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[ray]

Ten years ago, I was hired into a company in California by a guy I'll call Bob. I worked for Bob for about six months and then Bob moved to a different role in the company and eventually left. I stayed in touch with Bob, having lunch every once in a while (roughly once a year). When I went through some job changes, I asked him if he would be a reference and he agreed. I used him as a reference although I don't believe he was called except on one occasion. Recently, while looking at job postings, I came across a position of interest and saw that Bob was on the management team at that company (it is a mid-sized company). I applied for the job and then emailed Bob letting him know I was interested in the position and would appreciate a referral to the hiring manager (Bob was not the hiring manager). Bob called me the very next day (instead of replying to the email) to say that the hiring manager did not really have budget approval for the position and that this may have been an old job posting. When I told him that this position was posted a couple of days ago, he said that there would be a finance meeting later that day and he would let me know whether the position was in fact approved for hiring. I never heard back from Bob even after leaving him a voice message to check, but the job was posted again the next week on a couple of job sites. I called the company to find out the status (without mentioning my name) and was forwarded to an outside recruiter who confirmed that they were looking for candidates for the position. I was totally blown away by Bob's behavior and the fact that I had been blindsided about his impression of me. At the time I worked for him, we did not have any performance review. The question is, what should I do about it:
a) call/email Bob to ask him why he didn't want me to apply for the position
b) explain to him that I recognize that he didn't want to work with me again but ask him for feedback from the time I was working for him
c) just avoid him and move on
d) other suggestions

Any input, especially from experts, is welcome. thanks!

[SVR]

Hi, I am not an expert but some thoughts.

I think you should talk to him to find out why he bahaved so....or you can ignore it. That actually depends on your temprement (like confrontation or not)

But it might keep rankling you, so you might as well ask him his reasons...


Hope this helps,
Good Luck