Black listed

[LondonManc]

A few years ago an agent tweeted about me with a #fakecandidate hash tag because I wouldn't give him any references. Another agent told me about it a few days later. Turns out lots of recruiters had been ignoring my cv because of this.

If you've got a screenshot, send it to a solicitor - could be a fortune to be had.

[pictavia]

One bad reference could, in theory, end a career. Large companies provide a standard reference for ex-employees but will not provide an opinion on an individuals past performance, suitability for another role or other subjective matters. In employment law, vicarious liability could mean a company taken to court for a comment made by one of their managers, hence the standard reference template. In reality, references are useful only for verifying the information on an applicant's cv. This situation for contractors is probably not vastly different in that the person submitting the reference will be an employee and the contractor is the subject of the reference.

As for agencies, there are probably too many at the moment and they must compete in what appears to be a shrinking market for reduced returns, I very much doubt they have been colluding to exclude you from the market. If you have been contracting for some time and none of your contracts have been extended, some agencies will not put you forward for roles for business reasons.

[Cirrus]

Turns out lots of recruiters had been ignoring my cv because of this.

What's your evidence? Sounds like fake news to me

[Cirrus]

Decades ago I remember getting applicant paranoia on more than one occasion. You think someone must be giving you a bad verbal reference. You even think of a fake fishing expedition to see what they might be saying. Of course sometime later your suspect gives you a good reference and you pull a lucrative contract.

We are human and spectacularly bad at statistical things. We lunge at ridiculously half-baked theories to explain essentially random events.

[CoolCat]

Sorry, I don’t believe that is the case. There just isn’t that kind of a blacklist out there, we all know that agents would place their worst enemy if it meant commission.

Get that out of your head and have another look at your CV and your interview skills. I suspect that you’ll have more luck if you look closer to home to solve this problem.

there is some of it going on certainly. for sure, dont be too naive...

but not entire business, competitive pressure stops it to some degree.

[eek]

there is some of it going on certainly. for sure, dont be too naive...

but not entire business, competitive pressure stops it to some degree.

There really isn't because it doesn't offer any economic value.

And it fails my sniff test where people see conspiracies in what is usually a combination of randomness and incompetency.

[Andy Hallett]

Wobble your heads. Agents at the same firm don't even communicate about contractors.

The odds of anyone being arsed to feed info to their competitors about someone they placed at THEIR CLIENT are about as much as me playing Premiership Football to a packed crowd this Saturday.

[t0bytoo]

If you've got a screenshot, send it to a solicitor - could be a fortune to be had.

I remember posting on these boards about it. Probably twelve years ago or so. Been browsing email archives and haven't found anything.

It was a big agency that I won't name as I have worked with them over the years.

[t0bytoo]

What's your evidence? Sounds like fake news to me

https://twitter.com/fakecandidates

Somewhere, buried in the archive, is a post about me, and plenty others.
Haven't dealt with recruiters in a few years. Forgotten how vile they are!

[NotAllThere]

https://twitter.com/fakecandidates

Whoever set that up was opening themselves to a world of pain. The people who replied as well. Morons the lot of them. Why didn't you sue if you found yourself on that list?