriter and college instructor who provides content for the Web site, Quintessential Careers, edits QuintZine, an electronic newsletter for jobseekers, and prepares job-search correspondence as chief writer for Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters
Fifth Answer:
Letters of recommendation are important to employers, and if they are asking for references, you will need to provide them. This is one of the
reasons that you need to keep up a NETWORK of contacts. Even if the company
folded, the emplyees are hopefully still alive. Had you kept in contact
with your former supervisor(s) you would still have references to offer new
employers.
If you are worried that your current supervisor will be a bad reference, keep in mind that even the most hostile boss doesn’t want to
get into a legal battle by defaming you. Most will be noncommital, at
worst. As I once advised an Ask Alison column reader who wondered how to
handle references from a hostile boss
the first thing you should
do now is find out your company’s policy regarding the dissemination of
information. Many companies will only provide the most basic information,
such as your job title and the dates that you were employed.
If your prospective employers want more details specifically from your
immediate supervisor and you don’t want to provide his or her name, you can
always say something like: “I haven’t worked very long with “hostile boss”
but “friendly colleague” and I worked very closely together for the past
few years. S/he is the best person to judge the quality of my work, and how
I was regarded at the company.” You can also select any of your other
superiors if a personal reference is required or perhaps, even a peer whom
you worked closely.
— Alison Blackman Dunham, life & career expert, columnist, personal public relations consultant, half of THE ADVICE SISTERS¬Ã, and the author of the ASK ALISON career advice column
Sixth Answer:
There are a few routes you can follow in order to keep yourself in the running for this opportunity.
- Although your previous employer’s business no longer exists, chances are that the people who were part of the organization do
but at different locations. This is an excellent time to contact
your past supervisors and those who were aware of your work
performance, on whom you made a positive impression. Find out
where they are and whether they would be willing to be a
reference for you. If they are, use them for past employment
recommendations. - As for your present employment situation, it sounds as though you want to also note people who are aware of your skills and
work habits and who are favorably impressed with your
performance. If they are willing to act as a character reference
for you, you will be able to offer a more balanced perspective
of you as a potentially valuable employee.
— Yvonne LaRose, career and professional development coach, Career and Executive Recruiting Advice
Seventh Answer:
While there are a number of different things you can say, first, make sure that whatever you say is the truth. Honesty is always the best policy
when dealing with a potential employer. That said, since you do have to
provide references, it is up to you how much you reveal. If you are uneasy
about proactively sharing the difficulties you had with your previous
supervisor, try using a co-worker with whom you worked closely or a
colleague in another department who can speak to how your skills and
performance affected the organization. You can also use a customer or
client as a reference if appropriate.
In the case where an organization no longer exists, do your best to try and search out a previous supervisor. If you cannot locate a supervisor or
manager, indicate the name and title of the person who managed you with a
short statement indicating that the organization has dissolved and you have
been unable to locate the individual.
Regardless of the references you choose, always makes sure you contact each individual and ask for permission. Also be sure to ask each reference how
he/she would like to be contacted (i.e. work number, cell number etc.).
Supply each reference with some background on the position you are applying
for and the organization. Finally, whether you get the position or not, be
sure to follow-up with a thank-you note (preferably hand-written) to each
reference. You never know when you might be needing them again.
— Susan Strayer, Assistant Director, Career Services, School of Professional Studies in Business and Education at the Johns Hopkins University and founder and President of University and Career Decisions
Eighth Answer:
When providing references the great thing is you decide whom the reference will be! Only choose those you know would have something positive to say about you, in this case not your most recent supervisor. From your most recent job you can choose from the following for your references: a colleague, a subordinate, a project manager, someone in another department that you may have done work for, your bosses boss, a human resource employee, etc. The idea is to pick someone that your work impacted in a positive way. If the company you are interviewing insists on speaking to your current supervisor then you may need to explain. Try by explaining that you took the job because (you fill in the blanks), but unfortunately the manager you were working for began lying about you and your performance. Your potential employer will likely understand that you won’t be quitting anytime soon because their supervisors have integrity and don’t lie.
Regarding your previous employer, this is unfortunately a sign of the times. Have you remained in touch with any of the people you worked with from that organization? Even though the organization may no longer exist, but the people do and they can still validate your work and character regardless of where they are now employed.
If you are still wondering, work with a professional coach who can guide you through the process easier and faster. I am offering a 20% discount on one month of coaching to anyone who mentions this article.
— Janine A. Schindler, Professional Coach and owner of the Jas Coaching Company
