[Rucklo]

Right sorry if this is wrong forum.

Basically earlier this year I worked in subway for 5 months, now I got on with one of the managers really well while the other we hated each other. It was because he was incharge of rotars and was an unorganised **** and while i'm willing to work extra shifts where needed, ringing me up at 3pm and asking me if I can work at 5pm when I have plans im not going to.

Basically for a part time job, firstly since this is my primary work experience they are going to want a reference from them yes?

Secondly, I have the e-mail of the manager who I got on with, do I need to e-mail her asking to write me a reference and then give it when asked for it or do I give whoever i'm applying to the e-mail and they e-mail her?

And finally, the subway is in the same shopping centre that probably jobs I will be applying for, if in past jobs I write subway, are they likely to contact them directly? Problem with that is the manager who I got on with dosn't really deal with that kind of thing so it would be the ******* who would get it.

Thanks for any help, I just ideally would rather not have a reference from this one guy.

[threeportdrift]

When you apply for a new job, wait to be asked to provide references. When/if the new employer asks for references, you say yes I can provide. Then you go and ask the decent Subway manager if they will provide a reference. If they say yes, then you give their contact details to the new employer and the new employer contacts the Subway manager directly.

You can ask the Subway manager in advance, but an employer doesn't expect you to give referee details immediately, they know you have to ask first. The reason you don't want to offer a referee in advance is so that you can choose the right person. Say you go for an interview, and the new employer goes on and on about teamwork. You might decide that as they are so hot about teamwork, you'd be better off asking your football coach for a reference rather than Subway, because you work in a stronger, more successful football team.

[anfitrion]

Originally Posted by threeportdrift

When you apply for a new job, wait to be asked to provide references. When/if the new employer asks for references, you say yes I can provide. Then you go and ask the decent Subway manager if they will provide a reference. If they say yes, then you give their contact details to the new employer and the new employer contacts the Subway manager directly.

You can ask the Subway manager in advance, but an employer doesn't expect you to give referee details immediately, they know you have to ask first. The reason you don't want to offer a referee in advance is so that you can choose the right person. Say you go for an interview, and the new employer goes on and on about teamwork. You might decide that as they are so hot about teamwork, you'd be better off asking your football coach for a reference rather than Subway, because you work in a stronger, more successful football team.

Do references have to come from someone "above" you (i.e. a teacher, a boss) or would it be acceptable to use a colleague, for example?

I need a couple of references for a banking job, but it's been too long since I left university and my previous boss wasn't really happy I left the company... so that's why I'm considering a colleague and a classmate.

[threeportdrift]

They do really, yes. You have to consider what the potential employer is likely to want to want from a referee and the authority the referee has to speak to that. A peer can really only comment on you being a good peer, which almost certainly isn't what the potential employer wants to hear. Your peer has no credibility/authority to talk about you being a team player, reliable from an employer/boss's perspective etc.

If you've got a classmate, presumably you have also got a lecturer of some sort? Remember that lecturers/teachers are well used to giving references, and if they say they are happy to, at least you have a fighting chance that even if they don't know every nuance of your personality, at least they know how to write a reference. A well intentioned, but badly written reference can be disastrous.

Was there another manager where you worked, a deputy between you and the manager you don't want a reference from?

Do you have any major interests that have someone in a leadership position that might be credible (head of a charity group, someone who volunteers with you and holds a professional job?)