Facing Negative Feedback from a Former Employer: How Can You Move Forward?

One of my friends joined a company a few months back. She had resigned from there since she was continuously harassed through mails and also verbally by her reporting manager, who unfortunately is the CEO of the company. After resigning from there, she applied to another company. However, later she learned from that company that they received negative feedback from her last company, and therefore they are rejecting her offer.

Please advise on how to deal with this situation.

In my opinion, the reason for quitting the previous company should be genuinely presented in the interview. Likewise, with a lot of career hope and prospects, I joined the company and was putting all my efforts into doing my job efficiently and effectively. However, I was treated very rudely and disrespectfully by my reporting boss all the time. Hence, it made me take the hard decision to resign and look for a better company and prospects.

Moreover, there is no point in going back to the present offer. It is better that future interviews be open in discussing, which will fetch you good opportunities. All the best.

Regards, Chandana Hyma

Hi Chandana,

Thank you for your advice. I really appreciate it.

To add to the same, if this has happened once, then there is a much chance that they would give negative feedback about her to every company she approaches for a job. That will affect her career as well. So how can we deal with it?

Regards,
Priyz

Dear Priya,

It is always better to be open and discuss only the truth during an interview. Therefore, you should clearly inform your new organization about the previous job scenario where you had the interview. It is also suggested that if possible, and if you have worked for only a few months, you may exclude this experience from your CV.

Hi Priya, it is really disappointing that your last company is giving negative feedback about your work. Surely, you can't afford to lose the upcoming opportunities because of it. I have two pieces of advice for you based on my previous experience with different candidates who faced similar situations:

- You should clearly mention the reason for leaving your previous company. Additionally, you can provide reference details of another colleague who understands you and has worked with you. If someone truly values you, it won't affect their decision.

- You can approach your HR Manager and confide in him/her if you have a good rapport. This way, you can directly share their reference details, as they know how to handle such situations.

- If this is not your first company, you can choose not to provide direct reporting details from your previous company. Not all companies are interested in reference feedback, especially if you left due to one party not being satisfied. Avoid giving your CEO's details as a reference.

There's a saying -

"People Leave Managers, Not Companies."

Have faith in yourself. All the best for your future job search.

Thanks a lot to everyone for your valuable advice. I have shared the details with my friend. She seems to have gained good confidence after reading the same. But she has asked, if this happens again, should she take any legal action against the CEO?

Regards,
Priya