The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!]

And I’m happy to do that.

But I find references pretty mad, because at the end of the day, who the fuck is going to put forward someone who will write a negative point-of-view on them?

OK, so you can say that a reference allows people to hear how someone else judges their character – and that has merit – but if you’re going to base your decision on hiring someone on whether their mates gave a glowing report on them, then you only have yourself to blame if they turn out to be nut cases.

That said, I try and write honest references, especially when I’ve not worked with the person for 10 years or so.

That doesn’t mean I’m going to be nasty, but neither am I going to give a glowing endorsement to someone I last worked with before electricity was invented.

One thing I find amazing is how easily people are willing to sacrifice their reputation.

OK, I know this might sound mad coming from a person who has written blog posts about his calculator and best friends appendage, but where work is concerned, I take things pretty seriously.

I know that must come as a shock to you [and probably to my colleagues] but the longer I’m in adland, the smaller I find it gets which is why one bad move could easily result in the wider industry calling your abilities and cred into question.

OK, so the fact I’m still in a job despite all manner of shit that I’ve pulled in the past means it might not be as black and white as I am implying – but the fact is, if you want to end up being paid for who you are and what you believe as opposed to simply ‘filling a vacancy’, it’s worth making sure the things you say can be backed up because in this back-biting, bitch-ridden industry, it’s very easy for things to come back and bite you on the ass, especially if it involves you recommending someone for a job which is completely inappropriate for them.

Of course there is an alternative for career progression.