Police unions have helped shield officers from accountability.

[Sparko]

Had a girlfriend who moved to upstate New York to get a job paying twice what she made here. Then she discovered that the cost of living was effectively double what it is here so she figured on getting a PT job from the company that she left.

Even within the same company she couldn't get a letter of recommendation and all they would tell the HR person in NY was the day she started and the day she left. Not even the fact that she was the third highest person at the center she worked at.

That's where references and letters of recommendation come in handy

[Sparko]

Thinking more about this -- I think, often, the "letter of recommendation" can come from a colleague or co-worker as an "unofficial" endorsement, not on behalf of the company.

Once, I got a call the Dallas Police Department about a guy who was terminated from my company, in my opinion, wrongfully. A hot-headed supervisor disapproved of this guy because he wasn't a "drink with the boys on company property" type, and was afraid he (an Air Force vet) would rat them out. This supervisor never checked with HR, where we clearly would have warned against the firing.

When DPD called, because this guy (who had been Air Police with the USAF) was applying for a job, they were pressing for the reason he was terminated. I was restricted by the HR policies to answering date of hire, date of termination, and our company had a "never rehire" policy.

So, I told the recruiting sergeant, "look, here's my personal cell phone number - don't call me as the HR guy - call me as a friend of the applicant".
I literally walked outside the building and took the call, as a personal friend, and highly recommended him for the job, for which he was subsequently hired.

At my current job I put down as a reference the son of the boss one of my previous jobs (boss had died). After my interview on the way home I got a call from the HR department offering me the job. They said the interviewer liked me and they called the reference and he gave them such a glowing recommendation that they didn't want to waste any time in hiring me. A good reference can really make the difference.

[Cow Poke]

At my current job I put down as a reference the son of the boss one of my previous jobs (boss had died). After my interview on the way home I got a call from the HR department offering me the job. They said the interviewer liked me and they called the reference and he gave them such a glowing recommendation that they didn't want to waste any time in hiring me. A good reference can really make the difference.

It really can - much more than a corporate "yes, he worked her from z to y...."

[rogue06]

Had a girlfriend who moved to upstate New York to get a job paying twice what she made here. Then she discovered that the cost of living was effectively double what it is here so she figured on getting a PT job from the company that she left.

Even within the same company she couldn't get a letter of recommendation and all they would tell the HR person in NY was the day she started and the day she left. Not even the fact that she was the third highest person at the center she worked at.

That's where references and letters of recommendation come in handy

As I said, she tried. That was how I found out about it. And it was with the same company.