Thanks for reading and for the comment! I think that many people are leary of acting as a reference for someone else because they feel obligated. If they do give a letter, the letter is so non-committal that it becomes useless. If people were allowed to feel free to say ‘no’, the references they would give would be more honest, accurate, and valuable.

“…You need to ask delicately if someone is willing to act as a reference, and you need to make it super clear that they don’t have to, and you won’t be hurt if they don’t. . ”

Thank you very much