‘The offer failed’: Ex-banking professional says former boss sabotaged his job application

SINGAPORE: A former banking professional in Singapore claimed on social media that his ex-boss “sabotaged” his chances at a new job opportunity.

In a post shared on the r/askSingapore subreddit on Tuesday (Oct 14), the man explained that things had been going remarkably well with a job application that, ironically enough, was for a short-term contract position in a completely different department at his former company.

The recruiter, he said, was enthusiastic, the conversations were positive, and he had already passed the interview with the hiring manager without any issues. At that point, he was fairly certain it was only a matter of time before the offer came through.

Unfortunately, that optimism was short-lived. The recruiter, who had earlier been perfectly satisfied with his profile, later informed him that the process could not continue because his former line manager had made negative remarks about him during a background check.

“This was without my knowledge,” he said, clearly frustrated. “As a result, the offer failed.”

For further context, the Singaporean said that at the time he resigned, there had been absolutely no issues between him and the company. In fact, he recalled being told at one point that he was considered a “top performer”.

According to him, the only reason the company decided to let him go was because they were “offshoring his role to India”.

“It was a clean exit. I got the severance package. As far as I was aware, there were no issues,” he recounted. “I’ve written to HR to ask clarification regarding this. And I’m willing to go all the way to sort this out as I find it discriminatory and harassing.”

At the end of his post, he asked other Redditors for their perspective as to why his ex-boss blocked his application.

“They are not accountable for the nonsense that they spout.”

In the comments, one Redditor responded, “First things first, always provide trusted referees, not just anyone or from the immediate previous company.”

“Why? There are always evil people out there who love to ruin people’s lives. Unfortunately, they are not accountable for the nonsense that they spout.”

Another said, “Just move on. Unless you can demonstrate monetary harm, going to a lawyer is a waste of money. MOM won’t do anything too because it is the company’s right to give their opinion about you.” 

“Causing trouble for your ex-company will just give them more ammunition to paint you as a troublemaker.”

A third added, “HR is not your friend though, if recruiter shared this in black and white easier to lodge a complaint. Else it’s deemed as hearsay.”

“If you have a cordial relationship with your ex manager should reach out to him/her for confirmation if that’s really the case.”

In other news, a Singaporean currently working in Toronto, Canada, as a price analyst has sparked conversation online after revealing that he’s thinking about moving back home to Singapore.

On Monday (Oct 13), he took to Reddit’s “Ask Singapore” forum to explain that he has spent roughly seven years in Toronto, four of which were dedicated to earning a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, followed by three years working as a price analyst.

Read more: ‘Jobs are very hard to obtain now’: Netizens tell Singaporean working in Canada not to return amid bleak job market