The Reference Call

You give fifteen years to a place. You leave. You apply somewhere else. They call your old employer for a reference.

And your old employer — the one that fired you — gets to decide what you’re worth to the next one.

Think about that for a second. The institution that decided you were disposable now gets to tell someone else whether you’re valuable. And they’ll be “professional” about it. Confirm dates. Confirm title. Maybe say “eligible for rehire” or not.

Three words. That’s what fifteen years gets reduced to in a reference call. And the person on the other end has no idea what “not eligible for rehire” actually means. Could mean you got fired. Could mean you filed a complaint. Could mean you told the truth in a meeting.

The reference system isn’t a safety net. It’s a leash. It keeps you polite on the way out because you know they hold the next door.