Learn About Professional References

Learn About Professional ReferencesLearn About Professional ReferencesYou may have recently seen a note in a job posting that an applicant should provide professional references along with a resume or as part of a job application. Or perhaps youve been asked for alist of referencesafter you had an interview with a company. What exactly are professional references? Who should you use to provide those references? Professional Reference A professional reference is a recommendation from a person who can vouch for your qualifications for a job. A professional reference for an experienced worker is typically a former employer, a colleague, a client, a vendor, a supervisor, or someone else who can recommend you for employment. Recent college graduates might also tap professors, coaches, and college personnel who were advisers for your activities. The key is picking references who have observed you acting in a productive capacity where you displayed your skills and credentials for employ ment. These differ frompersonal or character references, which are much mora personal references. The professional reference is speaking mainly to the applicants employability and work-related qualities, as opposed to their personal or character traits. Personal references may be helpful at times, but dont be tempted to submit a personal reference as a substitute when the job listing or interviewer specifically requires a professional reference. Find the Ideal Reference Consider thequalifications for your target jobwhen yourechoosing individuals to act as your references.Ask yourself who can vouch for the skills and attributes in your background that are most critical for success in that job. Your mix of references might differ based on the varied requirements of the positions for which you are applying. The ideal reference will be able to speak in a very specific way about your assets and back up her assertions with examples from your work.An individual who can only provide vag ue positive references to your strengths may be less convincing. So, youll want to place a priority on people who know your work quite well as opposed to picking the most prestigious or highest-ranking individual. Think of your most successful roles first and consider individuals who can attest to how you engineered those achievements.For example, maybe you had a close relationship with your academic adviser but when you took her four courses, you only got C and B grades. In this case, you might not want to select her as a professional reference. Instead, youd be better off with references from someone else. Maybe tap another professor for whom you earned two As, as long as she knows you well enough and is willing to help. Make aya the individual you select is comfortable providing a positive recommendation for you.Many candidates make the mistake of assuming a person will provide a strong endorsement when they are only prepared to provide a somewhat positive evaluation of your perf ormance. Find Out What They Are Going to Say The best way to gain a perspective on how a prospective reference might represent your background is to ask them to compose a recommendation for your file.Try writing a recommendation for your references on LinkedIn and then ask them toreturn the favor. When requesting that an individual act as a reference, ask Are you comfortable providing a very positive recommendation for me for a financial analyst job? Im trying to make a strong case for my candidacy.Making your requestin writing is usually the best approach so a reluctant individual can decline more comfortably. If youre concerned about getting a bad reference, reviewtips for handling them. You may be able to offset a negative reference from an employer with a positive one from a different professional connection. 137 7 Things That Make a Recommendation Letter Stand Out How to Provide References to Employers When you apply for a job, you may be asked for alist of profession al referenceseither after ajob interview or in some cases when you apply for a job. Heres how to handle it When you provide a professional reference to a prospective employer, include the persons name, job title, company, address, phone number,and email address.Create a list of references to have ready to share with prospective employers.Be sure that you have the personspermission to use them as a referencebefore you give out their contact information.Keep your references appraised of your progress with the hiring process and give them a heads up if you think they might be contacted. If there are particular issues that have come upduring your interview let your references to those concerns. They may be able to address the issue during a reference check. A well-prepared reference will usually be able to provide a more detailed and convincing recommendation when contacted. Be sure to thank anyone who gives you a reference. A short note or email is all it takes, and people want to know when their efforts are appreciated.