Will my current boss give me a bad reference?
Employees transitioning to a new job worry that their current managers will provide negative feedback or bad references to sabotage their hiring prospects. This fear makes people feel trapped in their current roles, afraid that contacting past employers will ruin their chances of moving on.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1asking former colleagues or friends for referencesDid this help you?
- 2requesting that prospective employers not contact the current employer during the application processDid this help you?
- 3having direct and open conversations with current supervisors or partners about career exit plansDid this help you?
- 4relying on a good reference from a remote accounting internship insteadDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I’m nervous that my current managers would give bad feedback about me in order to dissuade potential employers from hiring me, thus imprisoning me in my current role.”source ↗
“What is the catch? Will they conduct a reference check closer to the start date?”source ↗
“I’m wondering what’s the catch, it almost feels too good to be true.”source ↗
“this is what Im worried about, I was not a good worker, quit without notice and generally had issues with performance and would probably be disclosed as illegible for rehire if they contacted my old manager”source ↗
“They mentioned they’d reach out to confirm a few details in August before starting, and I worry they’ll contact that tutor centre I used to work at.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 5Job applications requiring past supervisor references
- 9Is leaving a job after one year too early?
- 2Will past job mistakes block my professional license?
- 4Imposter syndrome when changing jobs after working solo
- 2Can I refuse to show my employer my new offer letter?
- 2New employer changed my job duties right after hiring me