Listing referrals before you get the job references, interviews, background, only

scr879

So I've been through several rounds of interviews with a company which have gone well and they have asked me to fill out the typical generic information form for background check, ect. I need to also provide work references. I have only worked for 1 company since undergrad for the last 3 years.

My concern is that I don't know if I have the job or not, yet need to list my current managers as references. Is this typical to do before knowing if you have the job or not? I'm a little concerned if I end up not getting the job, then everyone I work with will know that I was interviewing. I'm fine with giving out references with people I work with, and know that they'll be supportive and have nice things to say, but I just think it could be awkward having to tell them I'm using them as references before I even know if I have a new job or not.

Is this typical when moving to a new job? how do you guys go about handling this situation?

zbird2134

Thanks for everyone weighed in on this. Sounds like concensus is to not list current managers as references. I really only have 1 former colleague to use who has left the company. My only concern is that I don't want to appear to come off as being difficult by refusing. Or do I just need sack up and draw a line in the sand on this one?

pimpineasy

^ your grammer is so terrible I'm not sure I got what you said.

Kapie

having been given an offer and now asked for referals (they mentioned this in general - i.e. form whomever - and then added as a side, such as form your current employer) did i f*ck give them my manager as a referal! i've been given an offer and have accepted but i still don't have a contract and as far as i'm concerned things coudl fall through tomorrow (or on friday as i am having another interview then for an ER role with potentially much more $ but will probably stick wtih PM rather than ER at the end anyway i think). if i get the contract and it is signed then okay, i will hand in my resignation and will tell them they can call my manager who - i am near certain - will give a glowing recommendation ;)

LorrinCFA

^ true but everyone still does it in very subtle ways -- it's very easy to give quiet cues about someone that's not worth hiring. For example, if someone asked me what I thought of a guy that was really a sub-par worker, I might say something like "He seems like he could be OK, but I'd consider looking at other options first before making a serious commitment on this guy."

mp3bu

DarienHacker Wrote:
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> Even if you have a firm offer in hand, your
> current managers would only denigrate you. So
> it's not clear what the new firm is looking for.
>

Not necessarily true. HR departments often tell managers not to provide information that could lead to career damage since they are afraid of getting sued.

Sunshine4ever

ManMythLegend Wrote:
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> I never, never, never, never list current managers
> as references. Any company that doesn't
> understand that can go jump off a cliff.


This is an iron-clad rule of mine too. There is too much career damage you can do if the prospective job doesn't work out. It's just not worth the risk.

The only current reference I gave most recently was a co-worker that I trusted 100% because he had nothing to gain or lose; i.e. we weren't in any internal competition. He was also one notch above me but not high enough that he would have had a conflict of interest concerning giving me a reference.

IAmNeil

Just write will provide details if application successful - it's only a form right. It's for HR. If they bother to ask you, you can explain then. And then they might say we only contact after you have been selected (which is typical). You'll be fine. It's just form filling for the weird and wonderful world of HR.

SkipE99

Just tell them that it's not OK for them to contact your current employer because they don't know you're searching for other jobs, but that you'd be happy to provide them with contact information from previous managers.

If they insisted on speaking with my current boss, I'd tell them to go f*ck off.

comp_sci_kid

Even if you have a firm offer in hand, your current managers would only denigrate you. So it's not clear what the new firm is looking for.

Perhaps they just want confirmation of employment -- that's fair. In that case you disclose your HR department, not your line manager.

BTW, you should learn the difference between referral and reference.

Since you've only have one job, the typical reference population is former colleagues (who left your current firm).