Be honest about it. If it is a one time issue, then it is probably no problem. Also, if you have been changing jobs a lot it may raise a red flag.
If you are an “At will” employee, you may want to look elsewhere...otherwise, have fun with it in your next interview.
If you must explain (it’s not clear you need to), the way you did just now should be fine. You say it was a few years ago? I hope you have more recent employers because a prospective employer would be far more interested in what they would have to say.
Be honest about it without bashing, keep it short.
Downplay the incident, and use as a reference someone at that job with whom you enjoyed a better relationship. Especially helpful would be someone now in a supervisory position. Especially important: Prospective employers can generally ask the question: “If a suitable opening were to occur, would you hire this person to fill it?” Find someone in your old workplace who and answer in the affirmative.
Any chance you could plead ignorance and say that the supervisor who worked at that company may have moved on? Lacking a name at that company, perhaps these other individuals may be of more interest to the company which is presently interviewing you? I wouldn’t suggest lying, but why not play a little dumb? You are not mandated to turn over names of people who may hurt your chances.
Whats wrong with saying you left the company in order to deal with your father’s affairs? Unless your ex boss is a real vindictive jerk she’ll not sabotage your opportunity.
Don’t use that supervisor as a reference... not in today’s job market...
Your former employer can say two things: yes you worked for them and a. they would hire you back b. they would not hire you back - that’s it.
Your ex-manager on the other hand might not be so smart..........
I worked in HR for over 30 years and the corporate mandated policy for all plants was that any time an employment verification request came in to HR, the only information we were allowed to give out, with the employee/ex-employee's written authorization, was dates of employment and job position held and reason for leaving. No further explanation was permitted......
If it should come up, I’d explain it just the way you did here, honestly and sincerely.
There’s an adage in sales, overcome the objection (answer it) then instill the need (in this case, your value as an employee.)
Best of luck!
You apparently have had other job(s) since that incident.
Unless you are specifically asked about it, just list the reference.
They may not contact her.
If they do contact her, she might give a standard response. Many employers will not give a bad reference, for fear of lawsuits, should the applicant find out.
Those things are always tricky. If asked for details, just give your side. If not asked, don’t volunteer.
The new employer should be communicating with the old employers hr department. You left to settle your fathers estate.
Not a problem.
List me as a reference. I’ll cover you. :)
Wise former employers limit discussion of former employees to date of hire, date of departure and job accountabilities. Subjective assessments are strictly a no-no in HR world. If it’s a touchy, difficult situation with a fair amount of he-said she-said, resulting in a termination whether voluntary or involuntary, they may not even allow your former supervisor the opportunity to expose them to potential legal action.
So, be honest but idealize the circumstance. Avoid negative personal obserations and keep it to facts, not subjective opinion. You had a few differences with your former supervisor, that led you to the conclusion that seeking other opportunities was the best course of action to take and you did so.
If you have good experience and no other examples of such a situation, it shouldn’t really pose that large of a problem. If there are other instances, you’ll appear temperamental and petulant to the potential employer and it will pose a problem. They’d hire you if you were the only candidate they’re able to locate capable of carrying out the responsibilities of the position, and they had a very pressing need to fill that position.
Speak the truth but put yourself in the best light possible. Avoid personal comments, your former supervisor is an abstraction to them. There are poor supervisors, they’re well aware.
Good luck.
I would de-emphasize the supervisor and talk more about the larger set of circumstances, how they were something of a once in a lifetime "perfect storm" and that your voluntary resignation was done to avoid burnout.
I would also be prepared to talk about the lessons you learned from this and what steps you have taken to ensure it was just a once in a career event.
Defamation Lawsuits To prove a defamation case, a former employee must show that you intentionally damaged his or her reputation by making harmful statements that you knew weren’t true. Pretty much any negative comment you make can qualify as a harmful statement that intentionally damaged the employee’s reputation. If you had to fire someone, the reasons behind it almost assuredly damage the employee’s reputation and by communicating those reasons to a new employer, it becomes intentional. Defamation isn’t just limited to factually untrue statements about a former employee. If you tell the potential employer things that you suspect or strongly think are true, but can’t actually prove, then that may qualify as a statement that you “didn’t know was true”. Keep unflattering comments to yourself, and really just stick to the verifiable facts. - See more at: http://smallbusiness.findlaw.com/employment-law-and-human-resources/employment-references-how-to-avoid-getting-sued.html#sthash.isHrvUUI.dpuf
I’ve had to give references for former employees. I usually limited it to dates of employment, title and salary. If I had fired someone for stealing, I would only add that they were not elgible for rehire.
you explained it fairly clearly here, without going negative. You should just say it pretty much the way you said it here. You’re obviously not out to just bitch about your former supervisor, you’d have said it a totally different way if that were true.
Others in business know this kind of thing happens. You might want to end it with someting like “This really was an eyeopening experience for me because I’ve never had anything like this happen to me before.” If you want to convey it was a one-time thing and it caught you by surprise, that you weren’t expecting it to turn out that way.
It sounds like the bad situation was a while back.
The most current references are the most important ones. Be sure you have several of those.
I would not give that supervisor’s name — is there someone else at that old work place whom you can give as a reference? Or if they specifically ask who was your supervisor at that place, any chance you had better relations with the supervisor’s supervisor who may remember you? Put that person down. They most likely won’t call them, since it’s at least two jobs back. As for why you quit, since apparently they allowed you to do so, your reason of having to deal with family issues should be sufficient reason, especially since you did get another job shortly thereafter.
Don’t agonize over it, you’ll be all right, as long as you did OK on the interview and have references who will say positive things about you. Good luck!