Constantly being turned down jobs for no reason.

[galwaygirl]

How can I find out if I am deliberately being turned down for jobs where I have previously work

due to someone in authority taking a dislike to me.

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

Why do you not work there anymore? What caused you to leave?

[BazzaS]

How can I find out if I am deliberately being turned down for jobs where I have previously work

due to someone in authority taking a dislike to me.

 

If you don't get close to being offered the job : have you asked for feedback?

If you are offered the job "subject to references" and then the job offer is withdrawn : you need to SAR the prospective employer for copies of your references.

 

Is this a large organisation / public body with an HR Dept?

If it is a small employer and the person who dislikes you is acting "informally" : it may be hard to be sure / demonstrate that this is what is happening.

 

As another poster has already asked : what are the circumstances under which you left previously?

[galwaygirl]

Thanks for the replies. It is a large organisation and have been working on the internal bank for the past five or six years. One assignment lasted to two and a half years another one lasted eighteen months. During a period of unemployment, I contacted the bank on a number of occasions and was told they had no assignments. However an outside agency contacted me with the offer of a position at the said organisation. On contacting the organisation to give them my details she was told that they did know me, and I had worked for them before but they wouldn't use my services again. Naturally I was devastated. I have recently been told by the agency person that during a recent meeting with one of the managers my name came up and the manager said that I was disruptive, that there was nothing wrong with my work. I would really like to get to the bottom of what's happening.

[Emmzzi]

I would interpret disruptive as

- doesn't do as told

- is gossipy

- annoys clients

- isn't flexible about shifts

- has too much time off sick

 

Any of those ring a bell?

[galwaygirl]

None of the above interpretations apply.

[Emmzzi]

Sadly, someone in a position of power thinks they do

 

And there's no right of recourse, I am afraid.

 

If you think they have you confused with someone else, try adding a photo to your application?

[think about it]

I faced a similar thing at a previous employer when recruiting for a new member of staff. A previous employee that had left before I had arrived applied for the job, I had shortlisted her based on her application and when discussing my choices with a member of senior management was told emphatically no.

 

The reasons were many and varied, none of which amounted to very much but the overriding theme was that given the choice, they would not re-employ her. It seems you're in a similar position here and even if it's only a difference in personality it may well be enough to keep your application on the 'no' pile. I'd take it as a massive hint to try elsewhere.

[galwaygirl]

Thanks for the replies. Surely the case you refer to is discrimination as is the case with me and the comments made about me slander.

[Emmzzi]

It's not illegal.

 

But a great way to get yoursef a reputation as unemployable is to try and take employers to court...

 

You are not in a position of strength here

[think about it]

If it were discrimination based on one of the protected characteristics like gender or race then it'd carry weight. In our case at least, and as it seems with yours it was a general feeling that the person involved was not right for the team and that their presence was unhelpful and unhealthy. The entire recruitment process is by its very definition one of discrimination as you eliminate all but the successful candidate based on suitability for the role. There's so much more to it than 'they can do the job'. All recruiting decisions I've ever made and ever seen made have been the result of every interaction with a prospective candidate being positive and I do speak to everyone they've encountered as they've gone through the process.

 

Likewise when it comes to slander really, you've an unnamed person expressing an opinion about your previous conduct. Not only would it be phenomenally expensive to pursue such a claim but you'd need to identify who was responsible and prove that their opinions were wrong. I've seen decisions come down to how someone interacted with their fellow candidates over lunch before so that persons' definition of disruptive may boil down to their experience of you on a bit of an off day.

 

Like I said, move on.