Moral Dilemma: Nate and the Bulldog

[The Crosby Show]

I am stuck with a moral dilemma and I need some help:

The background – I have had a few interns in five years. One of them, we’ll call him “Nateâ€

[AY]

That's a sticky sitch. I know when people call to verify employment, you can only give out factual information such as start dates, end dates, and I think pay is something else that can be confirmed. I'd be hesitant to go negative at all on this letter because you never know if it could come back to haunt you. Maybe it can just "slip through the cracks" and never get sent?

[Guest]

No chance you send letter 2.

0%

[The Crosby Show]

I already emailed him and told him I would send a letter on his behalf. I just did not mention which letter.

[Guest]

AY has a point. You don't want to give him a glowing recommendation because clearly that could come back and bite you as well.

Give a generic recommendation and I'm sure the company will learn soon enough how terrible he is. Unless of course he gets hired by a woman who falls for his womanly charms....

[MCA]

Tell him no to the letter but that you can be contacted for a reference.

When they call, if they ask you if you'd hire him again (which they will) answer probably not and that'll be that.

[Giggles]

It is against the law to speak negatively about someone using you as a reference. You have to be subtle and speak between the lines. If you say, let alone write "this kid sucks" you'll end up in court. Just be a very unenthusiastic reference and forget to write the letter.

[Guest]

if i were you, i wouldn't attach my name to this kid's career, especially if theres any chance at all that you could end up working for the schmo you're sending the letter to.

[lugnutz]

I would do what McAdams said, because what Giggles said is true.

[KW]

What McAdam just said.

[Old Scratch]

I have mixed feelings and I do not know whether I should send a letter saying he is worth hiring or a letter saying he is a useless pile of garbage. Keep in the mind, the Bulldog is gone; having left last year, so there is really nothing stopping me from blasting this kid except my own conscience. Please vote. I promise I will send whatever letter the group agrees to.

The kid put you in an awkward situation to begin with; he should have given you a chance to say yes or no to the recommendation in the first place. Then you should've told him no can do. At the end of the day, if you wouldn't recommend this guy for a job, you shouldn't write him a recommendation letter of any kind. To thine own self be true.

But if you're over a barrel and have to write one letter or another, I suggest you write real form-type letter giving name, rank, serial number, start date, end date, etc. The person getting the letter will get the hint, and if he or she doesn't, he or she can always contact you directly for the true gen, and then you can say "I wouldn't hire this cat again."

[Guest]

better yet, write the kid back and tell him what you want to say and then ask him if he really wants you to send the letter.

[Ronnie B]

Cros,

This is your fault. You rubber stamped him throughout his internship and now you must do the same for his letter of recommendation. Had you been upfront with him early on you wouldn't be in this situation. Lesson learned

[GameOver]

just write the damn letter of recommendation.

[Giggles]

just write the damn letter of recommendation.

Yes. Screw over the company that hires him and ruin your own credibility.