School giving me bad reputation...

[patricianyc]

I recently found out that someone at the school I graduated from is telling recruiters/employers who call them after I interview NOT to hire me. Is this legal? How can they take my money, pass me, but then not stand behind me when I'm trying to get a job? I'm infuriated!

[backatit2]

are you POSITIVE it's someone from the school telling them they wouldn't hire you?

unfortunately, i've had friends who i wouldn't put on my personal reference list because (as sad as it is, and as cocky as it sounds) sometimes people have the tendency to be jealous of other people's success.

for example, i worked at a daycare where i considered several employees to be my friend. a lot of people working in daycares REALLY want to be teachers and for whatever reason can't/don't pursue it. the closer i got to finishing school and becoming a teacher, the more strain i could feel on those "friendships."

this can also happen with classmates who may not be getting interviews, much less have prospective employers checking references. maybe i'm cynical, but it's what i've learned from experience.

i only put down references (even personal ones) of people who are already working in the field or were my superiors and have no reason to sabotage a job (even if i dont THINK they would).

[CAL05699]

This is an awful situation for you, especially in a small community. But I don't think that the school itself has any interest in making its graduates look bad in the community. It is unlikely that the school proper (in the form of a dean or on a letterhead) is making any statement about you at all; most likely a former clinical instructor who is friendly with a nurse manager at a local hospital said something. That would not set up the school for any liability, and a letter to the school may backfire by just raising the visibility of the whole situation.

Anyway, it is not "illegal" to give an opinion on a former student, whether it be true or false. You can't complain to the cops or the attorney general. At most it potentially sets up the speaker for a civil suit by you based on slander. Keep in mind that the limit in most small claims courts (depending on the jurisdiction) is usually under $5000. And most small claims courts do not allow you to take discovery or subpoena witnesses other than the defendant itself. You could sue the school, but you'd have to provide proof that person X made the remark, that person X was speaking on behalf of the school in a representative fashion (was an agent of the school), that the remark is false, and that the remark was the direct cause of the hospital not hiring you (ie, that you were the superior candidate and would have been hired but for the comment). That is a tall order in any court, but impossible where you have no ability to take discovery. And no hospital would want to hire a litigous student who sued her nursing school anyway.

[pdxmomazon]

I can't believe anyone would ever do that! Especially someone from your school! To have the opportunity to give a good reference and help someone in their career and life is a good thing. For a person to give a negative reference is really distasteful. !

Unless that person ( and not nec. the OP) deserves it. I don't see why someone should be required to say "nice" things about someone if what they are saying is disingenuous.

I hope you are able to get to the bottom of this and sort things out!

[RNDreamer]

I believe it. Seems to be the new thing in my area (NYC), or maybe it's just hospitals and my school. A former professor told some students that hospitals have been calling up the school and asking about students.

So .... what leads you to believe that potential employers are calling your school?

[NoviceRN10]

Unless that person ( and not nec. the OP) deserves it. I don't see why someone should be required to say "nice" things about someone if what they are saying is disingenuous.

I hope you are able to get to the bottom of this and sort things out!

Honestly I feel you can only give yourself a bad reputation , nobody can do it for you. If this situation is actually happening, you must have rubbed someone the wrong way.

[kgh31386, BSN, MSN, RN]

Ok so the OP didn't list anyone from their school as a reference. However with the competition amongst new grads, employers WILL contact the school on their own to ask about the student. While contacting a former employer can only yield dates of hire, etc. schools can and will be asked simple questions about student's work ethic, attitudes, grades, etc...this will allow the potential employer to get a broad overview of this student. Now, seeing as to how quickly you took offense and got angry, attitude may have been mentioned by the school before you ever heard of this? You seem to have negative views of the dean already. While it may be a shocker that someone may not say what you want, that doesn't mean it's slander. Sometime the truth hurts. If faculty and staff from your school don't think you would fit in on a certain floor, they have the right to say so. You may think you're queen B of clinical, but your instructor and other students may hate being around you. You say the dean doesn't care, well going in there with that attitude won't help you at all. In fact, going in there threatening to sue(even though you have no clue who said what, or what exactly was said), will backfire, wasting your time and moeny. This will definitely get around to recruiters, etc. about a student slander situation and potential lawsuits. Tell me again, what proof is there? What proof is there that this isn't an isolated incident? What proof is there that this isn't a misunderstanding? Do you have a name and what they said? Did the person who told you tell you any specifics?