BAD Reference

Opinions/points of view are subjective. Perhaps your supervisor agreed to give you a good reference and had every intention of doing so and then the person calling asked a question like "our unit has X beds, nurses have X patients, it is fast paced and we offer minimal orientation. Could FlyingButterfly thrive in this environment?" If she said no, that's her honest opinion.

You don't have a case. Sorry.

I might have...It all depends on what my supervisor had told the prospective employer about me...

I might have...It all depends on what my supervisor had told the prospective employer about me...

And, sure opinions are subjective...I meant although references are supposed to be objective...But, realistically they could hardly remain objective...The line between the two could get blurry...

I might have...It all depends on what my supervisor had told the prospective employer about me...

You may never know. If it was an opinion the conversation is considered privileged between reference and potential employer and it appears Canadian laws do not give you the right to know opinions shared.

You may never know. If it was an opinion the conversation is considered privileged between reference and potential employer and it appears Canadian laws do not give you the right to know opinions shared.

You bet...it's complicated perse...But, I just wanna sit and talk to them....This situation is sooo frustrating...

And, sure opinions are subjective...I meant although references are supposed to be objective...But, realistically they could hardly remain objective...The line between the two could get blurry...

References are not supposed to be objective. References are, by their very nature, subjective. If I am providing a reference for someone, I am offering my subjective opinion on their performance as an employee and qualifications for the job they are applying to.

In the US, it is not something a union would grieve. As a new employee you would be on probation and could be let go for no reason at all. The only exception here would be if the person who gave a bad reference did it based on discrimination against you which could be proven.

References are not supposed to be objective. References are, by their very nature, subjective. If I am providing a reference for someone, I am offering my subjective opinion on their performance as an employee and qualifications for the job they are applying to.

I do NOT agree...References are supposed to be nonjudgmental, professional, hence objective...Think it as evaluations, which are required to be objective...As a matter of fact, in cases like this you could present your prospective employer with the copies of your evaluations you were given working in previous job.

So, I think references are required to be objective...Although as I previously mentioned they could hardly remain objective...No wonder why 64% of references turns to be leukwarm AND negative when they are asked about potential candidates according to an author..Sorry for not citing this....Found this in a piece of researched article last night...Somehow couldn't find it today.

It depends on the questions the employer asked. Your referee may not have said anything untruthful or unprofessional, but their responses may have given your prospective employer reason to pause.

For example, if you were late or had poor attendance but many other positive qualities, this would be enough for a prospective employer to move on.

Either way, you will have great difficulty proving anything. Move forward and ask someone else for a future reference.

It depends on the questions the employer asked. Your referee may not have said anything untruthful or unprofessional, but their responses may have given your prospective employer reason to pause.

For example, if you were late or had poor attendance but many other positive qualities, this would be enough for a prospective employer to move on.

Either way, you will have great difficulty proving anything. Move forward and ask someone else for a future reference.

Oh, no...Sure, as heck she wouldn't be In my reference list...

And, again lets discuss your given example: when you were not punctual, or you called in sick once in a month, etc, and these things were your weakness which you supervisor didn't like...they should have expressed their concerns even by being leukwarm when asked her about giving a good recommendation...Somehow, in her tone of voice, etc which you would sense it really easily, and decide to cross her name out...I actually chose her as a reference really wisely...She was so easy, welcoming, positive...THAT'S EXACTLY WHY I LEFT CONFUSED AND HELPLESS...

I would NOT waste my time and energy on this. The posts alone are further than I would go. Perhaps direct that energy and research into landing a good job and leaving the bad reference in your past.

OK, let me clarify something here: Nurse are required to be truthful in their practice including interacting with their colleagues/staff/superviser...A reference who stated positively/clearly she would give good recommendation for you and did not, in my point of view, lacks truthfulness...They could have said "Don't use me as a reference", "No, I wouldn't be able to give you a good recommendation", etc...Even, by being leukwarm; when asked, one could see it as a red flag, hence not using them as a reference.. The reference was my supervisor.

And, I thought may be you could consult an employment attorney or your union representative in your institution to help you with this/to investigate the possibility of defamation.

Have you talked to this nurse? Perhaps she thought she was giving you a good reference.

Years ago, I was asked to write a reference for anesthesia school for someone who I thought was wonderful: kind, compassionate, wicked smart and never made a mistake. I wrote what I thought was an excellent reference for her. I sought advice from my mentors on how to write a letter of reference and ran my letter past them before sending it, I read all the books on the subject, I sweated over that letter of reference. She did get into anesthesia school.

Six months later, someone else asked me to write a letter of reference, and when I agreed, they handed me a packet full of information on them: their goals, their best qualities (and documentation to back it up, included phrases I could put into my letter), their experience, everything anyone would need to write a letter of reference. The gal wasn't a strong clinician, but she sure looked good in that packet. It wasn't until I looked at the letter of reference I wrote for the second colleague and then pulled out the one I wrote for the first (whom I truly believed was all that and a bag of chips) that I realized what a weak letter I had actually written for the first colleague.

When you ask someone to write a letter of reference, you're taking a chance that they think highly of you AND that they know how to communicate that in writing. I'm not sure whether your reference thought less than highly of you or whether they couldn't adequate express their high opinion of you in writing. It would behoove you to find out which was the case before you consult an attorney or anyone else to "investigate the possibility of defamation."