bad reference
Unreliable source citation
A bad reference is a negative or unfavorable assessment from a former employer, teacher, or other authority figure that damages someone's prospects.
Job seekers fear bad references will cost them opportunities: I think my old boss is giving me a bad reference.
The term also describes a citation that fails—a broken link, outdated source, or incorrect attribution: The footnote was a bad reference; the page number didn't exist.
- negative reviewUnfavorable published critique
- background checkInvestigation of someone's history
- blacklistRecord of prohibited entities
- character assassinationDestroying someone's good name
- kiss of deathUltimately ruinous act
grudge · sabotage · unprofessional · unverified · discredited · burned bridges · off the record · no comment · word of mouth · paper trail · dismissal · termination · backstab · professional suicide · vetting · due diligence · blackball
- career killersburnout, firing, layoff, job loss, demotion
- career mistakesburning bridges, job hopping, missed deadline, blaming others, bad attitude
- work problemslayoff, firing, low pay, burnout, deadline pressure
- data errorstypo, data loss, misspelling, duplicate entries, typos
badness, reference, refer, referral, referent, referential, referring, referred, refers