Recommendations from former coworkers

[Opti]

I just disovered an interesting situation and I'm not sure how to handle it.
Many people were laid off from a company I used to work for. A few of my former colleagues are now working for a competitor. I have used one of my former coworkers as a reference as my boss also got laid off and did not answer my emails to the personal email address she provided as contact info(this was on a joint list updated by most of the layoffees).

A job that I am qualified for has finally opened up at this competitor firm and the recruiter asked for references of people currently working there.
The recruiter told me that this former colleague has referred him on to another former coworker of ours to talk to and he tells me he has been playing phone tag with her. This other colleague had the highest job title of the three of us, the one I have been using as a reference next and then mine was the least. I'm feeling anxious and worried. Are there any reasons that might be positive for me that she referred this recruiter to someone else?

I thought we had a good working relationship and I did my best to push through any work she or our colleague with the best job title needed?

Have you ever gladly given references for a former coworker if they were applying for jobs in different companies but hedged if they applied to the company you were working for? How should I handle this? Should I try to call my usual reference first, lets call her Abby and see what's up or should I talk to the person my recruiter is now waiting on a reference from lets call her Zoe?

[gooddecisions]

If I'm reading this right, you are applying at a job where former co-workers are employed and you gave permission to the recruiter to contact them. And, now you're uncertain why your former collegue is not talking to the recruiter.

Prior to the recruiter reaching out, did you contact your former co-worker to specifically ask if they would be your reference for that job at that company? I always like to prepare my references by letting them know what job might call them and remind them how my qualifications relate to whatever relationship I had with that person so they can better speak to it. If they are at the company, it also gives me a chance to ask about anything else that might give me an edge and convey that I'm excited about the potential opportunity.

There could be any number of reasons your co-worker referred the recruiter to somebody else, but unless you talk to them before you give the recruiter the thumbs up- you won't really know if they will give you a good referral for that job and could potentially ruin your shot by deferring or avoiding the phone call.

Good luck, I hope it works out and you get the job offer!

[hoops902]

The first and most obvious reason I can think of is that they don't wish to be associated with you at a job they are also new at. Though not necessarily an indictment of your work, many people seem eager to give a glowing reference to a friend or casual coworker for a job at another company. When they're coming to YOUR company though, it seems different. I think it's more perception than fact, but people dont' want to vouch for you, then find out you're terrible at the new job, somehow linking themselves to the poor performer.

Did you work more closely with either Abby or Zoe? That would be the 2nd reason. If i knew of you, but thought someone else knew you better, I'd refer the recruiter to them. Did Abby give you permission to use her as a reference? Could it be that she didn't and now she's annoyed that you listed her without asking? Could be that Abby just doesn't think much of you as an employee but doesn't want to be mean and kill your chances...wouldn't be the first time someone overestimated what a former coworker thought of them.

Million reasons really, Abby clearly isn't interested in being your reference from the sounds of it. Not sure you gain anything by confronting her. If you're friendly with either you might shoot them an email telling them you've applied, that you were asked to list references specifically working at the building (so they might cut you a break on listing them as references if you did without asking first).

[Opti]

I probably did not ask Abby formally if she would be my reference for this particular job. I had called her to give her the heads up that a job I am qualified for finally opened up at this employer. I worked closely with Abby more at the end of my time at my former employer. I was doing a different job than what I am applying for. I worked more closely with Zoe when I first worked at our former employer doing the type of job I am applying for now.

Now I regret not explicitly asking Abby to be my reference for this position. I thought we got along well enough that when I called she would have said something then. I joked you will give me at least an OK reference if they ask, right? But she didn't really respond now that I think about it. One thing I have thought of is Abby told me this company is much stricter than our old one - no working from home and very clear cut working hours. I will need to change my preferred schedule in order to fit in and perhaps she's concerned she may be linked to a potentially tardy employee.

ETA: I had explicitly asked Abby to be a reference for several jobs one recently which was per diem was apparently very painful to get info from the contact from the employer and send it in. I guess I got lazy and thought I didn't need to keep asking.

[gooddecisions]

"Have you ever gladly given references for a former coworker if they were applying for jobs in different companies but hedged if they applied to the company you were working for?"

This hasn't happened to me before, but I can say that if I had any doubts about an applicant's performance, ability to meet deadlines, work ethic, quality of work, ability to show up on time and meet any other minimum work requirements no way would I feel comfortable referring them to my current employer for the reason stated in reply #2.

[jkapp]

Being a reference for your current workplace is much different than a workplace you are not affiliated with. There are several co-workers that I would give glowing references for, but if they applied for a job in my current company I may not be as kind - especially if it is for a job I think they may not be good at or would not like.

You never want to the person who brought a bad apple into the bunch

[alabamagal]

First of all, you can not necessarily control what your references say about you. You can just do your best to get people that think highly of you. I have been asked to be a reference for several people that I know well, that I knew their strenghts and weaknesses. When speaking with a prospective employer I would only highlight their strengths.

However, in this case, it looks like the hiring manager asked some people that already worked there what they thought of you. You should list as your references the peolpe that you think will put you in the best situation. If I was a hiring manager and had several employees who knew that person already working for me what they thought of that person, I would certainly ask them their opinion, not as a reference, just as a frank assessment of that individual. You cannot control what people are going to say about you.

[Opti]

"However, in this case, it looks like the hiring manager asked some people that already worked there what they thought of you. You should list as your references the peolpe that you think will put you in the best situation."

I have no clue who the hiring manager is. I have been dealing with the recruiter for that company and I rarely get much of his time when I catch him and spend most of my time playing phone tag and leaving messages. I thought Abby would give me a good review and that obviously in hindsight was a bad
assumption. When I talked to the recruiter two times ago it sounded like he would set up an interview and that he might want references for the future. I didn't realize he was planning to talk to them first otherwise
I would have handled things differently. In the past I had told him I worked with Abby and occasionally spoke to her so I wonder if not giving her name would have worked. I have been waiting for this job to open up for many many months so I was thinking this is finally it instead of being careful and insuring I get the job or at least a chance at it. I should have said I'll get back to you after talking to people but I think I've been so conditioned by my recent job interviews and applications were I had to come up with people on the spot that I forgot to talk to the people first. Major Oops!

I feel real stupid now. Abby used to ask me to get certain projects done quickly instead of my more experienced co-worker because she knew I'd get it done quickly and keep her informed. I'm so sad I didn't realize she might not want to recommend me there.

[azphx1972]

Abby sounds like a bitch.

ETA: Abby was the name of one of my dogs, so she really was a bitch.

[hoops902]

"I feel real stupid now. Abby used to ask me to get certain projects done quickly instead of my more experienced co-worker because she knew I'd get it done quickly and keep her informed. I'm so sad I didn't realize she might not want to recommend me there"

I ask certain people to take on certain tasks. That doesn't mean I feel comfortable giving them a glowing recommendation for every job. Working in the same company, I can have a very good idea of what the job might require and can analyze whether I think they'd be good at it. For a random job at a random company I can give a vague reference such as "they've got a great work ethic". For a specific job at my company my real thought might be "I don't think they can handle that job".

Look on the bright side, maybe Abby doesn't necessarily think you'd be good at this job. Instead of saying "don't hire her", she may have passed it on to a person she thought would feel comfortable giving you a good recommendation. OR, perhaps Abby is a recommendation for someone who's already applied for this job, and doesn't want to hurt her other recommendation by being forced into a position of "which of these 2 would you hire?".