A former boss was caught trash-talking a former employee during a fake reference check. The individual wondered why things with other companies kept falling apart during the final stage, until recently.
On Reddit’s r/JobSearchHacks subreddit, an individual shared their experience with an allegedly toxic ex-boss. The Redditor said they had been unemployed for three months, and described it as a “nightmare.”
It wasn’t just because the job market across the world is generally not the greatest. It was because each job opportunity would go away at the very last round: the reference check.
The early interview rounds went smoothly. But it would end with being ghosted or generic rejection letters. This led to the Redditor feeling discouraged about their career prospects.
After four similar experiences, something struck the individual: the problems consistently emerged during reference checks. Moreover, before leaving their previous company, someone had mentioned something rather odd.
The user recalled their allegedly toxic ex-boss’s final words after quitting, saying, “He told me the industry was very small and that I would regret leaving his team.” So, to get to the truth, the Redditor devised a plan.
The Game Plan to Catch the Allegedly Toxic Ex-Boss in The Act
The Redditor and their sister decided to set up a fake reference check call. So the woman posed as a principal talent acquisition specialist for a major tech firm. And the two decided to ring him up and record the whole conversation.
The user claimed their sister used their most professional tone while communicating with the allegedly toxic ex-boss. When the time came, the sister mentioned her sibling was a top applicant for a role in the fake tech firm. And proceeded with the reference check.
The results were apparently jaw-dropping, according to the Redditor. It didn’t take the ex-boss more than thirty seconds to allegedly trash-talk his former employee.
The user recalled the boss’s response: “He did not just say I was a bad fit; he literally lied and said I missed major client deadlines, breached an NDA by showing private assets, and that the company was looking into legal action after I quit.”
The Redditor Did Not Go Quietly Into the Night…
Instead of being beaten down over hearing their ex-boss’s words, the Redditor decided to go on the offensive. They immediately looked up labor laws and found that making up any kind of false remark against a person that could cause financial harm was “textbook defamation.”
After this revelation, the user drafted a “very cold, yet formal” email attaching screenshots of the labor law and a recording of the phone conversation of the fake reference check. The email also mentioned that if there were any further interventions such as these, legal action would be pursued.
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Two hours later, the HR from the previous company reached out to the Redditor with profuse apologies. They assured the user that future inquiries would go through them and not the ex-boss. And even when they do connect, they’d only be confirming dates of employment and the job title.”
The Redditor advised, “Do not assume it is your fault. Check what people are saying behind your back.” The story has amassed 6.4K upvotes and nearly 300 comments from Redditors commending the individual for their proactive and optimistic actions.
This story is based on a Reddit post and has not been independently verified by The Daily Dot. Allegations regarding employment references, workplace misconduct, and potential legal violations reflect claims made by an anonymous user online.
