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By Cynthia M. Piccolo (Career Questions)
dearCPReferenceCheckQuestions image

Dear Cindy: 

I would like your advice on providing reference checks. I worked in my last job for around five years, but I left on very uncomfortable terms, so I'm not including this employer on my reference list.

Some prospective employers don't question it, but others ask why I am not including my last employer, so I try to respond in a way that is not negative and explain that I won't get a fair review because of the circumstances in that job. I would like your advice on how to respond to why I am not including the last employer.

Also, how recent should the references be? I cannot locate many former employers since they resigned and went to new jobs, so I have a couple of old references from over 10 years ago. I feel that not including my last boss as a reference is causing a problem with any prospective employers.

Sincerely,

Stuck

Dear Stuck: 

You're almost certainly right that not including your last boss as a reference is causing a problem with prospective employers, particularly when a job is one you've held for a good amount of time, as you have. Typically, the most recent job(s) are those which are most important for reference purposes, so if your only references are from 10+ years ago, they are unlikely to be useful. After all, a person may have a stellar reference from 1998, but what has s/he done lately? Imagine what a person could have be up to in 10 years – both for better and for worse. So having an old reference is not a problem, but having all old references is a problem.

You have a few options:

  • Are you certain that you will get a bad reference (or at least a totally bad reference)? You may want to use the common technique of having a friend or family member – ideally one who can call from work – call your former employer and say that they're considering hiring you, and ask for a reference. If you find you aren't getting a bad reference, you can use your former boss as a reference. If you find out you are getting a bad reference, you can decide whether or not to use it, and how. That is, if it's balanced, saying both positives and negatives, you can alert the interviewer to the negatives and address them. If it's totally negative, you can try one of the techniques below (and if all else fails, do as you have done, explain briefly, and in a balanced way, without sounding accusatory or badmouthing the employer, that you won't get a reference from them).
  • Can you use an alternate senior/supervisor/acting supervisor reference from that employer?
  • While employers typically want a reference from someone who supervised your work, if you know the only supervisory reference possible will be bad, do as you have done, and briefly explain the circumstances without being negative or accusatory, and ask if you could use a coworker as a reference. The prospective employer may agree. If they do, let your coworker know that someone will be calling for a reference and let her/him know which skills and responsibilities are relevant to the job you're seeking, so s/he can focus on what s/he has observed about your abilities in these areas.
  • Are there other types of alternate references that a prospective employer may consider, for example, were you on any work-related committees?
  • Do you have copies of good or even balanced performance evaluations that you could submit?

    • Good luck.
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