SL 746

~ Laura

I love writing tips.

The latest Boho chic look of the rich moms in Park Slope involve a $130 strap for one’s pricy purses, clogs, and the Amazon coat (which I tried to order around Christmas time, but was all sold out). There’s some gagging going on by friends on Facebook, but whatever.

I don’t care how much their coats and shoes cost, but I do get pissed at those women when they don’t vaccinate their kids.

What do you think of the Gillette ad? I loved it. I’m surprised at the reaction.

Husband, who works in the banking industry, told me that he’s not allowed to check references for job applicants. No letters of recommendation or calls to previous employers. Not true of academia or journalism. How about other fields?

Published by Laura

17 thoughts on “SL 746”

  1. On your tweet about checking references, I was stunned that nobody checked mine when I got this new job. And I had good ones.

    People still call me to check references on people I worked with.

    Like

    1. I just added that tweet to this blogpost. Yeah, I was super surprised, when he told me that this week. And he was surprised that I was surprised.

      Like

    3. It occurs to me now that while they did not ask me for my references, that doesn’t mean they didn’t check. I know they didn’t call my old boss, but they could have checked somewhere else. It’s not really a very big world I’m moving in. I had actually met one of my colleagues over a dozen years ago when she interviewed me for a job I didn’t get. Another used to work for a close collaborator of my boss.

      Like

  2. Hey I saw that coat, yesterday, live and in person. I was told that it was the coat of the season in hipster NY. I think there are people who like to wear uniforms, and that if the uniform is a $130 coat, that’s better than when it’s a $1300 coat.

    I do however love the boots the model is wearing in the Amazon video of the coat, a zip in the back and what look like lucite heels.

    Like

  3. I’m in banking and we do check references, however I find they are of limited use for external hires. People give names of something will say good things. HR verifies employment dates so I don’t have to do that. I have learned to ask about performance issues though as managers who want to get rid of someone often won’t volunteer that. Letters of recommendation are not used in our world.

    Like

  4. Not allowed to ask for references? What’s the rationale?

    That just seems crazy! I always talk to a former supervisor at length and ask a bunch of very pointed questions as well as some open-ended ones. I realize the reference is always someone the applicant can count on but I still get good information and have dodge a bullet at least once.

    I’ve been called for references as well, both formally and informally.

    Like

    1. That makes more sense. It’s easier to see why there would be a restriction on answering questions than asking them. Not that I ever heard of a restriction on answering them.

      Like

  6. OK, I finally watched the Gillette ad. Kind of treacly and pretentious. Not the kind of thing that moves me.

    Like

      1. No, it inspires very little feeling at all. It has the same effect on me as Whittier’s “Don’t Quit,” or a Thomas Kinkade painting, or any other of the thousand treacly, pretentious offerings out there.

        Like

  7. I clicked on the Amazon coat link and read the description, including:

    “*The hem of the eiderdown garment adopts unique crumples. This was coupled with perfect stitches and manifested a unique charm of magnificence but at the same time not too overt. “

    Oh my! I guess that accounts for some of it’s popularity ! Unique charm of magnificence!

    Like

  9. Here’s a really cute twitter thread on the Peloton bike:

    (I don’t care what they say in the adds, upright stationary bikes are the worst piece of exercise equipment that exists–uncomfortable, undignified and BORING.)

    Like

Comments are closed.