I work in a highly technical field in Aerospace and had worked for a large aircraft manufacturer many years ago. At the time I left for a better job with a major supplier, a coworker, let’s call him John, was just another colleague. Years later, John became a manager for the group I had left, and we had some interactions due to the nature of the job. We tangled a bit on technical issues over the years but seemed to get along well. As a manager in that group, he’s widely respected in my field and considered a technical expert. His advice and opinions are sought after and highly valued.
Fast forward to a couple years ago, and a new company startup was looking to hire for my specialty role. My former company is partnered with this startup and John took it upon himself to advise the start-up to not talk with me nor hire me.
I just found this out since this startup just reached out to me to see if I was interested in joining them. After a few interviews, the lead hiring manager asked me if John had any issues with me. This came out of the blue and after confirming that I didn’t have issues with John, the lead hiring manager stated that John had nothing good to say about me. I was taken aback. I never directly worked for John nor had negative experiences working with him.
Nevertheless, the startup decided to give me an offer and the hiring manager said he didn’t trust John’s assessment particularly because it was unsolicited.
For many years previously, I had looked for many other jobs at many other companies. Despite getting to the interview stage and to verbal job offers, they always fell through until today. My question: Since it’s possible that John contacted many in the field and had possibly poisoned the well, how is this considered acceptable behavior on the part of John? Do I have any recourse? Or should I just be happy that one group decided to ignore John’s advice offer me a new job and move on?