Hi, I have had some offers, including from the Big 4. I have excellent references from places like PA Consulting, but I have been in a very small company for the past 4 months and havent liked it and began searching elsewhere after 4 weeks. Obviously i was not concentrating on the job /taking time off to interview etc. Do you think a lesser reference from these guys will matter? I have heard the Big firms only ask time of employment/position/ etc and nothing about performance. Can somebody please advise? Much appreciated

Usually reference-checking is a box-ticking exercise covering dates of employment, position and whether you were fired or had any disciplinary issues on your record. Sometimes it covers your attendance record. Certainly for junior roles, there is very little probing. For more senior roles, they may take informal soundings on your reputation in the business but otherwise it's taken as read that you were not senior enough for anyone of note to have heard of you regardless how good or bad you were. You should be fine - I left a job after three months and people I worked with left after three or four months and it's not done our careers any harm. The three month point is a common crunch point when people either decide to put up and shut up or seize the bull by the horns and accept that they made the wrong choice.

It could be dangerous to rely too much ultimately on one piece of hearsay:' I have heard the Big firms only ask time of employment/position/ etc and nothing about performance 'Its not necessarily always going to be wrong but it might not always be right either. I can think of several exceptions to this and cliche reasons that it varies by level. Its not explicit whether your 4 month role is going to be referenced as average or poor. Ask (yourself or better still them) how sub-excellent it was (perhaps phrase it more carefully!). Employers may not actually request it. If it is average and they also consider your other experiences, then you should indeed be fine.