Not Eligible for Rehire
Nevada
48 Posts
I just interviewed an applicant whom we all liked, but when I called a past employer for verification,I asked if they would rehire her. The lady on the phone said it was marked "not eligible for rehire". She worked there for 4 years. I asked the applicant why she left the company and she said because of Budget cuts and her position had been eliminated...Should I be concerned??? I can't decide whether to call her back or not. Thank you for your help...
Comments
1. You can try asking the applicant why they would say that she isn't eligible for rehire.
2. Another I do when I get that response from a former employer is ask, "Are they not eligible for rehire for their previous position, or are they not eligible for rehire with the company period?" There is a subtle difference. We had a HR person that was really a great person, but she did a terrible job in HR. Hence, she was not eligible for rehire as a HR person, but if a different position came up in the company, we would consider her.
3. Have the applicant sign a reference check form. Some previous employers will add more information to the reference check once they know that their former employee has given them the 'green light'.
Finally, ask yourself what you liked about this applicant during the interview - was it that she was approachable, funny, smart, etc. and then compare that to her responses on what you think were the most important questions you asked during the interview. If you asked questions like, "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?", or "Why should we hire you?", or my personal favorite, "Why do you want this job?" then you may not have asked the 'right' questions. Anything that you fear - attendance, attitude issues, poor performance, etc. you can ask (provided their properly formatted) & it should help you get the answers your seeking.
Bottom line, be as objective as possible. Create some selection criteria and then stick with it.
One is a company-wide policy that the company will not rehire any former employees and two is: there is a good reason this person would not be eligible for rehire. You can almost tell from the tone of the conversation you are having with the former employer that this was a problem person..i.e., dead silence when you mention the former employee's name, skirting the issue when you ask questions about performance, etc.
(1) Many companies have policies precluding rehire, period. Companies will either not respo0nd further or the clerk you're talking to hasn't a clue.
(2) Many companies have clerical support staff fielding these questions or 'the lady in payroll' and I have known quite a few of these types to speak from the hip using their own personal opinion and interjecting their own brand of wisdom.
(3) Often, very very often, somebody checks that box because they are in a bad mood or were ticked off because somebody resigned, or they are the company tyrant themselves anyway who nobody likes working for.
(4)Often a department head will not rehire because they felt threatened by the capacity or expertise of the subordinate who is leaving and for personal reasons, don't want them back.
(As an aside, in my last job, the wife of the owner was the company tyrant and ran off every single soul who ever worked in sales or marketing or customer service, most vice presidents, department managers and a few other positions. She caused tons of real good people to seek other opportunities. And on every single one of them she would check "not eligible for rehire". All these people left the company, not because of her style, but because "they were sorry employees".)
Sure, it's always a first-alarm red flag, but on further analysis and exploration and discussion with the applicant and the interview team, it can be brushed aside just as easily as it can be a reason for not hiring the applicant. In the overall background investigation process, everything ought to be weighed against every possibility. If the totality of the interview process, more often than not, everything else will typically outweigh one no-rehire.
I am always to rehire good employees who left right. Gave notice, left for better opportunity, etc. I will say that I have hired some back, and there have been others who were good employees, that we did not hire back. They were never satisfied with what they were making, and when the looked to come back we felt that would not change and they would not be here for the long haul. So we passed even though they were eligible for rehire.
My $0.02 worth.
DJ The Balloonman
If it's a specific department the person cannot go back to, we mark eligible for rehire. After those two boxes there is a line for "Exception." The ineligible department's name is listed.
Most employers don't like hearing ex-employees lie about why they were terminated. Even those with strict "no info" reference policies will sometimes be unable to refuse "setting the record straight".
Other than that, I'd say that flag is definitely reddish orange at least.
Paul
Re: when we do references, we do them pre-offer.