Four Sources of Quality References Other Than Your Current or Former Employer

INTRODUCTION:

A job seeker asked, ‘What can I do if my former job won’t give me a reference for my new job?”

RESPONSE:

This question got me thinking about the number of people who might face this situation. To my knowledge, only employers in the financial services industry are required, by law, to provide employment references. So, let’s face it. Not every employer will give a reference for former employees.

But, lets consider the purpose of a reference check. It is your new employer’s attempt to validate their assessment of your ability to join their team and to perform your assigned job duties successfully. One thing they don’t want to do is to jeopardize your current employment situation. So, they may be willing to accept quality references from other sources. Today, we’re sharing with you four sources of quality references other than your current or former employer.

QUALITY REFERENCE SOURCES:

1. Former Colleagues – Former coworkers who have worked with you on projects and other work assignments, day-in and day-out, can speak from a first hand, personal perspective, about your work ethic, the quality of your work, and your interpersonal skills.
2. Teachers or Professors – Never count a current or former teacher, professor, or instructor out as a quality reference source. They too, can speak about your work quality, your planning, your ability to work within deadline-driven environments and more.
3. Client or Customer Reference – Any employer wants to make sure that their new team member with treat customers with respect and provide quality customer service. So, who better to speak about the level of customer service that you provide, than a current or former customer or client? The can share with your new employer, their assessment of your dependability, your ownership of their issue or concern, and the quality of the service that you provide.
4. Letters of Recommendation on LinkedIn – Last, but not least, letters of recommendation on linked in are awesome sources of quality references. The great thing is that colleagues, teachers, or customers can write one for you and submit it to your LinkedIn profile. So, don’t be shy about asking that person who always complements you verbally on how well you provide service to them, to write a letter of recommendation for you. I recommend that, in order to keep you profile updated and refreshed, you find at one or two different people from the groups mentioned above, to write a letter for you every six months. The neat thing is that prospective employers will see a pattern of your awesome work referenced in each recommendation letter and that will build their confidence in your ability to do the job and do it well.

IN CONCLUSION:

So, don’t despair because your former employer won’t give a reference to your new employer. You have several other reliable sources of quality references who can speak about your positive characteristics related to the workplace. This is one of the reasons why it is so important to always be your best and to develop positive workplace relationships.

I hope that today’s post has been helpful to you. If it has, please share it. Then, like it, subscribe, comment, or ask a question. I might feature your comment or question in a future post.

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Until next time, Career Search Success to You! Go Get Your New Job!