Dear Joan:
I am in a job hunting dilemma. I was fired fifteen months ago from my last position, of three years duration, due to differences in management styles. A few months later, I obtained an independent contractor position. On my resume, I am listing both jobs and related responsibilities.

On the prospective company’s application form, there was NO question as to if you had been terminated from a previous position. However, there were questions whether a former employer could be contacted before or after acceptance of a job offer. I listed no to both questions since my intent was to continue to work for the first employer since there was no conflict of interest. I also felt I owed her, since she had paid for additional training for me to work for her. I also did not want them to contact my former manager since she would not give me a good reference.

So, I also listed on the application that they could not contact her. I did, however, list another manager from the company I was fired from, who I had done a project for. She was pleased with my work and said she would give me a good reference. The only question related to this matter, which came up during the final interview, was the hiring manager asked if I could get along with her. I answered in the affirmative and said I had never had a problem in the past getting along with the many managers I had worked with in the past 32 years of my work career. A job offer was made and accepted by me.

Now the Recruiting Coordinator has raised the following issue - I noticed that you checked the boxes on the Employment Application that you wish for us to not contact your past two employers. Is there a reason for this? In order to move forward we need to conduct verification. My reply to her was - I need to tell my last employer that I have a new job, since I am still working as an independent contractor for her. I will talk to her tomorrow. You can contact the second employer to verify dates of employment and salary only. I have listed a reference from this company that you may contact in the References section.

Was that the best way to handle the situation? Can the company relinquish their offer of employment based upon their findings? If so, how do I handle situations similar to this one in the future? Thanks for your advice.

Answer:
Whenever you tell a potential employer not to contact a former employer, it raises a flag. They certainly understand that request prior to offering you the job, since they don’t want to create problems between you and your boss, if you aren’t offered the position. But you probably raised concerns by limiting contact after you accepted the job.

What complicates your position is that you said you “never had a problem” getting along with any other manager. They will most certainly call your reference and try to poke around. No doubt, they will ask if she was your manager. When she says she wasn’t, they will probably attempt to contact your former boss.

Your chosen reference, in an effort to be helpful, may even explain that your boss has a difficult management style and the two of you didn’t see eye to eye. That would be fine in a normal situation, but you already told the recruiter you have never had a problem getting along with any boss, so she could wonder about your truthfulness, overall.

If the recruiter feels you have not been honest, it could cost you the offer.

If the recruiter comes back to you, requesting an explanation, tell her the truth (assuming this is what happened): “I never have had a problem with any boss. Even with her, I conducted myself professionally. I had no other problem with anyone else at the company. She had an issue with me, I never did figure out. Everyone acknowledges it wasn’t me.”

In the future, you could use this explanation in an interview, if they want to call this reference. As you put more jobs between you and that experience, it will fade in importance. In the meantime, make sure your current manager is ready to provide a reference which will dilute the negative one. In my opinion, it’s better to tell a carefully worded truth, than try to game it.

Joan Lloyd is an executive coach, management consultant, facilitator and professional trainer. Email your question to Joan at info@joanlloyd.com. Visit www.JoanLloyd.com  to search an archive of more than 1300 of Joan’s articles.