8.

Thornton laughs and as he gets up to go he says: 'When you put in that good. word for me, I suppose you weren't just trying to get rid of me?'

Your friendship with the Thorntons seems to change. Gradually you see less and less of them. Robin never talks about work and then you hear he has 'resigned' from Pharmabeta and taken a step down to join another company.

At least this time he did not come to you for a reference. But did your appraisal of him really do you or him any good? If you think you should have given a different reference, go back to the start of the maze and try again. Or you might like to talk about how to write references and how to read them.