What the HR Manager Wont Tell You.

Most human resource managers today are limited to providing only the basics for employment verification. Fear of litigation nullifies anything that may be deemed subjective or, more considerably, litigious. Conducting the formal employment verification will typically return little more than the date your candidate started employment, the date he left, and the position he held. You will often find yourself lacking the input needed to make an informed hiring decision. Once in awhile, the HR Manager will be adventurous and respond that your candidate was in good standing.

In fact, at the writing of this article, there was a radio program where the shows commentator reinforced this principle. The commentator admonished Human Resources Personnel that there is as much a danger in providing a positive reference as there is in providing one that is negative. He went on to say it is important to keep all employment verifications as uniform as possible. He suggested providing only the start date, completion date and the position held.

Is this bare bones information enough to make an informed decision on an employment candidate? Sometimes. When the job is...