I [30sF] asked my former boss/mentor [40sM] if I could use him as a reference for my dream job; he turned the call into an interview for himself. Should I call him out?

Background...my former boss, Jake, from 6 years ago and I have worked together at 2 different companies. I consider him a mentor and have learned a ton from him. As we've gone our separate ways, we've stayed in touch. He sends me freelance gigs or recommendations, and I do the same for him. Recently, I hired him to do $20k worth of projects over the course of 2 months for my company.

Anyway, my dream job fell into my lap a few weeks ago and I asked Jake if I could use him as a reference. He said of course. (I have used him in the past as a reference as well) After the hiring manager contacted him, Jake texted me telling me it sounds like a great opportunity and I'd be awesome for it.

Well, I met with the hiring manager today and got offered the job. As we were talking, he mentioned that my references gave glowing reviews of me, then laughed and told me that one of them (Jake) "must have mistaken the call for his own interview." He said Jake spent the call trying to sell himself and his experience in the industry on my new boss and called out his availability to work as a freelancer. I could tell my new boss thought it was completely tacky, and I was mortified.

Should I say something to Jake? On the one hand, I did get the job, but at the same time, he could have sold my new boss on himself for the role (and for all I know, tried to). At the very least, it wasn't the time to promote himself. I'm quite surprised by it. Jake also texted me asking me if this means he won't be getting any more freelance from my current company.

TLDR: Asked my former boss/mentor if I could use him as a reference for a new role, and he spent the entire call with the hiring manager talking himself up.

Submitted July 02, 2019 at 09:49PM by dadadawn https://ift.tt/2Ys2dHu