How do I approach this?

amother

Ivory

Wed, Jan 06 2016, 5:18 pm

I was let go from my last job due to poor performance. For clarity's sake, let's say I was widget designer. The performance issues were strictly related to widget design, it had nothing to do with irresponsibility or lack of professionalism or being difficult to get along with or anything like that. The boss was actually nice about it, when he told me it was over, he said sorry it didn't work out, I know you tried, but you're just not very good at designing widgets, but you are very nice and very bright, so I'm sure you'll do well at other things. I did in fact decide to try something different because I think he's right, I wasn't very good at widget designing and my skills would be better suited to working in, say, the flidget field.

I've been working on finding a new job in flidgets and my dilemma is this: do I list him as a reference? And can I ask for a recommendation if necessary? On the one hand, I'm young and don't have a lot of work experience, so I really don't have much choice in references and it also might look bad to not list my most recent employer as a reference. Also, we didn't part on bad terms, like I said, he was nice about it. And I'm looking at working in flidgets now, so it's not like he has to worry about me ruining someone else's widgets. But then again, he DID fire me, so I feel like it would be weird to ask him to be a reference. What should I do? If it does make sense to reach out to him, how do I do it?

seeker

Wed, Jan 06 2016, 9:05 pm

It sounds to me like he'd be a great job reference! He seems to have liked you and thought highly of what we call your "soft skills" (those that are flexible and applicable to all areas, including responsibility, professionalism) and the one problem you had there is totally irrelevant now. Definitely give him a call before, but I think it would be better to give him than not to give him - it looks better for you to have a former employer saying good things about you, instead of you suspiciously avoiding your job history.

Miri7

Wed, Jan 06 2016, 9:08 pm

I agree that he could provide a great reference. Pick up the phone, give him a call, and let him know that you are pursuing a career in a different field. Talk with him and let him know that you really enjoyed working with him and appreciated his support despite the fact that you were not a good widget designer. Ask him if he can provide a good reference and speak to all the qualities I'll make you a good employee. You should be able to get a good idea about his ability to do this by the way he responds on the phone.

I know my husband has provided excellent references for some of his former employees who are terrific, but just didn't have a specific skill needed for that particular job.