Importance of experience letter for future

[Shubhi Agarwal]

Hi All,
Need a small help, a friend of mine has served 2 yrs in his previous company and now he has to switch to different company in different domain but his previous company is not providing him experience letter. Notice period as per previous employer is of 2 months but he is serving for15 days n ready to buy rest, but they are not agreed to it. please let me know will it create problem in future or if he has to switch job again will it be a problem also will there be any problem related to visa if he will travel in future??

please reply ASAP

[Bear Bibeault]

It may be a cultural thing, but what the heck is an "experience letter"?

[Shubhi Agarwal]

could you please suggest something?? what can be done in this situation.

[Henry Wong]

Personally, I never understood the purpose of an experience letter. If the company is going to do a full background check on the potential employee, what is the advantage of looking at a piece of paper that can be forged? I am with Bear. I too, would like to know the significance of it.

As for having an affect for the future, I say everything has such an affect. People who are liked, who fulfill their promises, who don't burn bridges, etc. tend to have a better professional network to help their career. In my opinion, I would be less worried about a piece of paper, and more worried that your friend's exit is contentious. Those contacts are not only unlikely to be helpful in his professional career, but if paths cross again, may even hinder it.

Henry

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

Where does your friend live? In the United States, a two month notice period is extremely rare (or non-existant). Two weeks notice is standard.

[Henry Wong]

I had a friend / former colleague who had to give three months notice -- and he gave it. IMO, some startups do request it, as they need the time to transfer the IP. On the other hand, I don't see the purpose of that much time though. The employee has pretty much "checked out", and the company would be silly to assign new tasks. Why would any company ever need months?

Henry

[Prasad Krishnegowda]

Jeanne, Here in India 2 months notice period is a standard, some companies even have 3 months notice period.
Experience letter is the letter issued by the employer, stating that the concerned person had worked in their company for so and so years.

Shubi, tell your friend, to check the policy on resignation/notice period of the company, some companies does not allow notice period buyout, some does.
I wonder, which is that new company asking to join in 15 days, try contating the new company HR, most of the cases they accept.

[Junilu Lacar]

These kinds of letters are fairly common in Asia. I got one from most of the companies I worked for in Singapore and I still have them in a binder somewhere in my basement. US companies tend not to give these out and rely on references and background checks to vet applicants. Maybe companies in Asia don't check references as often as US companies, I don't know, but it seems that as long as the letter is on official letterhead and looks authentic enough, that may be enough for employers who would rather not bother to call up references given by applicants.

Forging a letter can come with risks, too. If the truth ever comes out, then that would be grounds for immediate termination so I think employers who take these at face value are assuming that they're not hiring idiots who would do that kind of thing.

[arulk pillai]

In Australia there are agencies that do background checks on behalf of other organizations.