Since I posted last on here I've had seven people dm me asking me to be a reference for them.

I was absolutely delighted that I was able to help one of them get to a happy conclusion and I'm over the moon for them! One of them, what I could provide wasn't a fit for what they needed.

The other five have essentially just completely wasted my time. Through a combination of not sending needed information, taking days to reply or being so far away from the point that they would need a reference / CV entry that the whole thing was pointless.

We're all here to help each other - I don't do this for anything other than wanting to pay good things forward - but, please, have the decency and respect to be responsive when you're asking something from someone who owes you nothing.

(I remain willing to offer UK based references for people who genuinely need them for positions across sales, consultancy, admin and general corporate functions, but honestly my patience is wearing a bit thin.)