I applied to a position that I was very well qualified for and was immediately contacted. The recruiter I talked with asked many basic questions to which I provided all the answers. I scheduled a face-to-face and met the recruiter and talked about my resume; even provided five valid references. Later I received a follow-up email stating, "Although I believe you would be a strong candidate, he feels that it's important for us to have references from either (current company) or (previous company). That being said, I know you had mentioned your manager at (previous company) would not be able to act as a reference, but unfortunately that will be a non-negotiable with my manager." My "previous company" had a policy stating that they will not provide reference for individuals who previously worked there. When I requested a reference from my manager from this company he pointed out the policy; yet told me that if he could he would. Also, I didn't want to go to my current company and say, "by the way, I am thinking about leaving...can you give me a reference?" How well would that go over?