Conditional Job offer advice needed.

Hi,
I'll start off by letting you know that this is my first job, and that I'm 17. I recently applied for a checkout position in a supermarket and was invited for an interview. I was successful and they offered by a job via letter.

In the letter, there is a sub-section called 'References'. Here it states that the job is subject to provision of satisfactory references which will be taken up by the company. What does this mean?

I'm slightly worried how. For my first reference, I used a boss from previous work experience and asked her permission first. For my second reference, I used my school form tutor, however I didn't ask him for his permission first :s-smilie:

Do you think there will be a problem with this? I heard you're supposed to ask permission from people first :/

Anybody who can let me know and help me understand my position will be awesome!

Reply 1

shannahb

I really wouldn't worry about it! You did the right thing by asking your work experience boss, but after you've left school I think most form tutors expect to have calls about past pupils :smile:

I doubt he'd make your reference sound really bad purely because you didn't ask him first.. If he does, then that's just mean and you shouldn't have used him in the first place haha, good luck with it though :smile:

Reply 2

username592312

Alright, so they've sent me job details ect. So this means I actually got the job right?

I might tell him on Monday just to give him a heads up :P Also, I didn't give his details, just his name, profession and the school contact details - is this OK?

Reply 3

SixteenHundred

Original post by Flying Pig

I'm applying for voluntary work but still had to provide references and yeah, I just put my tutor down with school details, asked him about it just before I sent the application and he was fine with it. From what I've been told your tutor shouldn't be surprised to be put as a referee but it's best to let him know so he isn't caught off-guard if he's asked to give a reference.

Reply 4

username592312

Alright, thanks guys. I'll let him know on Monday. =]

Reply 5

threeportdrift

Careers Forum Helper

Original post by Flying Pig

In the letter, there is a sub-section called 'References'. Here it states that the job is subject to provision of satisfactory references which will be taken up by the company. What does this mean?

This is entirely standard. It means the employer wants to choose you, but they want to check you out with your referees before they 100% commit. Because one of your referees is nearly always your current employer it is quite likely you haven't actually asked your current boss for a reference, because you may well not want to divulge that you are job hunting. So the new employer is giving you the opportunity to dash of quickly to your current employer and say 'Just been offered a job with X and please could you give me a reference?'. As I say, this is the conventional way to go about things.

Normally, if you have given references up front on an application form, there is a box to say whether the new employer can ask for references without asking you first.

If you said yes, they will ask your Referees automatically.

If you said no, then you should get in touch with the new employer and give them an idea how long it will take you to warn your current employer/referee (not more than next working day usually).

Maintaining your ability to control this process, which could be very embarrassing if your new employer goes directly to your current employer without you giving them any warning is one of the reasons you should never give references unless/until asked.