Reference Letters: How to get a reference after a termination

QUESTION: I have a question regarding references from a former employer. I have lost 2 jobs as a result of what this man is saying to prospective employers over the phone. In one case, I already had a start date set with the new employer subject to the reference. After he had talked to my former employer, he called and said that I was no longer a candidate. He would not tell me what the former employer said. In the second situation, the prospective employer admitted that my old boss had told him that I stole clients from the firm where I worked and that there was missing software. I worked for this firm for four years and I can't just pretend that I was sitting home all that time. Should I just change careers?

ANSWER: You have a common problem with no perfect solutions. Here are some options:

1) Start an action in Small Claims Court on your own against your former employer for defamation arising out of the second situation. You know the words he used so you can fulfill the requirement in a defamation action of pleading the actual defamatory words. Do not hire a lawyer. The Small Claims Court has limited the damages it can award to $10,000.00 and even if you win some money from your former employer, the Small Claims Court will not compensate you for more than a couple hundred dollars worth of legal costs. You can get a booklet from the Small Claims Court on how to conduct a Small Claims Court action. If you can prove that you did not steal any clients or software and that your former employer knew that these allegations were false, you will win.

Perhaps more importantly, once your former employer has been served with a Statement of Claim for defamation, unless he is completely irrational you can bet that the next time he gets a reference call he will simply decline to give a reference and keep his mouth shut. This approach, however, does not completely solve the problem. A potential employer who inquires with respect to a reference who is told that none will be provided will know that something is up. In your case, however, no reference may be better than the reference that is being provided.

2) Draft a not too exuberant reference letter for yourself and e-mail it to your former employer. You should only put in the letter a discussion of your responsibilities and position. To the extent that you discuss strengths, you should only include ones that you feel fairly confident your former employer would agree with. At the end of the letter, you should add a sentence which says "As a result of my busy schedule, I cannot respond to verbal requests for references and must limit my reference for Jane Doe to this letter.'

If a prospective employer is discouraged by the letter of reference from contacting the former employer, they will never have the experience of asking a question of that former employer about you only to hear a long pause or a hesitant answer on the other end of the line. This option can be combined with the first one. If the employer will not sign this letter of reference simply by being asked, they may consider it again as a way of settling the Small Claims Court action if you can arrive at a mutually agreed description of your strengths as an employee.

3) If there are former co-workers or supervisors that worked with you in this former position who would be willing to give you a good reference, try to steer any prospective employers in their direction. The fact is that most prospective employers want to speak to your last immediate supervisor at your previous job. Attempting to deflect them to other people who work closely with you may in some cases be successful.

4) If none of the above works, then you should explain to the prospective employers before they call your old employer that they are not going to hear good things. Usually a prospective employer only contacts references after you've had at least one initial interview and they've decided that you are the likely candidate. At that time, you should explain that your former boss is making completely false allegations against you and that there are hard feelings.

I know that this does not sound like a great way to get a job, but keep in mind that if you say nothing, the employer is not going to call you back to hear your side of the story. The prospective employer will simply move on to the next candidate rather than take any risks. By giving your side of the story before they contact your former employer, you have at least had a chance to do some damage control. The prospective employer will not be shocked too hear bad things said about you and at least will be able to weigh it against your side of the story.

As you can see, none of my solutions are perfect. The fact is that in relation to references, employers wield an incredible amount of power in determining the future employability of former employees.

If I can offer one ray of hope it is this: I have often dealt with people in your exact situation who sooner or later find work in their industry. My experience is that if the employe has the requisite skills, sooner or later, a prospective employer will be sufficiently in need of those skills that they will be willing to take a risk despite the bad reference. It might be worthwhile to remind a prospective employer that if they decide within 3 months that you are not the right candidate, they can terminate your employment without any obligation. There is no real risk involved