Miss Manners: Asking for reference contacts led to tension
A hiring manager seeking a long-term remote litigation-support contractor asked a promising applicant for reference phone numbers, which led to a tense exchange and an etiquette column response.
Dear Miss Manners: I was searching for a long-term contractor in the litigation support field, a position that can be handled remotely. When exchanging emails with a job applicant I was close to hiring, I asked the person to supply phone numbers for their references.