Wow... Character assassination - that's usually the worst kind. You can start with a couple different things. First you need to know what's being said about you. You can do this by having a friend pose as a hiring manager and call on your work history. Once you know what's being said you can try to counter it. In many states they are limited as to what information they can provide. Usually the only information that can be provided is dates of employment, title, job description, compensation, and eligibility for re-hire (answered with yes, or no). If they are actively engaged in providing false or misleading information you can simply ask them to stop. If they continue talk with a lawyer to apply a little more 'pressure'. If the above is impractical you can try other ways to 'bury' the single job in your resume. If you were there only a short period of time don't put it in your work history or bury it on a second page by reformatting your resume. Many employers only glance at the second page of a resume so anything you want to hide should be there (i.e. I put education on the back page because I lack a degree - a weakness for some employment opportunities) If you work for a contracting company you can list the company you contracted with as the employer instead of the end organization. You can also mark that they are not to contact your 'current' employer on the application. If you're no longer there you can provide information about why you left like, difference in opinion regarding the direction of the company, the company down-sized/right-sized/felt the recent crunch in stock prices, and many other ways. Personality conflict can be used, but be careful. You need to present actual examples of the conflict in a good light. 'I prefer a management style where I am provided a goal and pointed in that direction, and my former management preferred micro-management of every task. There was a project where...' Again, be careful, you want to present differences in opinion or management style, not ill-will towards your former employer. Keep in mind, most of this is just minor omission of details, and attempting to put yourself in the best light. Just remember be careful how you present yourself on your resume/application and make damn sure you're a model employee on your new job. Lastly, work through a contracting company. Be up front with them when you look for work including your recent 'issues'. Contracting companies often have more lax hiring policies and can often put you into a company that can jump start your career again. Often the contracts roll to permanent positions after 6 months or so. Keep in mind that if you were escorted off the property in handcuffs and charged with a crime all of this is may be moot, especially if you were convicted. A simple check with the police regarding your criminal record and they'll see your conviction (a common hiring practice by many companies now). Depending on what it was could make it very hard to obtain employment of any kind, especially in the computer industry. (Theft, crimes against persons, etc.) I've not personally used any of these methods, but they have worked for people I've worked with in the past (and my ex-wife). Careful choice of words, and some REALLY good references (especially work related) can help to counter the problem. Good luck! Ed Spencer MCSE/MCT/CNA/A+/Network+ Security Analyst - IS Security Renaissance Worldwide, Inc. - Walt Disney World This communication is confidential, intended only for the named recipient(s) above and may contain trade secrets or other information that is exempt from disclosure under applicable law. Any use, dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication by anyone other than the named recipient(s) is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please immediately notify us by calling (407) 566-5195. The ideas, opinions, and information expressed within the above email are the express sole opinion of the author and are not the opinion of the Walt Disney World Corporation. Thank you. -----Original Message----- From: Jon St Arnaud [mailto:thesaint856at_private] Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2001 12:39 PM To: securityjobsat_private Subject: Destruction of Reputations A friend of mine asked: "Have you talked with any experts in this field on how to deal with reputation destruction for whistle blowing and about finding the next job after?" Well I haven't blown any whistle nor do intend to (or should I) but the destruction of my reputation from a company I worked for is pretty clear. Any possible employer checking my work history that contacts them stops calling or returning phone calls or emails... So has anyone ever dealt with this? _____________________________________________ Free email with personality! Over 200 domains! http://www.MyOwnEmail.com
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