Who Should I Ask for a Letter of Recommendation When Applying for a New Position?
The job search is stressful anyway, so you do not want to put added stress on yourself by wondering who you should ask to be your reference or letter of recommendation writer when you get to that stage of the application process where you have already tinkered with your resume, written and rewritten your cover letter, secured an interview, and done all the busy work of filling out an online application for or extra test for the job.
So who should you ask for a letter of recommendation, and how do you make sure you do not give up the job by making a mistake at this stage of the job search process? Continue reading to learn more about securing a good reference and letter of recommendation writer. Read http://www.ehow.com/how_172509_write-recommendation-letter.html for more tips in writing recommendation letters.
The first thing to think about is, if you already have a job, not to ask someone who you currently work with. You may have a coworker or current supervisor who would make great References, but you do not want to risk it, even if you trust them. To have people in your office find out that you are actively seeking a new job could jeopardize your current one, which is not something that you want at all. So, you can ask former supervisors or coworkers for references or to write you letters of recommendation if you are asked for professional references, and if you are asked for personal references, these can be people whom you know outside of work but who are not your family members or direct relatives.
Asking for a Reference. To ask someone to be your reference for this job application or to write you a letter of recommendation for it, you want to approach them formally, and someone with whom you had a good relationship. Some people make the mistake of thinking it is best to approach someone who has an impressive title or who has a big name in your industry, but this is actually a bad choice. The reason is that this person might not have known you very well, and it will show in their letter of recommendation or reference interview, or worse, they will give you a bad review. You want to ask someone who knows your work and who you are one hundred percent sure will say good things about you. If this happens to be someone with the aforementioned clout in your industry, it is perfectly fine to ask him or her to be your reference of write you a letter of recommendation!
