Interviewing company asked me for past performance reviews - seems odd to me

[Anonymous]

I have had two phone interviews with a company and invited me in for a in-person interview. The email I got from HR to schedule the interview had the following in it:

"...an employment application you will want to fill out before you come in, and bring past performance reviews if you have them."

I have never heard this request before and was kind of off-put as I think performance reviews are nobody's business.

What do you think about this request?

[Anonymous]

I think they know that people who get good reviews keep them on file for this very reason. Did you get good ones?

[Anonymous]

I think that the request is reasonable. How is it any different than contacting a past employer for a reference? They want to know if your prior supervisor viewed you as a good worker, and whether there were any problems or issues.

[Anonymous]

I never heard of such a thing, but I am going to begin asking people to bring them when I interview for my company.

[Anonymous]

22:26 here. I don't think they're reasonable. You can have a personality conflict that impacts your evaluation unfairly or a wack-job boss who's irrational. I've never heard of such a thing either.

[Anonymous]

I think it is too intrusive. I get excellent reviews, but I would never do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think they know that people who get good reviews keep them on file for this very reason. Did you get good ones?

OP here. They're good but I just don't like the request. One of the other posters nailed what I was thinking - too intrusive.

[Anonymous]

Companies are using the economy to get away with a lot of bad behavior.

[Anonymous]

I don't understand why this is viewed as bad behavior. Any job has a right to ask to speak to a prior supervisor about your work. Why would a written evaluation be any different?

[Anonymous]

In my experience, this practice has been fairly commonplace in the federal government for years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why this is viewed as bad behavior. Any job has a right to ask to speak to a prior supervisor about your work. Why would a written evaluation be any different?

For fear of being sued, former employers generally give dates of employment, duties of position. They are not even allowed to give salary but give a range. The Performance reviews is a sneaky way for the new employer to find out more. I wouldn't bring them (and mine are excellent) because it is much too intrusive and an invasion of privacy. They can call former employer. Many former employers will now only give a written reference with former employee's permission.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why this is viewed as bad behavior. Any job has a right to ask to speak to a prior supervisor about your work. Why would a written evaluation be any different?

For fear of being sued, former employers generally give dates of employment, duties of position. They are not even allowed to give salary but give a range. The Performance reviews is a sneaky way for the new employer to find out more. I wouldn't bring them (and mine are excellent) because it is much too intrusive and an invasion of privacy. They can call former employer. Many former employers will now only give a written reference with former employee's permission.

Agreed. Reviews are confidential from the employee and the employer side. What the employer says to an employee about potential for growth, areas to work on, etc. is private. This level of detail is not appropriate to share. I have had good reviews throughout my career, but I would not supply them. Agreed I would be happy to let them call for references.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why this is viewed as bad behavior. Any job has a right to ask to speak to a prior supervisor about your work. Why would a written evaluation be any different?

For fear of being sued, former employers generally give dates of employment, duties of position. They are not even allowed to give salary but give a range. The Performance reviews is a sneaky way for the new employer to find out more. I wouldn't bring them (and mine are excellent) because it is much too intrusive and an invasion of privacy. They can call former employer. Many former employers will now only give a written reference with former employee's permission.

Agreed. Reviews are confidential from the employee and the employer side. What the employer says to an employee about potential for growth, areas to work on, etc. is private. This level of detail is not appropriate to share. I have had good reviews throughout my career, but I would not supply them. Agreed I would be happy to let them call for references.

I agree. I wouldn't imagine the former company would be too happy having this information shared either. It is a confidential document.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think they know that people who get good reviews keep them on file for this very reason. Did you get good ones?

OP here. They're good but I just don't like the request. One of the other posters nailed what I was thinking - too intrusive.

Are you kidding? I think it makes all the sense in the world. Many former employers won't even give references for fear of legal liability, or the references are from someone who is friends with the person anyway. The interviewing company has a right to get as much information as possible before making a decision. It's not like they're getting it behind your back, they're asking you for it and if you're not comfortable you don't have to produce it. But of course it if they're deciding between you and someone who showed them glowing performance reviews, I think it's pretty clear who gets the job.

[Anonymous]

I would never provide my past performance reviews. I think it is too intrusive. One of the PPs hit it exactly, in this economy, employers can get away with doing more and more ridiculous things because competition is so fierce.

How horrible is it that one bad performance review from one crazy boss could cost you a job? In so many case, performance reviews are entirely subjective and it does not feel right to have them haunt you for life at other companies.

And I've got a stack of stellar performance reviews, so I'd be in good standing, but it surely does not seem fair.