Why are more people not this honest about the recently depoarted? (courtesy Graham Parker on Twitter [@ItsGrahamParker])
http://www.cbs5az.com/story/34481733/texas-man-ripped-in-his-own-obituary
An honest obituary
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Seems a bit harsh if, in fact, he did suffer from mental illness. No puffed-up outrage here, just wondering how much of his life was beyond his control….though I must say that ‘quick whited sarcasm’ is one of the better Freudian illiteracies I’ve seen in some time…
yes the bit about embarasssing the family with mental illness was decidedly rough.
A colleague of mine in teaching was called upon to write a reference for the worst behaved and least liked (by peers) student in his year. The entire reference was something like:
“Richard ______ enrolled at this school in September 1995 and attended sporadically until being removed from the roll in May 2002.”
Honestly, there was nothing positive to be said. He was a foul mouthed bully and didn’t hand in any assessments or attend any examinations. He did pop back to school for a visit one day though. He was crazed on drugs and brandishing a Stanley knife. I can still picture the Head Of Science waiting behind a door with a baseball bat raised aloft. Fortunately the Police arrived before the two met. I wonder where Richard is now?
Need you ask, Artery? He’s a contributor on the AW!
AAAAAAARRRGGGGHHHHH YA BAZZAS!!!
He’s the moderator in charge of blog membership and he knows where you live.
Fortunately I changed his name to protect the, erm, guilty.
And besides I saw absolutely no evidence that he ever learned to read.
Like the POTUS then, allegedly.
These days I don’t think job reference can say anything more than this person was employed between these dates, An old colleague of mine was sacked from his job and received exactly the same reference as anyone who had resigned. Oh for he days of ambiguous references, “you would be very lucky to have this person working for you” .
Quite a few firms refuse to give references as a general policy, and will only confirm starting and leaving dates.
I had no idea about that. I am going to have a very colourful conversation with my boss tomorrow morning……
You are right Alias. The wonderful skill of writing a reference which looks positive yet damns with feint praise will no longer be needed. What a shame!
Or praises with faint damns…
Written references that confirm only start and end dates came about mostly because anything offered up that couldn’t be proven as factually accurate could get you sued if a candidate had a job offer withdrawn as a consequence. I’ve worked in places where we would confirm is someone was sacked but it’s much easier / safer to default to hire and exit dates and let buyer beware.
Some hiring companies still send out several pages of questions asking for all sorts info – days off sick, timekeeping, would you re-hire, how would you describe their attitude etc. I suppose occasionally they must get answers. The real references are now done as phone calls, where what isn’t said is just as important as what is. Even then, given that the candidate is providing the contact details, the chance of being tipped the nod about a prospective dud is slim although not impossible if you work at it.
I would always give great references to people who wouldn’t be missed. I didn’t want to jeopardise their chances of leaving.
A bit more humorous is this one:
http://www.theonion.com/article/fallen-firefighter-remembered-as-idiot-who-sucked–31862
Very good, I enjoyed that one!
A old girl friend had included,as a reference , someone, a tutor of hers I think, who was blackballing her each time employers contacted that person.
Took months for her to find this out. Why that person agreed to be a referee still stumps me.
My father had to sack an employee after it transpired she was stealing from the business. She put him down as a referee on the next job she applied for. When contacted, he told them exactly why she wasn’t working for him anymore; she was rather put out about this and pointed out that she’d been a very good employee “except for the stealing”.
When I was manager of a care home I sacked an employee who was caught red handed trying to sell some weed while at work. I was contacted for a reference and disclosed the reason for dismissal only to receive a letter from a social worker accusing me of endangering his clients employment chances, I suggested said ex-employee not name me as a referee, a week later my deputy received a reference request from the same employer regarding the same ex-employee.
Kinnell!!