Originally Posted by Hosta
on this board? if so could you pm me is it possible to find out what questions an Human Resources can call and ask your former company
They can ask anything - the answers, however, depend on whom they speak to and the former company's policy on giving out information.
I'm talking here about large corporations, not a 4 person office. Some will not give out specific salary/bonus information, but will confirm dates of employment and titles. Those questions are usually directed to the payroll/HR department, who usually have no knowledge of performance issues.
I'm guessing you're concerned about what a former boss might say. Mind you, your prospective employer can also call your former co-workers as well, if they can find who they are (not so hard to do).
If you were a stellar employee with no issues, that's not a problem.
But if there were issues, I (as your former boss) have to be very careful of how I word it (following guidelines to all managers from the legal department), including accusations of wrongdoing.
And while your ex-boss might tip-toe around some issues, your co-workers might have no problem talking off the record. I've seen that happen.
But if it's just personality clashes - hopefully you didn't display psychopathic tendencies ;-) - and the people doing the search are professionals, they should be able to read between the lines and decide on their own how much credence to give to any/all verbal recommendations.