Don’t expect an automatic letter of reference
There are myths and misconceptions about reference letters and their usefulness.
There is no law requiring an employer, even one of 20 years, to provide you with a reference letter or a verbal reference. In many ways that can be profoundly unfair, but it is the truth.
Unfortunately, some employers out there watch too much American television and somehow think they are exposing themselves to liability issues if they provide references for departed employees. They are afraid that if they oversell the employee, they will get sued by the new employer or if they say something negative, the employee will sue.
There are almost no such cases on the books in Canada. For anyone to be even begin bringing such a lawsuit, there would have to be an intentional factual misrepresentation made by the employer … like “Johnny is a thief,” when Johnny, in fact, is not.
Employers adopting a policy of not providing substantive reference letters may actually be increasing their liability issues rather than decreasing them.
In a number of cases in Canada, judges have increased the damages awarded to an employee as a result of the employer’s refusal to provide a reference letter, or any reference at all.
To be clear, however, that usually only happens when the judge has decided the employee was a good one and the employer was being fickle or malicious.
Reference letters are nice, but few employers rely on them. They want to talk to somebody in a live conversation and ask hard questions such as: “Would you rehire Johnny and if not, why not?”
Even if you were provided with the most glowing reference letter ever written, unless you trust the author to be as glowing behind a closed door in a telephone conversation for which they will never be held accountable, don’t use it. A pause or a sigh can ruin the day.
If you are faced with an employer who refuses to provide any verbal or written reference other than a letter confirming your dates of starting and ending your employment and the position held (a tombstone letter), think creatively. Even if they don’t work there anymore, contact supervisors and managers with whom you had a good relationship in the past and ask them if they would be prepared to take a reference call.
When you get any kind of a performance review, congratulatory letter or encouragement from your employer, make a copy and take it home. Stacking them nicely in your desk drawer at work will not be helpful if they frogmarch you out one day without a chance to retrieve those documents.
Positive performance reviews are even more persuasive than a glowing verbal reference. They are a contemporaneous assessment of your performance that is not postured or couched in terms meant to help you find a job.
Too often, when negotiating a severance package, employees insist on obtaining a positive reference letter. It is always a mistake. Negotiating leverage should be put into getting more money for your family, not obtaining a letter of such limited value. Even if you could get the boss who dislikes you to sign a glowing reference letter, you should never use it because the next thing that will happen is the prospective employer will phone them. Then, things will fall apart.
A final thought on resumés. Everyone exaggerates a little, but keep it under control. If you make a substantive misrepresentation on your resumé, such as job experience or educational achievements you do not possess, you could get fired with no severance.
In a number of cases, someone in management asks why Johnny was hired in the first place given how poorly he is performing and goes back and looks at the resumé. A little checking reveals major misrepresentations. Even years later, Johnny could be out on his ear without a severance package if those misrepresentations are significant.
Everyone engages in some puffery in resumés. Just don’t get too creative. Even if your exaggerations aren’t enough to get you fired without a package, if anyone should ever go back and look you don’t want the good relationships you have established overshadowed by a black cloud.