employment reference question

[buzzingtalk]

What do you do, if you are already employed but thinking about leaving and send off a job application? You have to put your last few jobs as references and I wouldn't want anyone where I work to think I was looking for other work so can't put them down as a reference?

[northepaul]

Depending on where you're applying to, you can usually check a box saying no to the question something along the lines of "is it ok to contact this person (organisation) before interview?" If not, it might be worth putting a note on the application form.

[Jeanied]

Just to add that if you are able to get a new job, it will be probably be subject to reference - and it would be very unusual not to get a reference from your current employer unless you have some very compelling reasons.
Therefore it is probably better to let your current employer know sooner rather than later - nothing worse than a bolt from the blue!

[SarahStrawberry]

You could put "references on request" and when they ask you can explain that you don't want them to contact your current employer until you've had time to tell them first.

[ginger ninger]

Some applications forms ask if they can contact an employer only if a job has been offered. But if you have reference's from other employers from the past I would think you would be ok. Not all employers check them, but it's nice to be able to offer them. Some will accept personal references from people that know you i.e Dr, Nurse, accountants but most want a least one from a previous (not always the one where you are working) employer. Hope this helps.

[buzzingtalk]

Its not definite - but I feel very boxed in and unappreciated in my current job. Constant digs and people bitching/being cliquey has turned my job into a chore instead of a pleasure (I look after adults with Learning Disabilities.)

I am on a bank contract and have been offered a part time contract where I currently work which would be financially better but I don't know how long I can handle all of the c**p that comes with it. I like to stay outside of the politics and so on in the workplace but it makes me angry sometimes and I wonder if I would be better off looking elsewhere. Problem is I am very skint, so cannot let my boss know I'm looking elsewhere or she'd probably drop my hours and then I would be screwed as I wouldn't be able to sign on either. I also have flexible working hours which is essential to me so I have it very good, except for having to deal with bitching/false accusations/2 faced people in the workplace. It might seem a petty reason to consider leaving but some days at work are an utter nightmare.

My current job is good, if I could just do my job and not deal with other people, but the pay isn't amazing and there are no real long-term prospects of improving my position or wage so it is a job to 'tide me over', essentially.

*Sigh*

Why do people have to be so two faced and rude sometimes?

I just looked at the jobcentre website, and there is nothing of interest. Another problem is I am at a crossroads at the minute - I'm 25, and I have no idea what I want to do with my life. I can't keep doing jobs that I do forever if I want to succeed and improve my standards of living, but I have no idea how to get out of the minimum wage public sector jobs. I have a degree and am intelligent and have realized that this is not what I had in mind for myself.

Sorry for venting on here but its nice to get it all out, I'm really stuck as I am scared if I leave I won't get another job as the job market in norwich is awful.

[northepaul]

Hmm I was going to say that if your boss knows youre looking for another job it might work in your favour....but maybe not in your case?
The only thing I can add is to be cautious - its VERY VERY hard to get a job in any sector at the moment.
Other than that, I wish you luck

[buzzingtalk]

This is why I will keep it under wraps, preferably until I am offered a job - as I do not want to end up on the dole even if it means I have to stick this job out for a while yet.

I hope Cameron's 'big society' has space for people who haven't yet found what they are meant to do yet - although I know it hasn't, so its overworked and underpaid manual work for me then

[northepaul]

join the club!

[lizzylemon]

Just to let you know you're not alone - I'm in a very similar position re work peoples attitudes but I'm sub-contracting with hours to suit my home life and good money for the hours. however, the person training me has changed in the last 3 weeks and I find myself being mis-feed information, getting deliberately obtuse responses to my questions and ill timed 'help' all stacking up to make me look like a plonker.

I'm green to this particular job but not to office politics and it stinks. I actually feel a little sick checking into my email account each time, and just recently find myself doing it at 11.30 at night because I know there will an 'urgent' email that needs a response before the morning from said person. She's also stopped allocating me work that comes to train on

I've said on my CV 'references on request' so I can explain there's only 3 of us, the director & the trainer (best friends socially as well) and then me.

Good luck.

[buzzingtalk]

Oh its horrible isn't it? Sounds similar to what I have, I like my job, the money is OK for now and my hours fit around my private/social life which is brilliant...but I am beginning to resent it. I had 3 weeks off for Xmas, then had another 3 weeks off recently and I realized how less stressed and bad tempered I am when I am away from work. It really does stress me out sometimes, even though the workday could be simple and pleasurable if everyone played by the same rules.

Looking for alternate work though, it seems like there really is nothing. I hope I am not in the same position in my 40's, wondering where my life went and realizing what I wanted to do but being too late to do it. How are you meant to see where you 'fit in' when no one will give you a chance, or let you develop and grow?

[Incy]

buzzingtalk,
A lot of employers won't check references with your current employer unless they wish to offer you a job, and I'm pretty sure if asked they would wait. It can be helpful to also have a personal reference from someone who has known you for a while and can vouch for you as an individual. A family friend or one of the lecturers who taught you at uni.
As you say that you have a degree, I am wondering what in. It's surprising how for a lot of jobs requiring a degree, the actual subject studied has little relevance as it shows a level of academic ability and staying power in its own right.
One thing I found really useful when I was at a similar crossroads to you, was doing a Morrisby psychometric test. It highlights your strengths and weaknesses as well as talking into account your likes and dislikes and then recommends possible job paths you might enjoy. It really does help to give you the confidence to go for it.
Good luck with whatever you end up doing.

[Florence Fennel]

I'm in the Health Service. We don't request references until we've appointed "subject to references". You would therefore know you've got the job unless your most recent employer did not recommend you.

[Sheepish]

Are the forms you're dealing with asking for references from your last few jobs or just details of your career history? If it's the latter then you don't have a problem. I think it's pretty standard in most areas of work only to take up references at the point you're seriously under consideration for an offer, after all spending time on references for every applicant just isn't cost effective. However if an employer gets lots of applications for a post the first pass to filter out candidates will be done at speed, and anything that hasn't been filled in exactly as requested is likely to go in the bin.

So I'd say don't be scared of putting in your work history, supply reference details where it's clear they aren't taken up till job offer stage and consider what to do in any other cases. Also it would be worth checking what your current employer's policy on references is. Where I used to work official references could only be given by the central HR function, and wouldn't say much more than he worked here from date A to date B. If for instance you wanted a reference from your boss they had to make clear it was being given in a strictly personal capacity. So again, if the only reference you can give is an admin team in an office far away you probably don't have a problem.

[Two_Sheds]

"is it ok to contact this person (organisation) before interview?"

I was going to say exactly that: there's often an option for taking up references post job offer

I feel very boxed in and unappreciated in my current job. ... the job market in norwich is awful.

And so it was in '94 when I was made redundant. I had a very good (but not challenging) career in retail until I came upon a manager who didn't like women.

Then I was out on my arris.

I temped for a couple of years, got really ill and then thought why not go for it? I upped sticks and moved to Brighton (you've come from London?). I didn't get any great career move, far from it, but I scratched some personal itches and made myself more, I dunno, 'rounded'?

You need to have more than your job to sustain your interests. You need a virtual circle of, say, family, hobbies, work, charity, friends. Make sure you invest in all of those every day, or at least every week