My former boss is killing me

The slanderer and the assassin differ only in the weapon they use; with the one it is the dagger, with the other the tongue. The former is worse than the latter, for the last only kills the body, while the other murders the reputation. (Tyron Edwards)

My former boss is killing me

My former boss is giving out a horrible reference. Everyone calls him even if I don't put him on my reference list because he is so well known. What can I do?

There is no good way to resolve this. You already know that.

The way I did it with one particular person was, as a recruiter, to offer to do the reference checks myself As the former boss slandered my candidate I nailed him down about actual job performance. Did he get things done one time? Yes, but.... Did he get them done right? Yes, but.... Did he come to work on time? Yes, but..... Did he get along well with the other workers? Yes, but.....

Then I told the new employer everything. I said, "It appears this boss is incredibly vindictive because when you pin him down about specific job performance he gives a good reference. Yet he continually says he hates the candidate. Plus the candidate's other two references are excellent. The new employer also called the boss, but since I had set a pattern, the new employer knew what he had to ask. My candidate got hired.

I see four things you can do when your last boss hates you:

One. Go through a recruiter who will back you up.

Two. Tell people at the point where they will check references that so-and-so has a vendetta against you. Give the reference checker specific questions to ask that prove you did well. If you can, also prove you did well using written work evaluations. You can even give the reference checker a few people to call about the boss and his vendetta against you.

Three, you may have to get a lawyer to call your former employer and tell him to shut up. It will merely be intimidation on the lawyer's part, but it is worth a try.

A fourth one is to give 6 references, excluding him, and hope they don't call him.

Not a lot of options. Not one of them is great and always applicable. But at least you can try.

Something to do today

Gather up all your old evaluations from work. Make copies and keep them at home. You never know when you will get a brand new boss who wants to get rid of you. It is always nice to be prepared.

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Tomorrow: My job was outsourced to California

Later: Prove it

The last thing you say in an interview

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Message Added: February 6th, 2008 at 5:31 am