been applying to a lot of jobs, in my career field and otherwise, and a lot of them are asking if they can contact my previous supervisors. they cannot, because i do not have any way to contact them myself LOL but is this really normal?? who is actually calling those people? is this affecting hiring decisions??


Most companies nowadays do not let their employees talky about past employees because of liability.
Send the contact info anyway, HR will tell them they cannot discuss it but usually will answer if the employee is re-hireable or not.
That sounds US specific. I’m from Germany. You are free to ask away, just can’t write bad shit into a letter of recommendation. But you can always offer the call you which is usually a hint not to hire somebody without talking to them.
There are plenty of ways to write bad stuff in recommendation letters that hiring managers will pick up on, without it sounding negative for the employee.
It is US Specific, mostly because that was where I was the last time I worked for anyone else.
…do I need a disclaimer when I write an opinion?
Yes? How are people supposed to know where you live
I mean, you could just take the answer at face value and if it applies to you, heed it or don’t…and if it doesn’t apply just disregard it?
But, you do you, man.