09/12/2024

I Can't Recommend a Colleague Who Listed Me as a Reference

Here are two other tricky workplace dilemmas

Here's a roundup of answers to three questions from readers.

1. I can't recommend the colleague who listed me as a reference

One of my coworkers was laid off two weeks ago. She was an easy choice because her work and attitude were not great. Her office was next to mine, so we'd have friendly conversations every day and I got along with her, but she yelled at her team constantly and wasn't available to help them, so most of the office hated her. The reports I needed from her were always late and full of errors, and others would have to fix them.

Because we were on friendly terms and her manager doesn't want to be a reference for her, she's listed me as a reference and says two places where she interviewed might call me. I really don't want to risk my reputation by lying and giving her a good reference, and I barely worked with her so there's not much I could say anyway. I got back to her and said, "I wish you luck finding a job, but I didn't manage you or work with you much so I'm not a good reference." But she said it's too late, she listed me, and can I please tell them she was great to work with. Do you suggest I just don't respond if a potential employer calls?

Please select this link to read the complete article from Inc.