How to handle a prospective employer calling my current employer?
May 22, 2013 9:15 AM   Subscribe

I applied for a job 4 hours away. I've since decided that I do not want it. However, I'm worried that they will contact my current supervisor as a reference and she has no idea I'm considering leaving.

1. I have not yet been offered the position at the job I applied for, but I imagine I will.
2. The reasons why I'm no longer interested: When I was contacted by HR I learned that the position is only 24 hours per week and does not qualify for benefits.
3. I originally listed two former coworkers as references, as my current job is the first job in my field so I could not ask any former supervisors. I obviously didn't want to list my current supervisor because I did not want to preemptively tell her I was leaving.
4. Prospective job HR contacted me and asked if they could have a supervisor reference. I explained my position and he said that she would only be contacted "in the last stage." I gave him my supervisors name.
5. Since then an internal position has opened and I have applied for it. I am so worried that the prospective job will contact my director/supervisor for a reference and she will be like"???".
6. Also since applying I was given a substantial merit based raise which has made me want to stay.

How do I handle this? I want to keep my current job.
posted by pintapicasso to Work & Money (7 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Call the HR and tell them you are withdrawing your application. Or did you leave some information out?
posted by vacapinta at 9:17 AM on May 22, 2013 [1 favorite]


Yes, regardless of whether a call to your current employer is imminent, you should always contact the company you interviewed with and let them know that you sincerely appreciate their time and you know it's a great company and a great job, you're withdrawing your application and you wish them all the luck in the world finding the right candidate for the position.

And don't do this from your work email unless you want to burn that bridge. (We had someone do this just last week who had accepted a position ... she wrote from her employee@othercompany.com email to say she was staying put, even left her corporate signature with logo at the bottom. Bridge = burnt.)
posted by headnsouth at 9:24 AM on May 22, 2013


Contact the hiring manager and the HR recruiter. Explain that you would like to withdraw from consideration. That should do it.

If for some reason your supervisor should get a call, be honest, "Gosh, I was contacted by them to discuss a possible position, but I later withdrew from consideration. How bizarre that they should contact you about it."

Now you seem desired and mysterious, while being loyal to your organization.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 9:24 AM on May 22, 2013 [8 favorites]


Tell them you are not interested. If it's less hours and less compensation than you were looking for, there's absolutely nothing wrong with immediately saying that it's not what you were looking for and you'd like to cancel your application.

If it did turn out they contacted your office, I think maybe you could just be honest and you're really hoping above all to get that position that opened up within your current company. But I would think the "last stage" would be before they were planning to offer you the position. Sometimes it's happened that I've been offered the job and then they contact my references.

Your current employer may want to keep you, and for all you know it could be a good way to leverage better pay or something. If a boss did say something to you, I would try to see why they are mentioning it to you at all. It's highly unlikely you'd get fired just for applying to another job, so if anyone says anything to you at all, it could be to try to persuade you to stay.
posted by AppleTurnover at 9:56 AM on May 22, 2013


I don't think they'll call your references before making you an offer. They probably need ot make you an offer first, then you accept, then they call references. Isn't that usually how it works?
posted by eatcake at 11:00 AM on May 22, 2013


Mebbe they have already been in touch if only informally and the merit pay rise was the result.
posted by BenPens at 11:21 AM on May 22, 2013


I don't think they'll call your references before making you an offer. They probably need ot make you an offer first, then you accept, then they call references. Isn't that usually how it works?

No. I would never offer without checking references. That said, I think the advice above to contact HR is exactly right. No big deal.
posted by purenitrous at 12:39 PM on May 22, 2013


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