Is there a way to confirm if you've been blacklisted by the HR department of a company?

manpreet Best Answer 2 years ago

A few months ago I was pretty certain I was about to be made redundant and acted rather unprofessionally (i.e. desperate as hell) to a company which I interviewed with and whom promised to give me a callback around New Years. Of course that call never came and later on I read in a popular LinkedIn post from a recruiter that yes, submitting multiple applications to the same company is a very big no-no and you could end up unofficially blacklisted for being desperate.

I've now realised my mistake but would like to confirm it and wonder how I can fix it, as this company has a high number of openings which fit very nicely with my expertise and experience. I was thinking of writing an email to my HR contact, but wonder if this is a good idea?

manpreet 2 years ago

Not without being blacklisted, as enderland explains.

Most companies don't keep actual blacklists or do-not-hire lists, but many will consider people to be ineligible for rehire or interviews based on past behaviour.

You could create a fake resume that matches yours exactly in content and submit to see if they contact Fake You, but that's entering serious creep territory. Instead of resorting to identity fraud I'd advise you to cut your losses, forget about this company, and look elsewhere. But that's only if you indeed screwed up as badly as you feared. If you just acted unprofessionally but didn't salt the earth on your way out the door you can contact the company again to reiterate your interest.

As a general tip: do not ever apply for multiple positions at a single company without acknowledging that you did. In almost all cases, it's preferable to apply for a single position that best matches your interests and experience.