Helpful hint. There have been jobs my husband and I have taken (not together) where once we started, we learned that the company doesn't give references. Aside from the fact that they should disclose that before the job is accepted if they were above board, that basically limits the employee from ever getting kudos for any work they've done in a way that would benefit their career. It also means that you can be a giant tool and they won't tell anyone. Most large companies hire this task out to 3rd party companies. You can find out their reference policy by calling HR. For these companies, unless you apply for a job where your former management works, as long as you treat your coworkers with respect, your risk for being a douche to management is minimal. Add to that, if that manager was a POS, you just self selected yourself from working for them again, win win!