Have you ever wondered why some people are hesitant to refer their family, friends or even colleagues to perform work for someone else? What does it take to get a job referral or letter of recommendation? The key to getting a referral is not just having a history with someone, but having a history of success with this person.
How to get referrals:
- History of completion – projects are completed when you’re involved
- History of success – projects are done on time or ahead of schedule when you’re involved
- Be credible – worthy of belief; trustworthy
- Be excellent – exceed my expectations
When asked for a referral I run through my network list and ask these questions.
Referral questions:
- Have I worked with this person before?
- Has this person performed this kind of job before?
- Did they do an excellent job?
- Did they complete the job?
- Did they do it in a reasonable amount of time?
- Would I have them on my team again?
- Can I trust this person to uphold my reputation?
If I can answer yes to all these questions, I will refer this person.
Why, would I go through all this trouble to ask these referral questions?
It all boils down to reputation. A bad referral can weaken a solid reputation.
The next time you ask for a referral or a recommendation, don’t feel bad if they tell you, I’m sorry, but I cannot give you a referral at this time. Don’t get upset. Please, respect them for their integrity. This means that their referral will be respected by others that know them. Be excited that they said “at this time.” This means a referral from them could happen in the future if they can answer yes to their list referral questions. Let that be your motivation to complete that project above and beyond their expectations. After you have completed the project, you can ask them again, “Now that I have completed this project with you, how about giving me that referral now?”
You never know, that’s all it might take to get that outstanding review you’ve been looking for.
Very nice article Wes!! Requesting and providing a recommendation should not be taken lightly. It is your reputation on the line, treat the recommendation accordingly. As a transitioning professional, I have received unsolicited recommendations and had to ask for recommendations. Your perspective is right on. You provide information on what to do to get a recommendation once you have proven your abilities to the person you are requesting a recommendation from.
How does one address a situation when you request a recommendation from a colleague and that colleague asks you to write your own recommendation? Is this an acceptable practice or should you politely ignore the request?
Thanks,
Monique
Monique,
Some colleagues do asks the requester to write their own recommendation then submit it for review, I don’t really have a problem with that. Here’s why. Who knows best all the ways you contributed to the team? That would be you. Depending on the distance from the project, the recommender might not remember or maybe was not aware of all the little things you did to bring the project to its successful conclusion. So go ahead and toot your horn a little, as long as it’s truthful. Just don’t forget to word it in the third person, perhaps in the same style the recommender would use.
One additional note, as the receiver of a request for recommendation, you might want the requester to refresh your memory of all the ways they have contributed to the success of your project or team. It doesn’t hurt to request some feedback to help the recommendation be closer to what they were looking for in the first place.
I hope this helped, Wes