Injured Candidate Wants to Remove Employer from His Resume
Question from Candidate:
I was working for a hvac company back in july of 2004. After being there 4 months i had a back injury a serious one,(2 herniated disc in lower back). At the time of the injury the employer went out of their way to keep me from collecting workers comp, so i obtained a lawyer.the lawyer got workers comp rolling. 10 months later i was told by the insurance company's dr i could return to work. i spoke with my lawyer since i obtained my lawyer the employer hasnt so much as even called to see how i was. I felt there was going to be a big problem returning to the same company as there was alot of tension. this happened in july 2005 that i was released to go back to work. Anyhow every since i was released to go back to work , i havent had any job opportunities. I've applied to a few hundred companies since that time and have only had 2 interviews in that 8-9 month period. Both interviews went well or so i thought, but i was turned down for both jobs. Granted im trying to switch careers from hvac to office environment, because my back problems are still there. Anyhow i do believe the company i collected workers comp is giving me a bad reference, as honestly i do believe the company figureheads arent very professional, i dont see it being far fetched they give me a bad reference.I dont know what to do im 26 years old and went to school for hvac , im passionate about working with people and especially computers as im a computer nerd in my spare time. ive focused on customer service as the main position i apply for. Though on my resume it appears i dont have customer service experience, but i do have experience its just my last customer based job was yrs ago and not even mentioned on resume as it was 7-10 yrs ago. I wish i could just remove that company from my resume but if i did id lose a year off my job history as i was still technically employed with the company til the dr returned me to work then at that time i decided not to return after they had tried to trick me into not filing workers comp.
There are a lot of things in here that you're discussing. I'll try to cover it all in a systematic way.
Most important is that you say you want to remove the employer from your resume and you've done an excellent job of portraying your reason for this. You are correct in determining that to do so would constitute fraud on your part. It would also be revealed in a background check and then subject you to immediate termination for knowing failure to provide the information. So with regard to the employer's being on your resume, I have a few suggestions.
1. On most employment applications, there is a section that asks whether you've ever filed a workers' compensation action. Answer honestly and list your employer. During the interview, bring up the subject of the workers' compensation action at a point in the conversation when you're talking about your abilities. You will want to talk about how you can do the impossible (I exaggerate) while filing your nails (more overstatement on my part) but you have this one limitation, your back injury that you incurred while employed for XYZ HVAC Company. Go on to talk about how you are moving away from that type of work and into lighter office work. At this juncture, if you need accommodations, you can say so. Are you making any accommodations of your own, such as a back brace? If so, talk about those measures. Immediately return to the fine job you can do for this new company. The point is, bring up the injuy on your own initiative. Express your desire to avoid having other job-related injuries.
2. You're concerned about the reference your past employer is giving you. There are two things you can do which are an either/or proposition or both.
a) Do a background check on yourself. There are public services such as U.S. Search (which is one of my advertisers) that provides a very affordable search for you. Once you review the results of the employment background search and have confirmed information about a negative reference, you can contact the employer in writing (or by phone) in order to discuss an amicable way of handling the reference in light of the circumstances and your good work record up to the date of the accident.
b) Contact the employer without doing a background check and let them know you are in the process of conducting a job search in a new industry. You realize they will be on your employment record and would like to come to an understanding about the reference the two of you will when talking with potential new employers. You might start off with some suggestions and then see if the employer can venture some additional comments that are not damning in content.
Another thing you can do while talking with the past employer is request feedback on areas where you needed improvement. Let them know that you want to grow from your past experiences and you especially value their feedback in this area. Once you've gained the knowledge of areas of improvement, you might then want to talk with them about references for future employers. End on an amicable, professional note.
3. You've interviewed with two companies since leaving heating and air conditioning. Although the interviewers were polite and made you feel comfortable, something just didn't quite go as well as it could. Contact the interviewers and remind them of who you are. Let them know that while you were looking forward to working for their company, you realize they went with another, stronger candidate. Continue by letting them know that you are continuing your job search and would benefit from some constructive feedback for improving your presentation. Thank them. You may want to follow up with a "thank you" note because this is time out of the person's schedule that doesn't come up with each and every interviewee.
As I said, you've got quite a bit going on here and nothing specific that can be viewed. We are just now emerging from an extremely tight job market for employees. Competition was high. But things are opening up again. That may be one reason why you've had several hundred applications compared with two interviews. Please know that the ratio of applications to job interviews is about 10:1 or greater. And that is just for responses. For actual interviews, the ratio is definitely higher.
To increase your chances, you probably want to review and revise your resume and cover letter in order to make a stronger, more favorable presentation. Make certain the jobs to which you are applying are open positions and that you have the experience they are requesting in the job description -- or what experience you believe is directly related.
Also practice your interviewing techniques. Sometimes we can come off as cold fish or bulls in the china shop. Have someone give you an honest assessment and some suggestions on what you can do to reach a middle ground.
Best wishes for your endeavors in your new environment.
Incidentally, employers do no usually like workers' compensation claims, even though they are required by law to carry the insurance to protect themselves from the enormous expenses these can have associated with them. Thus, your employer was definitely reluctant for you to file your legitimate claim.
Claims against the employer's policy in turn drive up premiums. If the employer's insurance is part of the insurance from his client, the client was also involved in the expense and the employer's credibility. And if you were injured, it could also mean that the employer did not do adequate safety training. There are quite a number of reasons why the employer would not have wanted you to report the injury. Glad you're healing from it.