How to Handle a Bad Job Reference

US News lists five steps that you can take to combat a bad job reference as follows:

1. Call your former boss and ask if you can reach an agreement about what she'll say to future reference calls.

2. If the reference is factually inaccurate, skip your former boss and go straight to your old company's Human Resources department.

3. If steps 1 and 2 fail, warn prospective employers that this reference won't be a good one.

4. Consider offering up counter points of view.

5. If you're not sure what kind of reference someone is giving you, consider finding out by having someone call on your behalf.

Here are my thoughts on this issue:

• You shouldn't ask just anyone to be a reference for you. You should contact people and ask them if they can give you a GOOD reference. See the difference? Don't ask them to simply give you a reference (any old reference) but be sure they can make it a good one. If they say they can't, move on to the next person. If they can, then you're set.


• That said, it doesn't hurt to check up on them anyway. Have a friend call and pose as a potential hiring manager and see what your references say. Eliminate the ones you think don't quite perform to your expectations.


• Be sure to give your references some guidelines on what you want them to say. Tell them what you've shared with the potential employer as well as what the employer is looking for. You can also suggest some things they can highlight from your past work interaction with them.


• I'm not sure how anyone ever gets into a situation where they have a bad reference. Perhaps it's because the potential employer insists on talking to a former employer and that relationship didn't end so well? If I was forced to give the information of a former employer and I knew it wasn't going to go well, I'd level with the new employer upfront -- as US News suggests.


• I've never had to offer up a reference I thought was bad. Often employers will take anyone you've worked with -- not just bosses but co-workers, vendors, agencies you've dealt with, and so on. If there isn't at least a small set of good references for you among these large groups of people, you probably have more problems than just finding a good reference.

Anyone ever been forced into a situation where you had to give a reference you thought would be less than stellar? What did you do?

Comments

[Modest Money]

I think the key is to avoid leaving bad impressions with your employers in the first time. If you burn those bridges, don't be surprised if they come back to haunt you. If someone insisted on calling up someone that I knew would be a bad reference, I'd just politely explain the situation to that person. Sometimes as hard as you work you just can't keep everyone happy.

[DR]

I have had a weird experience when an hiring manager asked for a reference. I had worked for a well known US multinational for over 7 years and with a manager (who was Indian-American settled here for over 30 years) and when i gave that name to the new hiring manager, he specifically asked for an 'American Name', even after i told him that the Manager was heading the whole team for as long as i worked there. It totally put me off from that company.

[Money Wise Pastor]

I would add that it is also important to think about what you say in your exit interview when you leave a company. Some people burn bridges in that moment by "telling off" their boss or HR director or talking about all the things you thought were bad or would like to see changed. But an exit interview can be a good opportunity to sincerely thank your employer for the opportunity to work there and a time to reflect on what you learned and contributed. I think a positive experience in the exit interview will help you in any future dealings with the old company.

[Young Professional Finances]

It's definitely important to always have good relationships with former coworkers. One bad reference can be a death sentence when trying to get a job - and you don't want to be in that situation. That said, if you do have a bad reference, I'd try to find any way around giving that reference out.

[Georgia]

I was fired from my job after 13.5 years on the job. A vice-president kept all the good I did in front of the board, but the president spent 8 years trying to get me out. I didn't have a college degree & he wanted one for the job. (Why he hired me in the first place, I don't know - maybe because of 5 years of experience in the work.) When looking for work, I did list my last employer but said it might not be great. However, when I got my new job, they told me the president had praised me to the skies. Wow!!! Boy, was I surprised.

[Nick Knight]

If there is no other way you have to take them out. It you or them. It works on TV.

[Name, rank, and serial number.]

Yes, OF COURSE, people get forced into giving out references they think will be bad. There are entire industries which give you no choice in your professional references -- public schools, for instance. Most (or all?) school districts won't even consider your application without a reference from your current or last principal or assistant principal. If that person is vindictive about something (for example not relinquishing your job sooner so a friend of his could move in) or if he/she wants to keep you in your current underemployed position, all she or he has to do is give out negative references which will never even be shared with you. That's why we need a transparency law for professional references like some countries have. Welcome to my world!