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Subject:Re: FWD: Getting out of a bad situation From:johnbri -at- primenet -dot- com (John P. Brinegar) To:techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com Date:Sun, 6 Feb 2000 03:46:40 -0700
Anonymous concluded with the following:
> I want to know, when I'm asked why I left my previous job and why I have
>no references from my previous place of employment, how should I respond?
>I can get glowing letters of recommendation from my part time jobs during
>college, but my supervisor at my last job is deceased and no one else
>there can speak English either. How do I wash my hands of this place and this
>job? How important are previous references in getting Tech
>Writing/Editing jobs?
I'd guess if you are brutally honest with yourself, you really do know or
can figure out what the reason for the conflict with your second boss was.
--Were you a threat to him?
--Did he just not like you for illogical reasons (race, gender, sexual
preference, clothing, etc.)?
--Did you actually deserve some or all of his criticism?
Armed with this insight, offer prospective employers the best references
you can (they don't, necessarily, have to be directly related to the work
you do), examples of your best work, your achievements and goals, an
explanation of what you can do for your new employer (based on your
research into his or her needs and goals), and an honest assessment of the
reason you left your last job.
Few hiring managers have never had a similar conflict and you would
probably not want to work for one who expected you never to have had such a
conflict.
When I was a hiring manager, references and examples of work were somewhat
important, but not nearly as important as my impressions during the job
interview.
Why not get references in another language and have them expertly
translated into English. Then offer both the original and the translation
(if you brought me a reference in Spanish, I could read it).
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John P. Brinegar http://www.primenet.com/~johnbri/index.html
Consulting and development Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A.
-Performance support systems (602) 278-7398
-Technical communications johnbri -at- primenet -dot- com or dad -at- vr2link -dot- com
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