I have dropped out of my PhD program for a year and want to reapply. I am not applying for the same major or school, but the same country. I have received a verbal offer from my supervisor and am going through the school process. The school requires me to contact my former supervisor. As expected, my former supervisor said a lot of bad things and the school cancelled my offer. I want to ask what I should do. For example, how to write a resume to prevent similar things from happening, and whether it would be better for me to change countries.
Comments
Did you or a letter-written directly or indirectly motivate your former supervisor not being a reference, whether in the original materials or when they contacted you after the verbal offer (if there were residual concerns, especially if the letter writers were all from a prior institution)?
That’s what I would typically expect, and otherwise I would expect them to directly or indirectly inquire about motivation to leave or something similar (both because dropping out is usually a big deal and so knowing the motivations and planning around them or knowing they’ve been dealt with is good and because it would then open the door to you given the background). In cases like that, we’ve sometimes then asked for another reference from the same program, especially if those skills are relevant, and to be sure there are no red flags for the candidate themself, but avoiding the relevant faculty member altogether.