Tweet
Hi, this is the first time that I have been on this site. My advanced apologies if this is the wrong spot or I have missed a step in proper procedure.
Looking for employment, I found a job posting, that I was qualified for and had years of experience doing for other similar companies in different parts of the country (USA), by a staffing service on one of the major job finding sites (Indeed, ZipRecruiter, etc.) I contacted the staffing service directly to inquire about the position (did not commence communication through the job finding site), first via email but after no response after a few days, I ended up calling and speaking with the recruiter for that position, who happens to be the owner of the staffing company as well (not sure if that matters at all). The staffing service did not disclose who their client/the company that I would potentially be working for was in the ad or on their website, but after speaking over the phone with the recruiter they did disclose the name of the company and explained what she knew of the company and job. She asked me to email my resume to her. After a second phone conversation, they said they were going to forward my resume to the client/the potential employer. They stated that I was the leading candidate, in their opinion, and the only one with industry experience at that point.
After that, a management representative of the potential employer called me directly. This was not scheduled or made aware to me that this may happen. I spoke to this representative for approximately thirty minutes over the phone. They said they wanted to set up a video conference interview for a few days later and gave me a general idea of what time that day they wanted to make it for and then told me to look out for an email with further instructions (they did not specify who the email would be coming from). Later that day, I emailed the recruiter to update them that their client had contacted me directly and I wasn't necessarily prepared for that and for any future discussions/meetings to be scheduled beforehand. Later that same day, they replied that they understood and reassured me that I did fine with the informal phone interview with their client, after they had spoken to their client.
The next day, the recruiter reaches out to me via email and says that the same representative wants to set up a time to have a discussion. I inquired about whether it was via video conference like the representative had stated, but they replied that they had a change of plans and this would be done via telephone. We scheduled a date and time for a couple of days later and she said the representative would call me directly.
Fast forward to the day of the scheduled telephone call, five minutes prior to scheduled time. I receive a text message from the representative, directly, stating that the recruiter made a mistake and set up this phone call not knowing that we had already spoken. I knew this was untrue because I told the recruiter that I had spoken to the representative and they confirmed that by replying that they too had spoken to the potential employer after the potential employer had talked to me. The representative asked via text message if the following week (a full seven days from that point and nine days since our informal phone interview) they could set up a video conference interview. I agreed and they said, again, to look out for an email outlining the details. At this point, I get the feeling that I did not do great during the informal phone interview with the representative of the potential employer and that I am not their top candidate and that there would be a good chance that this video conference interview will be cancelled as well.
Later that same day of the cancelled phone interview, I found out that somebody, who matched the phone-description of the representative of the potential employer, had called one of my previous employers doing a reference check, less than two hours after they had cancelled my phone interview that day. I was confused hearing this because neither the recruiter nor the direct representative had asked for a reference list or told me anything at all in relation to reference checks or that they may or will be conducted. I have never had a potential employer check my references without telling me first or asking me to send a reference list implying that they would be checking them. It was always near the end of the interview process of jobs that I ended up accepting as well so the timing seems off to me as well. I checked the website of the staffing service and nowhere on there does it say anything in regards to reference checking. There was no fine print stating that if you correspond with them then a reference check may be done at any time after that. No document, webpage or information whatsoever discussing the who, what, where, when, why, how in relation to reference checks. I have not heard from either company or individual since the cancellation.
To clarify, there was no indication that they asked any personal questions or anything that would relate to my gender, race, age, etc. Just asked questions about my employment and also my depature from the company when they called my former employer. From what I could find in my own research, "backdoor" reference checks without consent are not illegal if the company doing them, is doing them directly, and not hiring a third-party company to find this information for them. It sounds like it was the direct representative of the potential employer that conducted this. Up to this point, with the information that I have found, I think this is just an unethical employer that doesn't know proper hiring procedure if they want anybody of value to join their company. But with the variety of circumstances and particulars, I am not 100% sure.
I only sent my resume (which obviously does not include contact information for my previous employers) to the staffing company, not the potential employer, and never sent a reference list, nor was I asked for one. Is the potential employer allowed to conduct unconsented "backdoor" reference checks this way? Is consent implied by sending a resume to a staffing company that does not have any legal/compliance documents that I signed and agred to or info. on their website/job posting/email or telephone correspondence stating that such could happen? How do I know that they are only conducting reference checks and not a full-on background check? Can I ask them about what checks they are doing? Are they required to tell me? Are they required to provide their findings if I request them? Should I be looking deeper into other information they obtained or checks they did to ensure they were all lawful? When should I confront them about this, if at all? I don't know what my next step should be with this situation. Any guidance on this is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.
**Regarding the location details of this story:
- This is happening across various state lines (USA). I am currenty located in one state, would be moving to a different state (that they conduct business in but do not have a brick and mortar facility in) provided that I obtained this job, and the staffing company and the potential employer HQ are in an entirely different state (staffing company and potential employer HQ are in the same state but it differs from the one I would be working in and the one I currently live in). The potential employer also has multiple branches that would include two other states. The direct representative told me that they were in a state different from the company HQ, but where I would be moving to, at the time we had spoken on the phone. I am not sure if all of these details are pertinent or not but I am just trying to include as much info. as possible, as I know laws can vary by regions.
Looking for employment, I found a job posting, that I was qualified for and had years of experience doing for other similar companies in different parts of the country (USA), by a staffing service on one of the major job finding sites (Indeed, ZipRecruiter, etc.) I contacted the staffing service directly to inquire about the position (did not commence communication through the job finding site), first via email but after no response after a few days, I ended up calling and speaking with the recruiter for that position, who happens to be the owner of the staffing company as well (not sure if that matters at all). The staffing service did not disclose who their client/the company that I would potentially be working for was in the ad or on their website, but after speaking over the phone with the recruiter they did disclose the name of the company and explained what she knew of the company and job. She asked me to email my resume to her. After a second phone conversation, they said they were going to forward my resume to the client/the potential employer. They stated that I was the leading candidate, in their opinion, and the only one with industry experience at that point.
After that, a management representative of the potential employer called me directly. This was not scheduled or made aware to me that this may happen. I spoke to this representative for approximately thirty minutes over the phone. They said they wanted to set up a video conference interview for a few days later and gave me a general idea of what time that day they wanted to make it for and then told me to look out for an email with further instructions (they did not specify who the email would be coming from). Later that day, I emailed the recruiter to update them that their client had contacted me directly and I wasn't necessarily prepared for that and for any future discussions/meetings to be scheduled beforehand. Later that same day, they replied that they understood and reassured me that I did fine with the informal phone interview with their client, after they had spoken to their client.
The next day, the recruiter reaches out to me via email and says that the same representative wants to set up a time to have a discussion. I inquired about whether it was via video conference like the representative had stated, but they replied that they had a change of plans and this would be done via telephone. We scheduled a date and time for a couple of days later and she said the representative would call me directly.
Fast forward to the day of the scheduled telephone call, five minutes prior to scheduled time. I receive a text message from the representative, directly, stating that the recruiter made a mistake and set up this phone call not knowing that we had already spoken. I knew this was untrue because I told the recruiter that I had spoken to the representative and they confirmed that by replying that they too had spoken to the potential employer after the potential employer had talked to me. The representative asked via text message if the following week (a full seven days from that point and nine days since our informal phone interview) they could set up a video conference interview. I agreed and they said, again, to look out for an email outlining the details. At this point, I get the feeling that I did not do great during the informal phone interview with the representative of the potential employer and that I am not their top candidate and that there would be a good chance that this video conference interview will be cancelled as well.
Later that same day of the cancelled phone interview, I found out that somebody, who matched the phone-description of the representative of the potential employer, had called one of my previous employers doing a reference check, less than two hours after they had cancelled my phone interview that day. I was confused hearing this because neither the recruiter nor the direct representative had asked for a reference list or told me anything at all in relation to reference checks or that they may or will be conducted. I have never had a potential employer check my references without telling me first or asking me to send a reference list implying that they would be checking them. It was always near the end of the interview process of jobs that I ended up accepting as well so the timing seems off to me as well. I checked the website of the staffing service and nowhere on there does it say anything in regards to reference checking. There was no fine print stating that if you correspond with them then a reference check may be done at any time after that. No document, webpage or information whatsoever discussing the who, what, where, when, why, how in relation to reference checks. I have not heard from either company or individual since the cancellation.
To clarify, there was no indication that they asked any personal questions or anything that would relate to my gender, race, age, etc. Just asked questions about my employment and also my depature from the company when they called my former employer. From what I could find in my own research, "backdoor" reference checks without consent are not illegal if the company doing them, is doing them directly, and not hiring a third-party company to find this information for them. It sounds like it was the direct representative of the potential employer that conducted this. Up to this point, with the information that I have found, I think this is just an unethical employer that doesn't know proper hiring procedure if they want anybody of value to join their company. But with the variety of circumstances and particulars, I am not 100% sure.
I only sent my resume (which obviously does not include contact information for my previous employers) to the staffing company, not the potential employer, and never sent a reference list, nor was I asked for one. Is the potential employer allowed to conduct unconsented "backdoor" reference checks this way? Is consent implied by sending a resume to a staffing company that does not have any legal/compliance documents that I signed and agred to or info. on their website/job posting/email or telephone correspondence stating that such could happen? How do I know that they are only conducting reference checks and not a full-on background check? Can I ask them about what checks they are doing? Are they required to tell me? Are they required to provide their findings if I request them? Should I be looking deeper into other information they obtained or checks they did to ensure they were all lawful? When should I confront them about this, if at all? I don't know what my next step should be with this situation. Any guidance on this is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.
**Regarding the location details of this story:
- This is happening across various state lines (USA). I am currenty located in one state, would be moving to a different state (that they conduct business in but do not have a brick and mortar facility in) provided that I obtained this job, and the staffing company and the potential employer HQ are in an entirely different state (staffing company and potential employer HQ are in the same state but it differs from the one I would be working in and the one I currently live in). The potential employer also has multiple branches that would include two other states. The direct representative told me that they were in a state different from the company HQ, but where I would be moving to, at the time we had spoken on the phone. I am not sure if all of these details are pertinent or not but I am just trying to include as much info. as possible, as I know laws can vary by regions.
Comment