Hello,

maybe you can give me some advise?
I will soon finish my PhD and would like to do a post-doc abroad. My supervisor knows that and promised me to ask around if there is a vacant position in the near future which would be great on the one hand but on the other hand I was also looking for vacant positions and I have found an interesting one. Of course they are asking for references. He said I can put him as a reference on the CV but now he has changed his mind. He should have filled out a questionnaire but he has rejected it. He said if I want to do a post doc or something similar than I should do it at a institute of his interest... And if there is no vacant position I can work for him as a postdoc....

I need 3 references. I have found 2 people who are willing to fill out the questionnaire but I can't find a 3rd person. I have asked my former boss, some former employers but they told me it is long time ago I have worked with/for them and the job was only indirect related to science... :/

Now I am thinking about asking a former fellow student I worked together on projects during my studies (but this is also long time ago). Would this be ok? Or should I ask my supervisor again? Or should I wait for a vacant position at a research institute of his interest? But I am no longer sure if this is a good idea. :/

Do you have any advise?

In my university, every PhD student must have at least 2 supervisors. Assuming this is the case with your university, how about getting a reference from your 2nd supervisor? (Assuming he/she is not among those two)

I think it is really a pity that you rely so hard on the references. Even for PhD positions they sometimes demand 3 references.Brings you in a position, where you have to kiss ass all the time because every reference counts. If you had a bad relationship to your supervisor and he is not willing to recommend you then you are sometimes pretty much fucked...

Sadly I have no good solution to this. Try to talk to your supervisor again and tell him that this is unfair as you won't find something new without his reference....it will look really suspicious if you have no recommendation from your PhD supervisor, no matter if you find other references or not. It is as if he/she would blackmail you..."work for me or in an institution I approve or you won't get a reference"

I found myself in a similar situation when I was searching for PhD positions. A research body had advertised funding for potential PhD students and there were several places on offer. You had to nominate 3 referees; 2 academic referees and a potential supervisor from your chosen institution (where you intended to pursue your PhD) had to submit a reference/report. The process of searching a potential supervisor was a daunting one, luckily I found one and we agreed on a topic and he asked me to polish it up and this professor was extremely helpful. The application process took so many days to complete because it involved answering several essay-like questions. Potential supervisor guided me through the whole process as he was familiar with the whole system. He was really eager to have me as his PhD student.I was beaming with confidence as I submitted my application (online). As I tracked my application, I realised that one academic referee (who was my MSc supervisor) had not yet submitted the reference and the deadline was fast approaching. This is the man who was always keen to write references for me in my previous applications. I sent him an email, but the man didn't reply. As the deadline was fast approaching, I sent an e-mail to the research council asking them if I could replace the referee but the answer was a categorical NO. To cut the long story short, the man never submitted the reference and that's how I missed out. I felt for the potential supervisor who toiled so much to make sure that my application was perfect. I realised that the man was probably weary of writing references for me.

Thanks for the response! I have a reference from one supervisor but I still need one reference.

@theEngineer: Have you found another position? Maybe also without references?

I will talk to him next week and maybe I can convince him. He does not have to write a letter, just answering some questions... :/

TheEngineer - a similar thing happened to me with a funding application. It sucks.

Gotta_m - yes, try again to get the reference. It's really not fair that won't give it because he wants you to stay in the lab, but you should check what he is sending beforehand...

It sounds awful that your supervisor wont give you a reference. As others have suggested. I'd approach them again.
Other possibilities - is there someone at your institution that is the Postgraduate Tutor? could you ask them? Have you done any teaching or worked with another academic that could provide a reference. As you're applying for post doc positions, does this mean you have finished PhD? could you ask on of your examiners for a reference? Did you have to have an upgrade viva in your dept? is there someone who sat on that panel you could ask?

Hope you manage to find a reference and good luck with the job search.

I have found another person from my lab who will give me a reference (the 2nd one). Unfortunately, we are only a small group of people in our lab. Another tutor I have asked is ill and probably will never come back... He has not answered me on my email yet. I did not work with people from other labs.
I will finish my PhD this year (hopefully) and would like to start soon new job. To be honest, I do not want to wait and work in another job for a too long time until I can start with my postdoc... but maybe I should rethink this and wait until I have finish my phd and can ask an examiner and then start again as things are not running smoothly at the moment.

@gotta_m
I applied for another position that same month but I got references from other professors, luckily I was offered the position. Out of courtesy, I sent an email to the same professor informing him about my new position and thanking him for references he provided for me in other positions I had applied. Guess what, he responded within minutes and wished me good luck.