Which Job Advice Needed

[honeytoast]

I have been offered 2 jobs one job is my dream job, great career prospects and alot of money. Other job is great but obviously not as good prospects and is £7,000 less than other job, Job 1 wants my last 2 references not a problem with one reference but I am scared that another referee will give me a bad reference as one of my directors took a dislike to me for a reason I am still not clear on and I got issued a written warning with out any warning of which I contested. Job 2 asked for references prior to offering me the job so didnt give the details of the one that I thought would give me a bad reference.

Please help I dont know what to do as want to accept job 1 as like I say my dream job, but dont want to accept in case references come back bad an they withdraw the offer. Have got to make a descision today please help me someone.

If you were not worried about the reference, I take it you would immediately be accepting job no 1? I think if you accept job no 2, you will spend a lot of time regretting the lost opportunity and wondering "what if"?

Re the references, your previous employers cannot give you an inaccurate reference, if the reference request specifically mentions any written or verbal warnings, they will have to respond to that but otherwise it may not come up at all. How likely is it that the reference will even come from the director rather than the HR department?

As there is no HR department as I worked for a little family firm so I am worried. As Job 1 will be great for mine and my 2 DS future as I am a single parent. And I dont want to send my life regretting it.

So job 2 only wanted 1 reference?

Was the written warning still active on your file when you left employment? Did you formally appeal it?

A reference mustn't give a misleading impression of you. So it's not necessarily just a case of if the new employer don't specifically ask the old employer doesn't have to mention it. If it's relevant and your old employer omits to mention it, they could be in some trouble. There was a thread recently about someone's DH who left an employer after having been caught stealing and whether they would give a neutral reference or not.

Job 2 asked me for references but I gave old references. Job 1 wants my last 2 employers, yes It was on my file when i left, (thats if they did have employee's files) and I did contest it. So nervous dont know what to do, I am scared that they will withdraw the job offer.

If the warning was entirely unmerited and you can demonstrate this and convince the new employer that there was no justification and it was about someone not liking you, you could consider speaking to someone at the new employer about it. What was the warning for, or don't you want to say? It might make a difference.

Or, assuming the job with the warning wasn't your most recent job, you could say there is no one in management at that employers left who knows you so would the new employer prefer two more relevant references from your most recent employer instead.

The warning ended up being a written warning for not informing my all my directors that a company was going to take away our account with them, of which I had informed my director whom I worked in direct line with it was a totally unjust written warning it just come out the blue with no meeting or anything. I have already given the agency the details as this job is through a agency its a permanent full time position that only comes along once every blue moon its everything I have dreamed off and will lead to a better life for me and my 2 DS

Well if the warning was based on completely inaccurate information and a reasonable procedure wasn't followed anyway, then that's not necessarily a problem. If you are worried about the reference, contact the ex-employer in question, say you have been offered a job and ask what they will say in the event of a reference being requested. If they plan to mention the warning and you re-emphasising that it was factually incorrect as well as a proper procedure not being followed doesn't deter them, have a chat with the new prospective employer, preferably the person who actually recruited you and therefore thinks highly of you. Explain the situation once you know what will be said, offer to provide any evidence in terms of your otherwise good performance at the job in question, and anything proving that the warning was factually inaccurate and the level and method of warning were both inappropriate and unreasonable.

If the new job are keen on you and can see you are a reasonable person, it might be fine. At least you'll know.

Hi Flowerybean I can breath a sigh of relief they provided a reference and it was fine so fingers crossed I will get my new contract in a couple of days

Great news! I expect they realised at your old employer that the warning wasn't fair in terms of procedure or reasoning so decided not to mention it.