To lie to a friend about my experience working on where she has been placed for the next 8 weeks?

[Christie81]

My friend has just sent me a message saying she has been placed in an area that I have recently left and gave me two names of people who will be mentoring her.

To be honest she couldn't have been given worse mentors. One of them will treat her like a skivvy and the other is just not a very nice person and for want of a better word, will probably be a bitch to her.

However if I tell her the truth she'll go in terrified and with preconceptions that might make the situation worse!

So - do I lie?

Has she actually asked for your advice or is she just informing you that she got the placement?

She's asking me what her mentors are like!

Keep your views to yourself i'd say! If she asks you ever, just say that XX isn't your "cup of tea". This is my DHs advice to me always, as he says that it avoids looking churlish or unprofessional!!!

Let her make up her own mind- she may end up having (hopefully!) a different experience to you!

I think it'd be wrong to lie outright and say they were lovely. If you don't want to tell her they're complete so and so's, could you bluff that you don't recognise the names?

And yes, keep any comments you may have neutral. Let her have her own first impressions of them.

Can you just say you know who they are but didn't have much dealings with them yourself? Or if you really want to be honest, do so but tell her that's your experience and hers might be totally different.

Are these people generally an arse to everyone?