
Ask HN: How to start a career with poor references/publications? - lumban
In a few months I will be getting my PhD in applied math, from a well known program. My relationship with my adviser and co-authors has not been great, and I suspect I will get poor references from them. The two publications I have in sub-par journals don&#x27;t help either. There is really no excuse, I was lazy and unproductive, but now I wish to turn this around and find a position in the industry where I can be useful. Is there any hope of getting a job with bad references? How do I make prospective employers overlook these shortcomings?
Thank you
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JSeymourATL
> Is there any hope of getting a job with bad references?

Simple, don't use someone who might give you a poor reference.

But can you find at least 5 individuals over your career-- (past supervisors,
colleagues/counterparts, clients), who will vouch for you? Reach out to them
and ask if they'd help out. Make sure you stay close to them. That way, when
you're asked for professional references during an interview, you'll be
prepared.

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calcsam
In Industry people generally don't care that much about the details of what
your thesis was, as long as you can give an interesting elevator pitch
overview and go into depth for ~5-10m if asked.

