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employer is insisting on contacting my current manager before deciding whether to offer me a job -- ASK A MANAGER
employer is insisting on contacting my current manager before deciding whether to offer me a job

by ASK A MANAGER on JUNE 20, 2013



A reader writes:



I have recently been told that I am one of two finalists for a new job but the interviewer (the director) wants to contact my current manager directly before making a final decision.



I had already supplied four references, which included three managers from my previous jobs. Two of those manager references were from my last employer, only two years ago, and I have over ten years of experience in my field.



I expressed my hesitation about allowing him to contact my current manager, as my current manager is not aware that I am job hunting. The director suggested that I tell my current manager that I am a finalist but did not guarantee that I would get the job if all goes well with his talk with my manager. What exactly should I say to my current manager? Obviously, I’m concerned about not getting the job and having my current manager upset with me.



I would think long and hard before allowing your current manager to be contacted, because if you don’t end up getting the job, that can put you in a very awkward position with your manager. While there are some managers who will take the news that you’re looking to leave in stride, there are many more who won’t take it well at all — who will see you as disloyal or a short-timer, and who as a result will stop giving you good assignments, curtail any investment in your development, put you at the top of a layoff list (“she’s about to leave anyway”), or in some cases even fire you. (To be clear, not every employer responds this way – but enough do that it’s a big risk to take unless you know for a fact that your manager won’t react that way.)



Furthermore, this employer is making a pretty unusual request. Most companies understand that candidates don’t want their current employer contacted for all the above reasons, and it’s concerning that this one either doesn’t understand that or doesn’t care.



What’s more common is to make an offer contingent on a good reference from your current employer, who they contact only once the offer had been negotiated and agreed to. That last part is key, by the way — you don’t want them to contact your employer only once they’ve decided to offer you the job — because what if you don’t end up coming to terms on salary or other issues? Then you’re back in the same boat described above.



(Frankly, even doing it that way isn’t risk-proof, if there’s any chance that they won’t like what they hear when they finally do make the phone call.)



It’s certainly true that talking to references should be a big part of making a hiring decision. But that doesn’t require that your current manager be talked with. You have a 10-year track record of work to look at, other managerial references for him to talk to (including some from only two years ago), and it’s just not clear why it’s so crucial for him to talk to your current employer.



Personally, I’d push back. I’d say that you’re not able to jeopardize your current employment without a firm offer in hand from them, but that you’d be happy to supply many other references and to allow them to contact your current company if you end up being offered and accepting the job. I’d also mention that it’s really unusual for an employer to insist on speaking with a current employer without a firm job offer, given the risk to the candidate. If he doesn’t understand that, I’d take that as a pretty big warning sign about how this guy thinks (or doesn’t think).