By — Nick Corcodilos Nick Corcodilos Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/ask-the-headhunter-why-should-the-employee-handbook-be-a-secret Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Ask the Headhunter: Why should the employee handbook be a secret? Nation Aug 19, 2014 10:50 AM EDT Nick Corcodilos started headhunting in Silicon Valley in 1979, and has answered over 30,000 questions from the Ask The Headhunter community over the past decade. In this special Making Sense edition of Ask The Headhunter, Nick shares insider advice and contrarian methods about winning and keeping the right job, on one condition: that you, dear Making Sense reader, send Nick your questions about your personal challenges with job hunting, interviewing, networking, resumes, job boards, or salary negotiations. No guarantees — just a promise to do his best to offer useful advice. Question: If I had realized some of the intricate policies of my current company, I may have thought twice before taking this job. For instance, they said you get two weeks of vacation time. It turns out you get 80 hours of paid time off, but you aren’t eligible to use any of it until after your one-year anniversary. When I do look to move on from this job, I don’t want to be misled again. Is it acceptable to ask for a copy of the employee handbook before accepting a job offer? How likely is it that a company would allow that? Nick Corcodilos: What’s acceptable isn’t the question. The question is, what’s smart? I think it’s smart to ask for the employee handbook before accepting an offer. In fact, not requesting it is asking for trouble, as you’ve already learned. (See “3 Ways to Be A Smarter Job Candidate.”) Some companies don’t like to hand it over. They will tell you it’s “company confidential.” They’ll say the same about the written employee benefits; you can’t see them until you take the job. That’s complete bunk. How can you agree to live under rules if you don’t know what they are? My response would be very simple: “I’m excited to get your offer, and I’m very enthused about working for you. But I’ll be living under your guidelines. Wouldn’t you want to know what those are before you signed up? I’m sure it’s all routine, but I like to make sure I understand everything in advance so there are no misunderstandings later. I want our relationship to be solid. I can assure you that I will not copy or disclose the material to anyone for any reason — just as you will keep all my personal information confidential.” If they won’t show it to you, your other options are one, to walk away, or two, to accept the job. In the latter case, there’s something you could do that’s a bit risky. Don’t resign your current job just yet. Attend the new company’s orientation, get the handbook, read it — and then decide if you’re staying, while knowing your old job is safe. Of course, you’d be putting your old employer in a bad spot because then you’d have to leave without providing any meaningful notice. That’s not good. But I’m trying to help you understand just how onerous a practice it is for an employer to withhold documents you need before you can make an informed decision about accepting one job — and quitting another. (See “Why do companies hide the benefits?”) Either of these options might seem extreme, but taking a job without knowing all the terms is risky. I wrote a short PDF book that covers other topics a job seeker should look into before accepting a job: “Fearless Job Hunting, Book 8: Play Hardball With Employers.” I hope your next job works out for you better than this one did. Dear Readers: Did you ever accept a job only to learn that the rules of employment were not to your liking? What was the outcome? If you’re an employer, do you hide your employee handbook from job applicants? Why? Nick Corcodilos invites Making Sense readers to subscribe to his free weekly Ask The Headhunter© Newsletter. His in-depth “how to” PDF books are available on his website: “How to Work With Headhunters…and how to make headhunters work for you,” “How Can I Change Careers?”, “Keep Your Salary Under Wraps” and “Fearless Job Hunting.” Send your questions to Nick, and join him for discussion every week here on Making Sense. Thanks for participating! Copyright © 2013 Nick Corcodilos. All rights reserved in all media. Ask the Headhunter® is a registered trademark. By — Nick Corcodilos Nick Corcodilos Nick Corcodilos started headhunting in Silicon Valley in 1979 and has answered over 30,000 questions from the Ask The Headhunter community.
Nick Corcodilos started headhunting in Silicon Valley in 1979, and has answered over 30,000 questions from the Ask The Headhunter community over the past decade. In this special Making Sense edition of Ask The Headhunter, Nick shares insider advice and contrarian methods about winning and keeping the right job, on one condition: that you, dear Making Sense reader, send Nick your questions about your personal challenges with job hunting, interviewing, networking, resumes, job boards, or salary negotiations. No guarantees — just a promise to do his best to offer useful advice. Question: If I had realized some of the intricate policies of my current company, I may have thought twice before taking this job. For instance, they said you get two weeks of vacation time. It turns out you get 80 hours of paid time off, but you aren’t eligible to use any of it until after your one-year anniversary. When I do look to move on from this job, I don’t want to be misled again. Is it acceptable to ask for a copy of the employee handbook before accepting a job offer? How likely is it that a company would allow that? Nick Corcodilos: What’s acceptable isn’t the question. The question is, what’s smart? I think it’s smart to ask for the employee handbook before accepting an offer. In fact, not requesting it is asking for trouble, as you’ve already learned. (See “3 Ways to Be A Smarter Job Candidate.”) Some companies don’t like to hand it over. They will tell you it’s “company confidential.” They’ll say the same about the written employee benefits; you can’t see them until you take the job. That’s complete bunk. How can you agree to live under rules if you don’t know what they are? My response would be very simple: “I’m excited to get your offer, and I’m very enthused about working for you. But I’ll be living under your guidelines. Wouldn’t you want to know what those are before you signed up? I’m sure it’s all routine, but I like to make sure I understand everything in advance so there are no misunderstandings later. I want our relationship to be solid. I can assure you that I will not copy or disclose the material to anyone for any reason — just as you will keep all my personal information confidential.” If they won’t show it to you, your other options are one, to walk away, or two, to accept the job. In the latter case, there’s something you could do that’s a bit risky. Don’t resign your current job just yet. Attend the new company’s orientation, get the handbook, read it — and then decide if you’re staying, while knowing your old job is safe. Of course, you’d be putting your old employer in a bad spot because then you’d have to leave without providing any meaningful notice. That’s not good. But I’m trying to help you understand just how onerous a practice it is for an employer to withhold documents you need before you can make an informed decision about accepting one job — and quitting another. (See “Why do companies hide the benefits?”) Either of these options might seem extreme, but taking a job without knowing all the terms is risky. I wrote a short PDF book that covers other topics a job seeker should look into before accepting a job: “Fearless Job Hunting, Book 8: Play Hardball With Employers.” I hope your next job works out for you better than this one did. Dear Readers: Did you ever accept a job only to learn that the rules of employment were not to your liking? What was the outcome? If you’re an employer, do you hide your employee handbook from job applicants? Why? Nick Corcodilos invites Making Sense readers to subscribe to his free weekly Ask The Headhunter© Newsletter. His in-depth “how to” PDF books are available on his website: “How to Work With Headhunters…and how to make headhunters work for you,” “How Can I Change Careers?”, “Keep Your Salary Under Wraps” and “Fearless Job Hunting.” Send your questions to Nick, and join him for discussion every week here on Making Sense. Thanks for participating! Copyright © 2013 Nick Corcodilos. All rights reserved in all media. Ask the Headhunter® is a registered trademark.