When your supervisor doesn't want you to leave

Earlier this week I was given a job opportunity as a help desk analyst with a national retail clothing store pending a reference and background check. The background check I'm obviously not worried about, but I am a bit worried about the reference check. Not because I'm a bad worker (I'm very proud of the quality of my work), but because my current supervisor can be vindictive and self-centered when it comes to things that might inconvenience him (like an employee who is willing to work any shift giving two weeks' notice). I could completely envision him giving me a bad reference just to avoid the paperwork involved with training temps and hiring new employees.
I could inform the HR contact at my prospective job about this issue, but that would probably make her think that I was a legitimately bad employee who was trying to make excuses. Should I just confront my supervisor with this issue directly?

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Comments

volume

So, don't use your current supervisor as a reference. I don't think I've ever had a new job require contact with my current one.

the_Grinch

I second not using your current supervisor as a reference if there is the smallest of chances he will bad mouth you. References are meant to be people who will speak highly of you and your work.

majestic_pecan

volume wrote: »

So, don't use your current supervisor as a reference. I don't think I've ever had a new job require contact with my current one.

It's not required, but listing my current job the best of several not very good options. My other two recent jobs are an online-only position where I never met or talked to my supervisor and don't have her direct phone number, and a retail position for a small company which has since completely gone out of business. My current boss can be petty but he is at least familiar with the quality of my work and the company isn't going out of business any time soon. I'm just worried he will either give a bad reference or simply refuse to give one while I still work here.

Repo Man

Put down a coworker

cvuong1984

Personally, I never put anyone at my current job as a reference. I have plenty from previous jobs that I still keep in contact with to use as reference.
And most hiring manager/HR personnel will respect your wishes to NOT contact your current employer. Can you imagine they decided not to hire you after they called for references? (Not sure if this has ever happened to anyone or not though.) In my personal experience, which is 5 positions so far, they have never asked me for references.

cyberguypr

You are going at this the wrong way. References do not immediately equal bosses.

A professional reference is someone who can vouch for your qualifications for a job. This is totally selective on your part and could be anyone form a coworker, professional contact, a vendor, etc. It can definitely also be a current or former supervisor. The key aspect is that YOU and only YOU select who your references will be. All you need to do is approach those who you want to use as references and check if they agree to be contacted. I have been put down as a reference before without my knowledge and when they called me I said I couldn't provide any any feedback. Definitely doesn't look good for the candidate.

As others have said, since your boss could be vindictive, you'll be best served by requesting the potential new employer not to contact your current boss/company. Any half-decent employer will respect this. I do this all the time when I put feelers out there to gauge the market. Another thing, with all the litigation going on in America most companies nowadays if contacted will only confirm that you worked and will not say absolutely anything else. That works well for the employee.

TL;DR: You select your references. Boss can go pound sand.

pinkydapimp

Never put your current boss as a reference! If you must list your current position find a coworker.

N2IT

Each situation is different ideally I like to use a boss or supervisor for that position. It's more organic and ultimately that's who they would prefer to talk too. However a lot of us have had some situations like that. I agree you have to think about using someone else if you feel there is a major risk factor there.

TechGuru80

volume wrote: »

So, don't use your current supervisor as a reference. I don't think I've ever had a new job require contact with my current one.

You can say do not contact current employer...

majestic_pecan

Well it all worked out. I decided just to talk to my boss about it directly today rather than letting the HR contact at my (hopefully future) employer call him out of the blue. He joked that he could give me a bad reference to force me to stay, but he is a believer in karma, what goes around comes around, that kind of stuff. So he will give me a good reference.
Also, let me be clear about what the HR contact asked for. When I first applied for the job, I of course did not list my supervisor as my point of contact. After my formal job offer, the HR contact politely asked for (but did not absolutely require) my current supervisor's contact information. I could have said no or listed a co-worker as my supervisor, but I didn't believe this was in my best interest, especially since I really had no other recent jobs to contact (and in the interview I referred to my current position a lot). After talking to my boss, it should work out for the best though.

Justin-

Great to hear it all worked out, good luck with your new position!

That's very impressive, do you have any schooling done? Maybe a diploma or bachelors? Or just your A+?

philz1982

Well, if he ends up making false statements about you he is committing libel and you can sue the company.