Q:  I recently received a job offer from a law firm, but am concerned that the offer will be withdrawn if the firm I interviewed with will talk with my current supervisor.  To put it mildly, we don’t get along.  I would prefer not to list him as a reference, but am concerned that it will seem odd if I list someone other than him.  What do you suggest?

Yvette from Maryland

A: Dear Yvette, I don’t have enough information to give you a specific response, but let’s review your situation from two perspectives—your potential future employer’s and your current employer’s. When considering this situation from the point of you of the firm that is seeking the reference, the first question to ask is what information are they primarily interested with respect to this particular reference?  Employers are often interested in three kinds of information when they speak to a person providing the reference:  (1) what kind of work did you? (2) what kind of colleague were you? and (3) is there any other information that reflects positively or negatively on your future performance?  In some situations, an employer is obtaining a reference for a more limited purpose—for example, to verify your dates of employment.  Here, I am assuming that the reference from your current employer is particularly important to the firm that gave you the offer.    That leads us to the next question, which is how important is it that you get the reference from a particular person.  Ideally, the company seeking the reference would like to speak to someone who has recent, repeated, and first-hand information about the three questions we outlined above.  In some cases, your nominal supervisor may not be in the best position to provide this information.  For example, senior associates at large firms might be in a better position than partners to review your performance and your ability to work with others.  In addition, a former colleague might be in a particularly good position to provide your prospective future employer with the information they seek.  There are also obvious advantages in getting a reference from your current supervisor.  This is especially true if the perspective employer knows or respects the supervisor.  Thus, it might be preferable to get the reference from the supervisor even if the supervisor is slightly less familiar with your work.  The key word in the prior sentence is slightly.  Relying on a well known person such a politician can backfire if the reference reveals a cursory knowledge of the applicant.  Yvette, your question doesn’t indicate how prominent your current supervisor is; I will therefore assume that the reference needs to come from him. So let’s take a look at his situation from the point of view of the person who needs to give the reference.  The first question to ask is:  Can your supervisor provide a reference? Many employers have enacted policies that they will only verify employment.  If your employer follows such a policy, you may be able provide the firm with the name of someone who will only verify your employment.  Often times, this person works in the Human Resources Department.  The downside to this approach is that the potential employer is left without a meaningful reference.  Regardless of whether your current employer provides references or simply verifies employer, there are few factors to consider when evaluating whether and what to say to your current supervisor.  First, recognize that your current supervisor may have a strong incentive to provide you a good or at least acceptable reference even if the two of you “don’t get along.”  Why?  Because providing the reference may the supervisor’s best chance to get rid of you.  This is especially true if the position you are seeking is sufficiently different from the one you currently have.  For example, it is not hard to imagine that a supervisor who feels that a subordinate is a sub par litigator might feel perfectly comfortable recommending the subordinate for a position that is less adversarial, such as a mediator.   Moreover, supervisors (and employers generally) are concerned that they might be sued for interfering with an existing business relationship if they provide a reference that causes the offer to be withdrawn.  To be sure, in some jurisdictions employers face liability if thy tortuously provide a good reference knowing that it is untrue.  I don’t know the law in Maryland, but my personal experience is that more employers are concerned about providing a bad reference than a good one.  And that is why I have seen several situations in which the employer holds their nose and gives a decent reference. If you are going to speak to you supervisor, please let him know that your offer is contingent on it (assuming that is true).  Please provide the supervisor (or anyone else who provides the reference) with information about the employer and the nature of the position you have been offered.  For example, it can be useful to provide a copy of the job opening to which you responded.   If nothing else, this response demonstrates that it can be tricky to navigate the reference maze.  That is why it is often a good idea to identify references early in the job search process.  

Yvette, I hope this proves helpful to you. Good Luck.

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