Job application: contacting previous employers

[Terrestrial]

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I've just finished my final rotation and am in the process of registering for exams and expanding my job search. I have a potential issue with a previous supervisor, and I am concerned that it could cause problems with my ability to find a job in the community setting. I worked two jobs in pharmacy during school, one in retail and one hospital, but left the retail position during my third year because it paid 50% less and the time commitment was getting to be too much between work, school, and time with my family. Just before leaving the company, the supervising pharmacist quit and a new pharmacist was brought in to manage the department. At the time, my shifts were mostly at different times than his, and I probably worked with him 2-3 times during the few months we were both with the company, with no issues that I am aware of - I barely had any contact with him at all. During this time I had also submitted an internal application for a graduate intern position with the company; I wound up being declined for interview based on this supervisor's recommendation, which was also a reason I chose to give notice.

I honestly have no idea why he gave me a negative recommendation, other than possibly the fact that I was so busy at the time that I submitted the application without bringing it up with him beforehand and asking for his referral. I have around eight years of combined experience between my time as a tech and an intern, and can honestly say that I don't think anyone else has ever had a bad thing to say about the quality of my work over that time. Of the six years spent with this company, I worked with four different supervisors, all of whom I can say would recommend me without hesitation.

Basically my concern is that prospective employers are going to contact this person, since he is my most recent retail supervisor, and he is going to negatively impact my chances of getting a job with other companies. I have no idea how likely it is that one chain will bother to contact another regarding new applicants, but I'm assuming they would be more likely to contact retail supervisors than clinical - and that they would almost certainly contact him if I reapplied with that company for an open position. I'm just wondering if someone with more experience in this regard could provide some advice on how best to proceed, or what problems this could realistically cause me, as it's a fairly significant source of stress for me at the moment.

 

[Terrestrial]

I guess what I'm thinking of doing at this point is either selecting no contact on my applications if that option is available, or listing a supervisor other than the one that had an issue with me on my work history. The main issue with that is that 2 out of the last 3 as far as I know aren't with the company any longer, and the 3rd hasn't worked with me since 2008.

 

[fattunesy]

Use this "references available upon request" and then do not list him or provide contact info. Honestly, when I am looking at resumes I only contact references if something smells fishy on the resume or I can't get a good grasp on the person during the interview.

 

[Ackj]

Do you have any means of contacting the previous supervisor? If you worked with them for a few years, they'd probably be a much better option, especially if their replacement had some kind of issue.

 

[rph3664]

Use this "references available upon request" and then do not list him or provide contact info. Honestly, when I am looking at resumes I only contact references if something smells fishy on the resume or I can't get a good grasp on the person during the interview.

If you dive into my post history, you'll see a reference to a pharmacist who I found out later was a wife-beater, and the job experience was so bad, I briefly considered surrendering my license. AFAIK, that's the only time I've had professional references contacted.

 

[Terrestrial]

Use this "references available upon request" and then do not list him or provide contact info. Honestly, when I am looking at resumes I only contact references if something smells fishy on the resume or I can't get a good grasp on the person during the interview.

A lot (probably most) of the resumes I've filled out require supervisor names when adding my work history, some of which specifically ask whether the company can contact my previous employers. It seems like checking "no" would have negative implications. I've considered listing one of the pharmacists who supervised me over a longer period of time, or the pharmacist who, while not the managing pharmacist, was the one who supervised me 90% of the time during my last few months with the company.

In any case, thank you for your advice. It's reassuring to think that, worst case, this person won't cause me very much trouble beyond what he already has.

Do you have any means of contacting the previous supervisor? If you worked with them for a few years, they'd probably be a much better option, especially if their replacement had some kind of issue.

Out of the supervising pharmacists that I've worked with during my time at the company, the only ones that are still with there are people that I worked with prior to pharmacy school. I'm considering contacting them and asking them to serve as references, the main reason I haven't to this point is that it seems like an awkward request after not having spoken to any of them for 4+ years. I have a lot of great references that are more recent, but unfortunately they're all clinical references, which probably aren't ideal for retail applications.