Potential employer wants to talk to CURRENT boss as reference

I believe the request itself is fair, however, insisting on it would give me a very bad taste and I'd be very concerned about a fruitful relationship with the prospective employer. As FLmomof5 said, it really depends on your current situation and your plans and goals. Some companies, becoming aware of an employees job seeking, will sit down with the employee and try to retain, while others will immediately escort this employee to the door no matter how good the track record. The best thing that happened to me was in my early years, when I thought being open and up front was the best policy. I informed my manager that she may be getting calls as I was actively pursuing employement elsewhere. I was offered the day shift (which is what I was after) and a raise to make up for the shift differential. About three months later I was introduced to a new nurse, told she'd be taking over my position and I was to orient her and, oh ya, I could have my old shift back if I wanted it. Anyway, I have learned that being up front will usually do more harm than help. Also, while an employer may not openly say anything negative, there are a million ways to make an employee sound bad, the oldest one in the book, "he/she always tried to do a good job". I do believe in always offering two weeks notice and any prospective employer who will not accomodate that is undesirable in my book.

I always reply my current employer can be contacted AFTER a job offer is made.

That's a tough situation, Ajaxgirl.

I don't know if this is any help - but an HR department can probably provide you with a letter of employment without thinking there's anything suspicious. I got one from my hospital when I was applying for an apartment and needed evidence of my salary. The letter just reported my hire date, position, and salary.

So, I'd offer the new hospital such a letter of employment - it doesn't prove that anyone thought you were a good nurse, but at least it proves that you have the experience you claim on your resume. If that's not enough - unfortunately, I'd have to think twice about whether you really want the new job.

As I see it, the new hospital is telling you now that they'll put your career at risk (by jeopardizing your current job, or at least jeopardizing your relationship with your current boss) in order to reduce risk to the hospital (the risk that hiring you without all available information would be a mistake). If that's their attitude now, it will probably be the same when you're practicing there.

But if you really want the new job and decide to take the risk, I'd suggest that you do some damage control and tell your manager ahead of time that you're looking for a second job and there might be a call about it. It's probably better for your manager to think that you're moonlighting than to think that you're quitting.

Good luck!

Nothing odd about it. Their best point of reference for your future performance is your current performance. What I found odd was when I was told by a coworker that he had found out that he was being blacklisted because his current boss was so pleased with his work that he did not want to lose him. By badmouthing the worker to prospective employers he insured that the worker would not be leaving anytime soon. But of course, this backfired somewhat when the employee found out about the lies. Telling the truth does not always happen when employers are serving as references. That is a misconception workers have because they believe that only dates of employment can be given out. Any "opinion" about your job performance is fair game for disclosure. Because they are expressing their "opinion" about your job performance, you have no recourse because it is assumed to be true and they can express any "opinion" that they choose. This was told to me by an employment attorney.

Ive been looking for another job, and some places don't even ask me about contacting a current manager, most do. This one that I had, when i went for the interview, asked why i put on my application that they couldn't contact my current manager. I said b/c she doesn't know I am looking for new employment. They said, if you're the top candidate, we'll need to talk to her.

so i get a call a week later that im one of the top candidates and they want to talk to her. So i have to fire off an email and tell her that I am looking elsewhere. very hard. then, i don't even get offered the position! arrgh

Job I have already interviewed for last week, and am waiting to hear about, called and said that since they are seriously considering an offer to me, they want to contact my current manager.

I dont think its unusual, but I would hope that a coworker/charge nurse/etc would be a good subsitute for talking to a manager, if you had a good reason. Its also possible that you don't want them to talk to a manager b/c you're an insubordinate lazy butt who is one write up away from being fired... (not that i think you are-i dont know you-but saying this is a reason some ppl might not want manager contacted-and how does the new job knwo the difference)

V. true. Just because most big employer HR departments choose to give out only hire/separations dates and eligibility for rehire, because it's safer for them, that doesn't mean that former employers aren't allowed to give out as much info as they like. I had one former crazy boss (I was fortunate that she happened, randomly, to like me, so I didn't have any serious problems with her) who not only fired one of our co-workers for no good reason (other than that she didn't like him), but continued to seriously screw him over after he was gone every time a potential employer called for a reference. She was v. cagey -- she didn't actually say anything bad about him, but she managed to subtlely convey the impression that he had been a real problem employee, just through her tone of voice, significant pauses, and the things she didn't say.

I've read in more than one place that the methods of conveying negativity mentioned by elkpark are generally used by employers who want to blacklist a former employee without running the risk of getting themselves in hot water over their remarks.