Hacker News Reader

Comment by volida | Hacker News Reader

i am not sure who is the "idiot" here.

"I called the competitor to ask about him. They verified that yes, he was a former VP there. Awesome, this guy was for real."

even if the guy who responded the call is real, you just never trust a phone call.

if the guy worked on commission why not hire others too on the same manner?

also we don't have any info about the product and why they should prefer it.

View on HN

The obvious question would have been "why is he no longer working for you?".

Unless someone is listed as a reference, you're not allowed to ask about job performance, reasons for leaving, etc. You can only contact to verify that the person did actually work there and when.

Even with a reference, employers will often be reluctant to dish actual dirt, for a variety of reasons, from pity to legal liability. You have to read between the lines and be up on your euphemisms.

You can ask, they may not answer. One good question that can often ferret out issues is "do you have any advice on how to manage him to bring out his best performance?"

I think your suggestion is good. But knowing people they're going to be pretty diplomatic about their answer as well. Spitting out generic schlips that you already know. I guess the best advice is Iron_ball's. Just try to read between the lines, but thinking about it, even that method is a stretch :-(

Why is that?

Employment laws.

Link?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com