How to find out if you've been blacklisted from a company
- Why companies put prior employees on blacklists
- Ways to check if you're on a blacklist
- Hire a company to check what your references and prior employers are saying
- Speak with your previous manager to find out if you're on the company's do not rehire list
- Speak with the recruiting firms you have worked with
If you’re failing get a job offer after an enthusiastic and promising job interview, you may suspect that you have been flagged by a previous employer on their do not rehire list.
Why companies put prior employees on blacklists
Sometimes being flagged as do not rehire is due to misunderstandings between the employee and employer. Some common reasons are:
- Leaving without giving two (full) weeks’ notice
- Unreliable attendance records, no call/no show events (especially during the two weeks notice period)
- Poor performance or misconduct during employment period
Ways to check if you're on a blacklist
Hire a company to check what your references and prior employers are saying
There are services known as third-party reference checkers, that cost between $30 - $75 (depending on the level of service needed) that will return a written report on the inquiries. This professional service will call your references or prior employers, as if they are a company who is looking to hire you, and ask questions similar to what a hiring manager would ask.
One of the most important questions they will ask your reference or previous employer is whether or not you are are eligible for rehire? If the answer is no - you are not eligible for rehire, that is likely the reason you are not getting job offers.
Speak with your previous manager to find out if you're on the company's do not rehire list
Contact your last manager, tell them you believe you’ve been blacklisted and if that is the case, you are looking to understand the reason why this may have occurred. A misunderstanding may be surfaced that you may be able to resolve directly. If you are able to resolve the issue, ask if they would reconsider their stance on your 'do-not-rehire' status when prospective employers call about you. If they agree -- good work! If they don’t agree -- you may want to consider removing this reference from your list.
Speak with the recruiting firms you have worked with
Recruiting firms can blacklist you. Ask the recruiter if you’ve done something to discourage them from recommending you for hire. If you’re working with one or more recruiting firms, it’s important to know that recruiters talk to each other.
Some examples of why recruiters put job seekers on blacklists
- Cutting the recruiter out of the process: job seeker learns about an open position from the recruiter, but then the job seeker applies for the job directly with the employer
- No shows for an interview: the recruiter arranges a job interview, but the job seeker doesn't show up
- Changing acceptable job criteria: the recruiter helps the job seeker find and land a job that meets the job seekers acceptable job criteria, but the job seeker changes their mind regarding salary, location, etc.
- Not staying in a job through the probational period: the recruiter helps place the job seeker in a role, but the job seeker leaves the job before the initial probation
- Working with the competition at the same time: the job seeker works with two competing recruiting firms at the same time for the same or similar roles
Recruiters need to protect their reputations with clients companies, and generally will not recommend candidates who jeopardize their trust. If you land on a recruiter's blacklist, you can either seek another recruiting firm to work with, or consider completing the job hunt on your own.
Finding out you have been blacklisted with a company is a challenge, but is not a deal breaker.
Comments
How do I find out if I’ve been blacklisted
Am I on the Blacklist
I am fairly certain that I have been blacklisted at a previous employer for no reason. I gave my 2 week notice and worked as I normally would until my last day. That was well over 2 years ago. I have submitted my resume at the corporation for several different positions within the company over the last 8 months and cannot seem to get rehired even though I am considered a rehire able employee. I have reached out to my previous manager, the department manager and even to HR to find out what the issue is and cannot seem to get a straight answer from anyone. It is beyond frustrating!!! Does anyone have any suggestion as to who I should hire to find out why I cannot seem to get a fair chance to get rehired or find out why I seem to be blacklisted for some unknown reason…
This hiring process they say fairness is important and they can't discriminate yet over and over companies discriminate. I am an asset to anyone who hires me yet applying over 2k jobs that I am more than enough qualified for yet I don't get hired. Like I seen in previous comments a lot of unfairness. I think when getting blacklisted companies should only be able to do it with the state and give people a chance to correct whatever mistake an employee has done. I have been miss-treated over and over by some companies yet I end up being the scapegoat, I am so tired. And everything being over computer instead of in person, loosing the personal touch it's just become a nightmare to apply for jobs, can't even apply for unemployment because they make it impossible just to login. the state owes me $1000s because of this. I am so over it all. But let's keep going apply for a job just to get rejection ugh! Be nice if there were links to companies you could hire for the research.
An undesirable employer would put employees that stood their rights on this list.
Your article is very informative and you mentioned third party reference checkers company but you don't provide any and it would be nice to include few in your article, that will give people the opportunity to find out if they have been blacklisted.
I am about 99.9% sure a job that I didnt even WORK at blacklisted me in 2019. I had applied. They said no. I emailed a letter stating not sure why I didnt get hired, as I have a lot of experience and they seem to only hire people that get FIRED from where I work and basically give me another shot. Since then (Spring of 2019) I have applied to (i lost count) but prob 1000 jobs and not ONE SINGLE INTERVIEW........I have recently lost the job I had been working for since 2018 last fall, so its VERY apparent it was them, because even when I was employed, I was getting treated like I was on a DO NOT HIRE list thats out there. Wish I could prove it and sue...but alas......
How do you report the company that black listed a person. I heard a manager say that a employee was never going to work for that company again.
Yeah I applied for a jobs back in 2019 ( was employed at the time but hated my job) That place didnt hire me even though I have 25 years of exp and I wrote them an email stating it was unfair to not hire me when they hire all the workers that get fired from where I was at at the time and I would be an asset to them and they made a mistake and I think they need to reconsider. Since then I have applied to probably 1000 different jobs and NOT ONE positive response. Its ConnectiveRX in Pittsburgh. I am pretty sure they blacklisted me and put my name out there to other companies. I just lost my job last week and so far have had two thank you no thanks emails from job apps already. Seems pretty fishy to me.
Unless you broke the law, company policy, this is likely just cruel pettiness or the company likes acting unethically, incompetently, inefficiently, even illegally, and doesn't appreciate you pointed this out. (You just weren't enough of a suck-up for them or even worse, you saw valid areas for improvement and said so; a mature company will be all-in with this; an immature company, usually top-up's worship, over improvements, will be threatened). Then there is the realm of the petty that yes, can sink you in a job. She didn't like your shoes. He didn't like that you ate pretzels in the lunchroom. She didn't like that you were way smarter than her. He didn't like you were showing him up. She knows someone who doesn't like you. You're too old (all the rage right now; age discrimination that no one is doing ANYTHING about except companies that don't hire experienced people are just plain stupid; experienced people save you money and time and mentor younger staff which saves money and time). He doesn't like the way you dress, your hair, your glasses, your shirt. She doesn't like that you have an older iPhone...It can go on and on and on like this--forever. As others have said, you don't want to work for a company like this anyway. They're not interested in excellence. They're interested in discrimination and pettiness, and they won't last anyway.