Is this standard?

Posted: Mon, Jun 25 2012, 1:17 pm Post subject: Is this standard?

I was let go from my job a few weeks ago, they were very vague about the reasons they were letting me go. One of the things that they said was "its just not working out here." When I asked them, "have I done nothing positive here?" They said "no, but our decision is final". I asked them to let me know, for my own professional development what my strengths were--but they refused. I asked them to write me a letter of recommendation, to possibly indicate that while I wasn't working out in their place, I have professional strengths. I know my father-in-law was let go from his place of employment and they wrote him a letter of recommendation (albeit in his case it was a restructuring move, in my case it was "not seeing enough progress"--though I dont buy it). Anyway they said "its not their policy to recommend people they let go. Is this standard?

Executive Member Joined: Feb 14 2006 Posts: 403

Sorry about your work situation.
It sounds like, rightly or wrongly, they are letting you go for work reasons.
I wouldn't expect a letter of recommendation from a business that let me go for any reason other than restructuring or layoffs due to lack of work.

Diamond Member Joined: Aug 07 2006 Posts: 2556

That's a difficult situation.

If you have a strong work relationship with any individual people from this job, they may agree to provide references in the future, as part of a specific job application - not a standing letter of recommendation. You can also use Linkedin.com to keep in touch with people who are familiar with your work and would be willing to recommend you.

Many workplaces do not give any kind of information other than verifying dates of employment. If there have been issues ("it's just not working out") I certainly would not ask for a recommendation from the business/organization itself.

If you have employee evaluations indicating your strengths, make copies and hold on to them.

Hope this helps!

Diamond Member Joined: Oct 25 2007 Posts: 4863

Unfortunately, many employers are so wary of being sued that they refuse to confirm anything other than dates of employment.

It sounds like you also had the bad luck to encounter a manager who wasn't really comfortable in his/her role. Unless company-wide layoffs are unexpectedly announced, no one should be surprised by being let go. There should be enough feedback that an employee either changes whatever it is that is problematic or realizes that the job isn't working out and moves on voluntarily.

As CM suggested, try contacting someone familiar with your work outside of normal work channels and ask to use the person as a reference. Just a caveat, though: be sure to make that the person feels comfortable giving you a positive reference and will be able to give detailed examples of some of your accomplishments. A lukewarm reference is sometimes worse than none at all!

I wouldn't get too hung up on getting an actual letter of recommendation. In my experience, potential employers prefer to call past employers rather than relying on a predictable bland generic letter.

Posted: Mon, Jun 25 2012, 6:04 pm Post subject: re: Is this standard?

This reminds me of the post from the teacher who was fired recently.

Anyway, if a place is letting you go because they are unhappy with you as an employee, it is highly unlikely they will give you a glowing letter of recommendation.

When I worked in HR, we did not give letters to people who were fired for cause. We would confirm their employment dates if their next job called but that was all we would say.

Diamond Member Joined: Apr 29 2006 Posts: 4774

Maybe I am naive but why would a place that fired you because they were unhappy with your work, write a recommendation letter?
I understand if someone was let go because of relocation or budget cuts but the situation you described here (and in your other posts) indicate that they were not satisfied with your performance, so no I would not expect a recommendation from them.

My advice is to hold your head high and move on. And pray they say something neutral to your future prospective employees. All this dragging your feet and asking or begging them for information they don't want to share does not look good for you. Even if they're wrong, suck it up and look at the big picture -your future.
_________________
"But it's no use going back to yesterday, I was a different person then"- Alice in Wonderland

Gold Member Joined: Feb 13 2007 Posts: 1264

Why would you want a recommendation letter from people who fired you because they didn't like your job performance? I don't get it. It couldn't possibly be a good letter. How would this help you?

Gold Member Joined: Feb 13 2007 Posts: 1264

So how will you get a job after being fired? (If this is the teacher from previous posts--sorry if it's not, you have a similar writing style--that's after being fired multiple times.) You have to really do some soul-searching. Write down all the things your employers said you didn't do well. Then come up with concrete plans to fix those problems in the future. Then when you go into your next interview you will sound proactive and responsible. Rather than trying to whitewash your past difficulties, you will be accepting responsibility and indicating a willingness to grow.

Posted: Sun, Jul 01 2012, 11:17 am Post subject: re: Is this standard?

OP here, I wanted a letter from my immediate supervisor, not the director--who apparently found some nitpicky thing to be upset about. My supervisor at our last meeting had said that she had seen some positives and was talking about my strengths. OK, so things weren't working in this place--does that mean I won't work out well somewhere else? I'm just not sure why it has to be "company policy" of whether or not they can write a letter of recommendation just because I was let go because of some nitpicky issues.
I guess part of me is trying to find out what made them slam the door on me in the way that they did, and it is so frustrating that they will not give me an answer.

Gold Member Joined: Feb 13 2007 Posts: 1264

If you're friendly with some of the teachers there, maybe one of them would be willing to talk with you about her perceptions about why this happened. Someone who's been there a long time and is kind but willing to be honest and help you out so your next job will go better iy"H....

Posted: Sun, Jul 01 2012, 12:27 pm Post subject: re: Is this standard?

you're not going to get a written letter of recommendation from a job that let you go and quite frankly you wouldn't want one, like another poster said the best you can hope for is that they respond neutrally (I.e., she wasn't a good fit here) if your next prospective job calls them.

ask your supervisor off the record what the problem was with your teaching style or skills and then make sure to fix it before trying to get another job.

Diamond Member Joined: Aug 07 2006 Posts: 2556

Posted: Mon, Aug 13 2012, 11:52 pm Post subject: re: Is this standard?

I'm the OP with an update, I have tried asking some former colleagues of mine who were not administration to write me letters of recommendation, one--whom when I spoke to her on the phone about why I was let go said "I have nothing more to say." I asked her "because you don't know or is it because you can't say?" and she replied "I don't know" she then replied to my email request for a letter: "based on the circumstances of my dismissal" she cannot write one for me--something which I asked her several times to explain and she didn't and hasn't responded to my emails (as far as I know I don't know what she means by "circumstances of my dismissal"--I was told "things aren't working out"). And another said that she asked her supervisor and was told that she can't write one for me. Is this standard or are people not telling me things? Why are they denying me or ignoring me?

No one pinpointed to a single reason for my dismissal the termination letter simply said "poor performance", but none of the performance indicators on my evaluation were "termination worthy" or they would have let me go sooner.

Platinum Member Joined: Feb 20 2009 Posts: 7672

I'm sure the whole scenario is frustrating, but I think its time to move on. Harassing people for information and recommendations is really not helping your cause, at all.

I don't know what line of work you're in, but letters of recommendation are generally not requested when you apply for a new job. More likely, they will want the names and numbers of personal and professional references whom they can speak with directly. Anyway, why would they recommend you for a job if they themselves dismissed you?

Diamond Member Joined: Mar 11 2010 Posts: 3090

Posted: Tue, Aug 14 2012, 8:51 pm Post subject: re: Is this standard?

OP here, I'm TRYING to move on but it has been very difficult to move on when I can't get good recent references. I'm frustrated because I was told that I was being let go "because things weren't working out, but We're sure that you'll do well elsewhere"--but they won't write me letters, nor are they LETTING others write them. They seemed to say one thing, but are acting another--as if I did something terrible, which I didn't as far as I know. Most times places fire a person suddenly for a gross violation or a delinquency or a mistake which costs the company money/reputation. I this case the "worst" thing I did was something that I said, was told it was the wrong thing to say, I explained why I thought it was correct based on what I knew, acknowledged my error, corrected my action, and that should have been the end of it--Not a terminable offense--unless it was transmitted as worse than it was. I want to know if that's what the problem was. For my own professional development I'm trying to determine what my strengths were. I have been able to use one former teacher (who's Jewish) to vouch for me, but I'm disappointed that they are being so cold when I did so much other good in my position. Is it standard for administrators to NOT LET other employees write letters of recommendation?

Platinum Member Joined: Feb 20 2009 Posts: 7672

I have no idea why they fired you. But firing you and then writing a letter of recommendation really don't go hand in hand. Obviously they feel that for whatever reason, rational or not, they DON'T recommend you for a position. Saying they're sure you'll do well elsewhere might not have been an sincere statement, it sounds more like something they tacked on so as not to sound overly harsh.

I really think that you should seek references elsewhere. Maybe you need to think out of the box in terms of how to get something recent. Can you shadow someone more experienced? Do volunteer work in your field?

Gold Member Joined: Mar 16 2009 Posts: 2293

Diamond Member Joined: Jun 29 2011 Posts: 3037

There are a lot of underground reasons to get let go. They might be re-structuring. You might have been hired to justify a budget but now that's not the case. You simply might have annoyed somebody. Buy a too-expensive fabulous outfit and go on. Legally, the old place cannot bad mouth you. Or won't dare. If you are right for a new place, you will get in. Maybe be a little more closed-mouthed? Letters of recommendation may be important in teaching but they mean little elsewhere; any secretary can cook up a dozen for her friends. Good luck.