4 ms·
Secret codes being used in recommandation letters are an urban legend. HR people have no incentive to create a secret code for them and their potential rivals,
by Biganon 2y ago
Secret codes being used in recommandation letters are an urban legend. HR people have no incentive to create a secret code for them and their potential rivals, let alone teach it to new HR people while also keeping it secret.
This legend comes from the fact that HR people cannot be too explicit about the fact that you've been a pain in the ass (you could probably sue if it's too transparent), so if they have nothing positive to say they will commend your punctuality or something equally as mundane. It's not secret codes, it's like... "bless their heart", but in HR talk. Plausible deniability if you want to sue, I guess. "But it's a good thing, your honor! They were always on time!"
- CRConrad 2y agoYou skipped over the fact that "bless their heart" itself is (or at least used to be, before it became too well-known to really be a “secret” any more) precisely such a secret code. (Like, probably, most “HR talk”.)
- boxed 2y agoSo.. secret codes are a myth, and here are some examples of secret codes?
- KwanEsq 2y ago"Damning with faint praise" is hardly a secret code.
- Biganon 2y agoPlease refrain from willingly picking the naive interpretation when you've understood my point perfectly fine, it's against the rules of this website. ...sigh: Secret codes as in "watermark-level omission of characters" are a myth. Lingo and jargon do however exist, and convey meaning in a particularly subtle way. They are shared and taught by culture, not by a secret handbook passed down from generation to generation. See also dogwhistling. The goal is to protect the issuer, not to selflessly inform the recipient.
- sb057 2y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_whistle_(politics) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_whistle_(politics) "In politics, a dog whistle is the use of coded or suggestive language..."
- keybored 2y agoMay HR personnel live in interesting times.
- HankB99 2y agoThis reminds me of the joke whose punch line is > You will be lucky to have this person work for you.
- angst_ridden 2y ago"I cannot recommend X too highly. X always served as an example to their colleagues. The quality of X's code was unequalled in our department, and X's work always merited special attention." (etc)
- doktrin 2y ago> I cannot recommend X too highly This isn't a veiled statement. It's outright dunking on the applicant.
- aftoprokrustes 2y agoAs other commenters said, what you describe could actually be considered a secret code. But in the specific german case, the code is not even that secret. This is a formal document with a very specific structure, and very standardized phrases. There is even specific software to generate the text out of performance ratings. Basically something like this: - John was overal engaged: he is a lazy bastard - John was engaged: he is OK - john was very engaged: he is good - john was always very and thoroughly engaged: he is very good