After 14 years at the same company . . . .

[AdHocSolver]

46. Did you have a good relationship with your previous boss?

Could you contact him for a reference?

From what you said about your most recent boss, you don't want to use him as a reference. I remember being offered a reference by a manager in a contract position. I used him once, and the recruiter at an employment agency warned me not to use him again.

However, future employers may decide to contact him anyway, You have to prepare them to inoculate them from whatever he might say about you that is negative. However, only comment about working conditions there IF the interviewer asks about it.

Before retirement, I worked as a programmer analyst. Many years ago, I worked for a women who turned out to be a witch from hell. However, I couldn't say that to a potential employer.

I had to convey what she was really like without sounding negative. So, when asked about the job, I gave her a backhanded compliment by relating that she was a very hard worker. She often put in 10 to 12 hour days seven days a week, and if we were required to work late to finish a project, she would stay late and work with us to help us with our tasks.

An astute potential employer would understand immediately from what I said that she was a workaholic and a micromanager and difficult to get along with, What is necessary to convey, only if pointedly asked about it, is that for a short time, you had a difficult experience, you are over it, and you are ready to move on.

Talk about your successes in the time that you worked there before this boss came to the company.

In any case, to avoid reference "burn out", I suggest that you only give out references to potential employers AFTER an interview, Some employers ask for references before an interview to weed out candidates. You don't want to burden your references with fishing expeditions.

I am only commenting on your posts based on my experience.