May I contact your present employer for a reference?
May I contact your present employer for a reference?
You can say that you have no objection for this but express your concern that it would be better if you could do it after arriving some sort of agreement.
You can even be honest in stating that your present employer is not aware of you hunting and you would appreciate to have any contact with them after having arrived some sort of agreement.
Discussion
- RE: May I contact your present employer for a reference? -Farhana Afreen (07/06/15)
- The first thought that will come to mind when you hear this question is that you have to answer this question in affirmative else they will start having bad impressions about you like you are hiding something from them about your current job. This is an absolute myth that has to be busted first.
They will not judge you until they have heard your complete answer with reasons. You can absolutely answer in affirmative if you are really fine with them contacting your present employer for a reference. This would only make it seem easier had you informed the current employer that you are hunting for a new job. If you haven't, you shouldn't ever omit this fact while answering. There are several ways of getting this right without sounding skeptical at all.
"Yes, you can absolutely do so but since I haven't informed them that I am job hunting it would only be fair if you could wait until we have come to a concordance for this position."
"No, I wouldn't ask you to do that right now because I do value the position I am currently holding at XYZ even though I am looking for a change. I would rather prefer that I inform the manager in person about my job hunt and then I am sure there will be no problem if you contact them."
There are more chances that they would only make a call to your current employer after they have finalized you for the new position. But that is no excuse for lying.
