RANDOM TESTIMONIALS

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 53, Issue 3821, 14 October 1936, Page 5

RANDOM TESTIMONIALS

OFTEN MISLEADING. UNSATISFACTORY RESULTS. (Special to the. Courier.) .. , WELLINGTON, Tuesday. Somo testimonials, like some cheques, will not stand the test of a close assay, but apparently they are often given without full consideration of the responsibility attached to the person who signs them. This indifference to possible results has been frequently noted by the officers administering the Labour Department's State placement service, and as the success of the service depends wholly upon keeping faith with employers, as far as Is reasonably possible, testimonials and verbal claims by men enrolling are subjected to very strict inquiries before an applicant for private employment is recommended to an employer. Thanks to this rigid examination of credentials there have been extremely few instances where men have failed to measure up to tha elalms made by themselves or on their behaL. In one case a testimonial given by a prominent business man proved to be entirely misleading. As he was well known, his assurance that the ability and character ot the man concerned were correctly described in the testimonial was accepted, but when the man, as the accredited nominee of the placement officer was appointed to a responsible position, he was found to be quite unfitted for it, having neither the ability nor Integrity that the testimonial alleged he possessed. A most, unpleasant result ot an act possibly well intentioned, but extremely unwise. Two similar cases are reported from a placement officer in a southern city. For a trustworthy position with a big business concern an enrolled man with extensive experience and very good testimonials was selected for recommendation conditional upon his credentials being verified. He was the man for the job, but when the inquiries were completed his record was found to be very unsatisfactory. In the other instance the references and statements with respect to the man’s personal and ability were described as He was, moreover, young, and there appeared to be every reason to suppose that a really satisfactory position could be found for him. There was, however, a link missing in his chain of employment, and when this was investigated in a distant city, the possibility oi recommending the man for a responsible position was regarded as hopeless.

It will be gathered from these incidents that the price ot maintaining the confidence ot employers who rely upon the State placement service is eternal vigilance.

Another thought that arises is that kindly ex-employers or friends Of men who are known to be inefficient workers, or whoso integrity is not beyond reproach, do them a disservice by lauding their Industrial capacity or testifying to their personal uprightness.

It a placement officer took a chance and such a man failed to live- up to his paper created reputation, his chances of a position more suitable to his ability would be materially lessened, the employer would be dissatisfied and lose confidence in the placement service, and the responsible officer might conceivably be officially required to explain why he had departed from the explicit instructions concerning verification.