Luke S Crawford wrote: > ... > > But, uh, I won't give negative evaluations of individuals, and I > try not to say bad things about competitors. (businesses that are > not my competitors, however, are fair game.) I might avoid the question, > as you did, or I might outright refuse to answer if I really can't say > anything good about the person, or if they are wholly unsuited for the > job in question, but I won't say bad things about someone who has > worked with or for me, at least not to a potential employer with whom > I have no relationship. > > It's more than that. Negative references open you up to lawsuits for slander or libel (depending if written or spoken). Even if you are right, you end up in a costly court proceeding to prove it. On the other hand, there is *always* something nice you can say about somebody without giving a good reference.
"Joe always dressed appropriately for work and his dental care was outstanding" (classic non-recommendation recommendation) "Mary was on time when it was critical for her to be so." (but what about the other times?) "Chris always showed up on time for work, as long as you took into account his own personal timezone". "Boy was Chad tall". prospective employers can read between the lines. There are plenty of creative ways to say something to get a point across. _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lopsa.org http://lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/discuss This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators http://lopsa.org/
