| References - guidelines
for your job search |
| |
| On this page: |
| |
Who
should serve as your references |
| |
Getting
permission from your references |
| |
When
to give your reference list to a prospective employer |
| |
Where
to list references |
| |
Reference
page and sample |
| |
What
should references say |
| |
What
about generic letters of recommendation |
| |
Legal
issues relating to references |
| |
More on this topic offsite |
| |
| Who should serve as
your references |
| In selecting people to
ask to serve as references for you, think about what those individuals
know about you and if they can discuss your work-related qualities. |
| • |
Past and present employers
usually know about such things as your honesty and integrity, reliability, initiative,
quickness to learn and take on responsibility, and your ability
to work with others. This type of information is valuable, even
if your employment was not career-related. |
| • |
Faculty members may know
about your academic ability, productivity, and timeliness, honesty and integrity, and perhaps
have observed how you work with others. |
| • |
Advisors and coaches may
also be aware of information about you that could be relevant to
a potential employer — such as honesty and integrity, maturity, initiative, interpersonal
skills or leadership qualities. |
| • |
Don't list references
who only know you in a social capacity. While family friends may
have nice things to say about you, employers don't place value on
these kinds of references. |
| • |
Obviously you do not want
to offer as a reference someone who would not speak about you in
positive terms or who doesn't know you well enough to give a strong
reference. If an individual is neutral or has a reservation about
serving as a reference for you, look elsewhere. This is one of the
critical reasons for seeking permission
from potential references in advance. |
| |
|
|
| Getting
permission from your references |
| • |
DO contact each individual
whom you are asking to serve as your reference. Secure his/her permission
IN ADVANCE. |
| • |
DON'T ever
give someone's name as a reference without that person's permission.
It will not advance your cause of becoming employed if a prospective
employer calls or e-mails a person you have listed as a reference, only to
find out the reference is surprised to be contacted. Before you give
a name of a reference, make sure that person is comfortable with
serving in that capacity. Don't assume anything. |
| • |
When you secure permission,
verify all details of your references' contact information, including
spelling of names, titles, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses. |
| • |
Give each person who agrees
to serve as a reference for you a copy of your resume (or vita).
This lets your references know about your interests, abilities and
experiences. A faculty member may know your academic skills and
an employer may know your on-the-job characteristics, but each may
not be aware of the other facets of your background. Keeping your
references well-informed will help them serve as better references
for you. |
| • |
Keep your references posted
on your activities and progress. Tell your references the names
of persons and organizations to whom you’ve given their names.
When possible, give them a copy of the job description for the positions
for which you are applying. This helps your references be prepared
to be contacted. |
| • |
Thank each reference in
writing for his/her assistance. |
| • |
DON'T view
communicating with your references as bothering them. Brief, cordial
e-mail or phone messages show that you are businesslike about your
job search, and that you appreciate your references. Communicating
makes it easier for your references to help you. |
| |
|
|
| When
to give your reference list to a prospective employer |
| • |
Provide reference information
when you are asked to provide it. If you reach the interview stage
and have not been asked for references, you may offer your reference
list. |
| • |
Generally do not send
reference information with your resume unless it has been specifically
requested. |
| • |
Contacting references
is time-consuming, and most employers will do some initial screening
of candidates — by reviewing resumes and narrowing the candidate pool, and perhaps conducting interviews
— before contacting references. |
| • |
For most undergraduates,
employers will not be contacting references prior to interviewing
you. |
| |
|
| |
| Where
to list references |
| • |
On a resume DON'T.
It is unneccessary to state "References available upon
request" — and is often a waste of valuable space —
because most employers assume you can supply references. They expect
them on separate page when requested. |
| • |
On a curriculum
vitae DO list references. It is customary practice to include
your reference list on this document. |
| |
|
| |
| Reference
page |
| • |
DO create a reference
page to list your references. |
| • |
For each reference
person, include full name, title, organization with which the person
is affiliated, complete address, phone number and e-mail address. |
| • |
Salutations prior to names:
A person with a medical, Ph.D. or other doctoral-level degree is addressed as "Dr. (name)" regardless of gender.
Persons who do not hold a doctoral or medical degree are addressed as "Mr." or "Ms." (Marital status, reflected by "Miss" and "Mrs." are irrelevant to business communication.)
While it is not necessary to place "Mr." or "Ms." before a person's name on a reference list, consider doing this IF a person's gender is not obvious from the name (increasingly common) AND IF you think the employers to whom you are giving your resume might send correspondence (hard copy or e-mail) to your references. This simply enables them to use the appropriate salutation. (Think about times you might have seen a job ad, with instructions to write to "Chris Jones." With a name like Chris, you don't know whether to use "Ms." or "Mr." and you don't want to be wrong! |
| • |
Make absolutely
sure you have spelled your references' names correctly. |
| • |
Your name
and contact information should be at the heading of the page —
just like it appears on your resume. |
| • |
See sample
reference page. |
| |
|
| |
| What
should references say? |
| If your references
are not sure what to say, refer them to writing
reference letters — on the faculty and staff section of
our web site — which lists professional resources. |
| Encourage
references to mention: |
| • |
The capacity
in which they know/knew you (i.e., you were a summer intern and
she was your supervisor), |
| • |
Time frame
of the relationship (i.e., since summer of 2004 or has known the candidate
for four years), and |
| • |
Positive qualities
demonstrated in the capacity in which they knew you (i.e., trained
other employees, designed floor plans on CAD, and presented proposals
to clients). |
| |
|
| |
| What
about generic letters of recommendation? |
| An individual might offer
to write a generic letter of reference for you, perhaps addressed
"To whom it may concern" or something similar. Is this
useful? |
| • |
If a potential
employer requires letters of reference with your application (typical
for positions in academia, for example), it is preferrable for the
reference letter to be written directly to the recipient, rather
than a generic "to whom it may concern" letter. |
| • |
An individualized
letter is generally taken more seriously. |
| • |
However, if
you are uncomfortable about asking a reference to write a number
of personalized letters, or if your reference will be out of reach
(on sabbatical, assignment abroad, etc.) during your job search,
a "to whom it may concern letter" could serve your purposes. |
| • |
Be aware that
in general, employers will consult references after screening resumes
and interviewing. Some potential employers prefer to call your references
and speak directly with them. So while a letter written in advance
by your reference, and offered to the employer by you at the time
of the interview (along with your reference list), doesn't hurt,
it is not neccessary to solicit these. |
| |
|
| |
| Legal
issues relating to references |
| • |
Be aware that some employers
have a policy of not giving references. They may confirm dates
of employment, but otherwise be unwilling to comment about a former
(or current) employee for legal reasons. |
| • |
This is due
to concerns about litigation if there are any negative consequences
arising from a reference statement. |
| • |
Before you
assume that a former (or current) employer will serve as a reference
for you, ask. |
| • |
If organization (agency, company, etc.)
policy prohibits a formal reference, consider if you had a supervisor
or coworker in a higher level position who clearly valued your contributions, integrity,
and work ethic. Perhaps he or she would serve as an informal reference
or speak off-the-record on your behalf. |
|
|
| More on this topic offsite: |
| • |
Do references really matter? Wall Street Journal |
