Re: Portfolios

["RJULIUS.US.ORACLE.COM" <RJULIUS -at- US -dot- ORACLE -dot- COM>]

***sorry if this posts twice--I originally sent it Monday morning****

 Doug writes about references:
>>...many (most?) hiring managers I know either blow them off completely
>>or give them very little weight.

I've never held a professional job where they _didn't_ check my references
before hiring me.  And I've never hired someone without first checking their
references.  After all, if I hire them I'm stuck working with them.

There's an important distinction to be made here.  "Solicited" references are
from those who have agreed--ahead of time--to speak on your behalf about their
experiences with your work.  This is a personal agreement between two parties
and should be outside the realm of "company policy."  If possible, you should
get letters of recommendation from these folks and have them placed in a
dossier file maintained by your university's career planning service (almost
all major university's have these) or other job agency.  If this isn't
possible, at least talk to selected managers or clients and establish them as
references, and list them on your resume or, as I do, on a separate sheet with
their contact info, bio, and a description of your work relationship.

"Unsolicited" references are an entirely different matter.  You're right about
the "May we contact your previous employer?" questions--they usually only get
verification of time employed, and for good reason.  The "official policy"
stuff has to do with liability--the company doesn't want to get sued because
your boss gave you a bad rec.  Any time someone calls a manager unsolicited,
this should be the response (in some states this is mandated by law, I
believe).  I know of one manager who says simply, "Call me at home if you want
my opinion; otherwise all I can tell you are the dates s/he worked here."  I'm
not sure even this is safe from litigation, if the recommendation is bad.

Admittedly, solicited references are almost always positive, and potential
employers know this.  One way to give them more credence is to have
recommenders place confidential letters in your dossier file (or mail them out
direct to the potential employer).
Rich Julius                                     Oracle Corporation
Senior Technical Writer                         Box 659504
Decision Support Systems                        500 Oracle Parkway
(415) 506-4971                                  Redwood Shores, CA 94065

   President, Berkeley Chapter, Society for Technical Communication

"The advantage of a classical education is that it enables you to despise
 the wealth which it prevents you from achieving."  --Russell Green