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Hi everyone. I’m not currently unemployed but have various reasons for wanting to get out of my current job, not least that my boss has just cut my hours by 1/3 and I was only doing 30hrs to start with. Boss is a very volatile and bad-tempered person, known to shout and swear and kick things, and everyone on his staff is currently looking for alternate employment.
Anyway, my question: I’m applying for other jobs where I have to give references on the actual form, not just on request if they happen to offer me the job. They specify that one of my referees must be my present or most recent employer. I don’t want to ask my boss for a reference as I don’t want him to know I’m looking for another job (knowing him, he’d find some pretext to sack me before I could hand in my notice) and I don’t trust him to write a fair reference that won’t torpedo my chances. He’s already mentioned that he writes ‘honest’ references for his employees, which didn’t sound promising.
Anyone found a good way to get round this problem? Will they care if I put my previous employer (who is nice and thinks I was good at my job) instead of my current one?
Firstly, never leave a blank space in an application form. Always write something. Making a note of a previous employer’s reference may look odd, particularly if you held the position over a year ago.
However, it is not unusual to ask on the application, or in a covering letter that you do not want prospective employer’s to approach your current employer, and as long as you explain why you have put a different referee down they should be satisfied with that.
Hi,
Thanks for your speedy response.
That was what I was thinking. Other than a part time supermarket job I had for a couple of months after finishing uni, the last referee I have is my voluntary placement which was nearly a year ago, which might look slightly suspect if I put it down.
What about asking a senior colleague for a reference? At current job they’re all as disgruntled as I am so hopefully would be happy to help. It’s a small business so there is no-one above the boss. just think asking him for a reference might do harm to my odds of getting the job, and also make work really awkward if he knows I’m trying to leave.
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