recruiters and references 2

[VE]

I'm leaving a job I have had for 5 1/2 years. I posted my resume on a couple of job sites and now I have recruiters calling me.

They all seem to want to call my references before sending me to interview with their clients. I've discussed this with my references and have a mixed reaction of "that's what they do, it's OK" and "no way they don't know what they are doing stay away from them".

I don't want anyone calling my references until I'm sure I want a particular position and it looks like I'm in the top two candidates or so with the hiring manager.

I don't want the recruiter to think that there is a problem with my references, but I just think it's the wrong time to call them, particularly when I've only spoken with the recruiters, many of whom do not seem to understand the skills that they are looking for in the first place.

Am I being over sensitive to this or is this how they really work now? What do you all think of this practice?

Thank you
V

 

[kmcferrin]

I agree with MDXer here, I don't think we're talking about calling your current employer for a reference. And even if we were, in not all cases would that necessarily cause you career trouble. Some people have positive relationships with their boss and their boss may be OK with them knowing that they are leaving.

At my last employer my boss knew when I was shopping around for a new job. She was shopping around for a new job too, as were several other people in our department (it was after our company had been acquired). But there are other cases where you wouldn't keep it secret from your boss that you're looking to leave. If there are problems with the job that you have discussed with your boss (work hours, etc) and that can't be remedied to your satisfaction, your boss probably knows that you'll be leaving soon. Maybe your job requirements have changed due to changes in your personal life or family. Perhaps you're expecting a new baby and need to work only part time. Maybe you have to relocate to another city because your spouse was transferred. There are all sorts of reasons why someone would be looking for work elsewhere that wouldn't cause bad blood with their current employer.

________________________________________
CompTIA A+, Network+, Server+, Security+
MCSE:Security 2003
MCITP:Enterprise Administrator

 

[Dollie]

It's fairly simple: if you don't want your references contacted right off the bat, don't put them on your resume. It's easy to put "References upon request" on your resume instead, then if someone asks for them before you've even been spoken to about a job, it may give you a better indication of the company you're dealing with.

And no, I wasn't referring to current employers either. I was talking about references, personal references.

 

[kmcferrin]

I generally wouldn't waste the space even putting "References available upon request." I think that it's pretty much implied these days.

________________________________________
CompTIA A+, Network+, Server+, Security+
MCSE:Security 2003
MCITP:Enterprise Administrator