Your CV/résumé needs to be as up-to-date and accurate as possible but what do you do if your employer doesn’t exist any more.
As your career history lengthens it might be that companies or organisations you previously worked for no longer exist. They may have been bought out, re-branded or gone out of business. It is after all very important to tell the truth and include these organisations on your CV/résumé. You will want to show your continuous work history and include your roles and achievements within these businesses.
However it could also create a problem.
Who will a potential employer contact for a reference?
Who can be your advocate and speak up for you if the business is no longer operating?
Thank goodness for social media as it now makes it easy to trace former managers and colleagues from defunct businesses.
LinkedIn of course would be the most favoured site to contact and network with previous employees and it is simple to search the site to find them.
Once you have re-established contact you can enter into the dialogue that you may be needing a reference or support in a potential new role. Keeping a previous manager in the picture when you are job-searching is common-sense too. Conversations and networking with former colleagues is very useful for maintaining focus too.
It makes job-searching a little more practical and more effective.
photo credit: s_falkow via photopin cc
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That’s a very good point Lynn, and you’re so right – prior to social media it was nigh-on impossible to trace people who had worked at a company which since had ceased trading, or at least under the same name. Thank Heavens for LinkedIn and other platforms which can, as you say, solve the problem for job seekers wanting to keep their references live.
@SuzanStMaur It’s another way of course for an employer to do a reference check as well.
I’ve never thought about it (shows how long ago I updated my CV ;-)) , but it’s also very useful if you have worked abroad.
@AngelikaDavey Yes, very useful for finding managers and colleagues world-wide :-0
I hadn’t given this any thought but now that you’ve mentioned it Lynn, I can think of one previous employer/company that no longer exists, and one county council I worked for years ago where I’d find it extremely difficult to locate somone who would remember me and who could provide me with a reference.
I hadn’t given this any thought but now that you’ve mentioned it Lynn, I can think of one previous employer/company that no longer exists, and one county council I worked for years ago where I’d find it extremely difficult to locate someone who would remember me and who could provide me with a reference.
I’m with Angela and Angelika—I’d never thought of it! The primary employer of my early career did in fact go bust, but it was five or six years after I left, and I was well established in my writing and editing business by that point.
@Angela Boothroyd Depending on when and what you need the reference for depends on how important it is to keep in touch. It’s very relevant in today’s economy when there are changes in businesses and the savvy employee will LinkedIn with colleagues whilst employed and maintain contact even if situations change.
@Mary C. Weaver, CSCS And you’ve never looked back Mary… 🙂 However, for the current job market it is good to engage with colleagues on LinkedIn. And if you go the self-employment route perhaps you can offer your services back to your manager as a consultant!
@LynnTulip Absolutely! And in fact, my former employer was my best client for several years.