Monday, December 17, 2012

My word is my honour

What do you do when someone asks for a reference or a referral and you are not totally comfortable providing one?

I get asked a lot for references from speakers, suppliers and people I don’t really know and with this new endorsement program on LinkedIn, you start to feel obliged to reciprocate when people have endorsed you.

But I have actually decided with the endorsements that I am just not going to go there … for anyone.  No, the tougher ones are those who have done a so-so job or the dilemma I face right now, where the person actually owes you money and you question their ethics.

Without sounding vain, well maybe a tad, my recommendation can carry some weight and so I am reluctant to sully my own reputation by ringing the praises of someone I have reservations about or who I feel I will be condoning their bad behaviour.

I know when I worked in Human Resources and we were taking up references, it was often what was not said that was a clue to the true character of the individual being researched.

So I am keeping quiet.

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