Got References?

All over the United States (and other countries in the Northern Hemisphere), high school and college students are beginning to heave sighs of relief.  Now that finals are over, many of you hope to get summer jobs.  That means, you’ll need references.  It’s good to have three to five letters of recommendation. Prospective employers usually want three.  If you have more, you can rotate the ones you use. 

The suggestions below are divided depending on if you are out of school or still in.

Out of school already?  No problem, but act quickly.  If your best references are from teachers or school staff, you'll need to get references before people take off for the summer. These eight steps can be done in a day.

1. If you’ve worked before you will want to have references from your previous employers.  Unless an older letter of recommendation made it look as though you could walk on water, references should be no more than two years old.

2.  Get in touch by phone with anyone whose letter of recommendation you intend to use.  Why phone?  It’s more immediate and personal. And, it takes less time for you to ask questions and get answers.

• Let your former boss know that you are job hunting and that you intend to use their reference.
•  If you wouldn’t mind working there again, do inquire if they intend to hire summer workers.
•  If not, let your former boss know the kind of work you seek, or your best skills.  Get suggestions from them as new kinds of jobs you might seek and businesses or agencies that might be hiring for those jobs.

3.  Were you away at school?  Did you work or volunteer?  Did you get a letter of recommendation before you left?  If not, get back in touch immediately with your supervisor and request a letter of recommendation.

4.  If you haven’t worked before, you’ll want to have personal letter of recommendation (as opposed to one from a former employer).  Who knows you well enough to comment on your character or work ethic?  Teachers, coaches, youth group leaders, your spiritual leaders, supervisors from any volunteer work and even neighbors all good sources for references. 

     Don’t worry if you weren’t an A student.  Was there a teacher you really clicked with?  A teacher or coach who challenged you to do your best, and you did?  Good teachers and coaches take note of those who give it their all, even if that person doesn’t earn the best grade.

5.  When you find someone willing to write you a positive reference, ask—politely—if they can have it to you in a week or two.  While you don’t want to pressure them, getting that reference in August, won’t been helpful for getting a summer job. Remember to ask if they have any suggestions for the kind of jobs you might seek or businesses that are hiring.

6.  Some of the people you contact may say, “Have a potential employer call me.”

They may prefer giving verbal recommendations.  Again, it’s quicker than writing a formal letter.  But, make sure that they aren’t just saying this because they either don’t remember you or don’t want to tell you their reference won’t be positive.

• Deal with both straight out.  Ask if this person remembers you.  If not, they certainly won’t know the kind of details about you that make them a good reference.  Thank them for their time, but skip asking for a letter.  If they do remember you, ask if they are able to give you a positive recommendation.  Yup, intimidating as all heck but very necessary.  Rehearse standing in front of a mirror until you feel comfortable with the words coming out of your mouth.
• TIP:  When you make phone calls for letters of recommendation or during your job search, try to do so in front of a mirror and smile.  It’s a technique that’s been documented as making a difference in how your voice is heard.

7.  Don’t wait until you’ve got the letters to start job hunting.  If you’ve gotten promises of references, get going.  Ask your letter writers if it’s okay to give out their contact information (email address or phone number) as you start your job search.  If they say yes, you can put names and contact info in the reference section of an application or on your skills summary. 

8.  Hoping for an internship? If you are lucky enough to land a job—paid or not--that’s in the field or industry you hope to work in when you graduate, it might qualify for a formal internship.  Before people scatter for the summer, get back in touch with your school’s career center, internship program or work experience coordinator.  Ask for internship guidelines and other paperwork that your supervisor will need to fill out.  You may be able to get units or school credit for your internship.  But, it’s easier if you and your job supervisor start out knowing the forms and regulations. Plus, knowing your school’s rules for an internship, especially if they are fairly simple, may be able to help you talk an employer into letting you do one.

Still in school?

Under the avalanche of end of term projects and papers, getting reference letters may seem just one task too many.  Broken down into 20 minutes steps, it can be done, even while studying for finals.  Spend a little less time on social media and just a bit on setting yourself up for a job-hunt.

1.  This week.  Set a timer for 20 minutes.  Identify which of your current letters of recommendation you want to use.  Get back in touch with the letter writer.  Remind them of who you are and when your job hunt will start.  Again, ask for suggestions as to the kind of work they think you are best at and leads to those kinds of jobs.

2.  If you don’t get to everyone on your list, before Friday, do another 20 minutes session.

3.  Next week, use your 20 minutes to identify likely sources of new letters of recommendation.  Email may work better as most people in a school environment are busy this time of year.  However, if you did a project or had a job last semester, you may first want to inquire if they remember you well enough to write a letter! 

4.  Challenge yourself to get your requests for letters of recommendation done before Friday, May 20^th (2011).

5.  Let your letter writers know that you hope to receive their letter by Memorial Weekend.  If you really want a summer job, avoid the temptation to party all weekend.  Spend at least two days job hunting.  Party one day,

At the end of the summer, if you’ve done well at your job or volunteer position, be sure to get letters of recommendation before you leave.  That will save you time next summer or whenever you next look for work.

You’ll find more on letters of recommendation, using social media in your job hunt and job-hunting techniques that really work, in the latest edition of What Color Is Your Parachute for Teens.