Re: Re: Speaking of having "lots of references"

["Tom Sullivan" <tsullivan -at- netexpress -dot- net>]

Hey Miranda,

I see your point!  I can also understand the problem with his current
manager not wanting to lose him.  That situation could present problems of
sabotage and subterfuge.  And putting his current manager in the same class
with Clinton is in itself an indictment.

Perhaps, as you suggested, using the recommendation of other competent,
senior writers with whom your husband has rapport would help solve the
dilemma.  At any rate, it does not sound like an enviable position to be in.

Take care and be good to yourself!

T

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

----- Original Message -----
From: "Miranda O'Connor" <tecwright -at- netscape -dot- net>
To: ""Tom Sullivan"" <tsullivan -at- netexpress -dot- net>; ""TECHWR-L""
<techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Sent: Sunday, August 12, 2001 7:03 PM
Subject: RE: Re: Speaking of having "lots of references"


"Tom Sullivan" <tsullivan -at- netexpress -dot- net> wrote:

>Hey Miranda,
>
>A quandary, indeed, yet my question(s) would be...
>
>How would anyone receiving, or using the references have any way of knowing
>that those providing the references are in fact incompetent?  Wouldn't
>positive references from "incompetent" managers carry just as much weight
as
>positive references from "competent" managers?

His current manager does not want to lose him. Worse, if he should be asked
to write anything about Stephen, he'd be seen as incapable of judging
anyone's abilities. Stephen believes that his manager is well-known in the
local technical writing community and that his recommendation would be
worthless among those who know him.

>
>The only way I see that using the reference of an incompetent manager would
>be detrimental is if the reference is negative in nature.  And one has
>little or no control over what a manager says about an employee in that
type
>of situation.


His manager has said and done a few things that make Stephen not trust him
at all.


>There are objective means of determining whether a writer is competent or
>not.  But how would one determine if a manager's opinion of one's skill(s)
>and/or talent(s) was competent?

I know there are other writers at Stephen's company who *are* competent, so
perhaps that's what he should use -- other writers. Just on general
principles, he tells me, using his present manager as a professional
reference is (to him) "like using Bill Clinton as a character reference."

When Stephen was leaving his old job, he used one of his fellow writers as a
reference and that writer commented to him about the person who called him
for a reference (his soon-to-be new and incompetent manager). He told
Stephen that the guy sounded "dead".

Here's a case where the title is truly meaningless!

Mira


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