Personal reference: what it is and how to use it to look for employment

A mini-guide to understand what personal references are, how they are made and how to use them.

Every day thousands of jobs are applied for. Hundreds of job interviews are conducted every hour in which the job applicant must show his or her best in order to be hired.

However, although the professional interview and the resume are two very useful tools to know the suitability of a person for a particular job or, also, to be accepted in a volunteer or NGO, they do not allow to know the person completely.

This is why many employers ask for personal referencesThis is why many employers ask for personal references, that is, for a third party to indicate whether the person looking for a job is who they say they are, whether they would recommend them for the job they are looking for, or whether they have the qualities they indicate on their resume.

Given the increasing importance of this type of documents, in this article we are going to talk about what personal references are, as well as explaining the steps to follow to elaborate them and some examples.

What are personal references?

A personal reference is a document made by a person who makes a reference about another person. In this document, information about the work, academic and personal conduct of the person referenced is indicated.. By indicating this, it is implied that the person mentioned in the personal reference is trustworthy.

This document can be addressed to different organizations, either a company in which the referenced person is trying to be hired, or an educational institution such as a university or a specialized institute.

In this way, a company, in addition to having the information obtained through the resume and through the professional interview, has another source that certifies what was observed in these two tools. It gives veracity to what the referenced person has indicated when he/she contacted the institution.

In many cases, personal references and letters of recommendation serve the same purpose and are presented in a similar way. and are presented in a similar way.

The person writing the personal reference may be a former co-worker, an employer, family or any person who is related to the person and who may be expected to play an important role in receiving the advantage.

It should be noted that in a world where new technologies have taken over practically everything, it is very important to take care of social network profiles, since they can be used as personal references. It is enough for the employer to enter the name and surname of the person applying for the job in the search engine and consult the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram profiles to get an idea of the type of person who has applied for the job.

Steps to draw up a personal reference.

Knowing what the letter of recommendation should contain is of fundamental importance for a good reference to be given. To achieve this, the following steps must be followed.

First, you must specify the personal data of the person making the reference, i.e., full name and identity document. Contact details, such as e-mail and telephone number, should also be added.

This data is very important, especially when the personal reference is addressed to a company that is interested in hiring the person who has asked us to write this document. This is because this type of document will only be effective if the recruiter can confirm the information..

In the reference you should indicate how you know the person, either because you worked with him/her or because you are related to him/her. In either case you should specify the relationship and how long you have known each other.

You should explain the work that the person you are recommending has done.. For this, it is also convenient to emphasize the qualities, both professional and personal, that can help you to be hired in the new company or in the place where you are interested in being accepted.

To whom should this type of documents be requested?

In the case of needing a personal reference, especially to apply for a job, the most appropriate thing to do is to go to a person you trust but who can offer a testimony that benefits you.

The correct thing would be that, when preparing the document, this person should do it as objectively as possible; however, in practice, it is advisable to highlight those aspects that are beneficial and try to downplay those that may hinder the hiring in the new job.

Some examples of people to approach are mentors, former co-workers, bosses, training/university lecturers, teachers, and other people who can help you with your new job.training/college professors, or frequent customers.

Examples

See several examples of personal references used in job application processes..

1. Example grocery store

To whom it may concern,

I, (MY NAME), recruiter for (COMPANY NAME), have known (REFERRED NAME) for X number of years. He worked for me during that period of time and was characterized as a professional, punctual and respectful person, in addition to gaining the trust of the clientele.

(REFERRED NAME) maintained outstanding hygienic conditions in the store. He took care of the cleanliness every day and prevented the merchandise from rotting and attracting pests. He was respectful to the rest of the store employees, maintaining a good work dynamic and no complaints about it. Although his departure from our company is a fact that is not pleasant for us, we are pleased that he is interested in expanding his knowledge by working in other stores.

I remain at your disposal should you require any further information about my former employee (NAME REFERRED).

Respectfully yours, (MY NAME) Identity document (NUMBER) Telephone numbers: (NUMBER)

2. Childcare monitor position

To whom it may concern,

I, (MY NAME), of (NATIONALITY), of legal age and holder of identity card (NUMBER), declare that I have known and treated (REFERRED NAME) since (YEAR).

In the years she worked in our day care center, she treated the children excellently, besides getting them to calm down easily and knowing how to mediate their conflicts. It was a great pity when, for family reasons, she was forced to move to another city.

I trust that in the new nursery he will know how to manage in the same way as he did in ours, so I am pleased to give good testimony of his person.

I remain available for further information.

Best regards, (MY NAME) Identity Document N° (NUMBER) Telephone numbers: (NUMBER) [email protected]

3. Car workshop

Dear (EMPLOYERS NAME),

I am writing to highly recommend (REFERRED NAME), who was my co-worker for X years. During that period, (REFERRED NAME) proved to be a person committed to (COMPANY NAME).

His ability to concentrate, his ability to weld and his total respect for safety standards make him the ideal candidate to be hired as a new mechanic in your auto shop. If you talk to (NAME OF TRAINING INSTITUTE), you will be able to see his excellent grades while studying mechanics. I am available to assist you by email or phone.

(MY NAME) Identity document (NUMBER) Telephone numbers: (NUMBER) [email protected]

Bibliographic references

• Doyle, Alison (2017). What is a Personal Reference? Retrieved from: thebalance.com.
• Total Jobs (2017). What are personal references? Retrieved from: totaljobs.com.