What To Tell Clients About References

My lovely colleague Sharon Williams of JobRockIt put out a late night request on Facebook last night for a client who needed information about reference letter formats. 

Although “letters of reference” have fallen out of favor in recent years, there is something to be said for our clients getting a reference letter from your manager or supervisor when they leave a company (especially if they leave on good terms). Having the reference letter provides the jobseeker with something to use in the event they're not able to find their former manager in the future. It can also help the manager refresh his or her memory if the client asks them to provide a phone reference in the future. And, as a resume writer, you can take excerpts of that reference letter and incorporate them into the resume and cover letter (this was the "original" use of the term "Endorsements" before LinkedIn co-opted it!). If the client's supervisor isn't on LinkedIn, the jobseeker can also excerpt or reprint the reference letter in his or her Summary, providing a powerful testimonial when a formal LinkedIn Recommendation isn't possible.

What are some elements of a great reference letter? Reference letters should be professional in tone and format. Effective letters of recommendation verify experience, confirm competence, and build credibility. The letters can be written by former employers, supervisors, and managers with first-hand knowledge of the employee’s work.

A reference letter may cover:

•      Previous positions held in the company

•      Summary of job responsibilities

•      Strengths, skills, and talents

•      Ability to work independently as well as with a team

•      Accomplishments

With both letters of reference and LinkedIn Recommendations, advise your jobseeker clients to choose someone who can write well, who knows them well, and who thinks highly of them. Make the process as easy as possible for the manager/supervisor by providing information needed to develop a positive, accurate reference. (At a minimum, the client should provide a copy of their resume to the individual; if you think it would be helpful, also consider having the jobseeker provide a short list of their accomplishments in the role, or bullet points of key points related to their position.)

When advising clients about references and LinkedIn Recommendations, the following two Pass-Along Materials make excellent resources:

Jobseeker's Guide to References

How to Give — and Get — LinkedIn Recommendations

Remember, with Pass-Along Materials, you can put your own contact information on these materials and provide them to clients as a bonus or you can sell them.

Helping Clients With How to Write LinkedIn Recommendations

LinkedIn is increasingly important in our clients' job searches -- and the role of Recommendations is growing too. September's Pass-Along Materials content on BeAResumeWriter.com focuses on how to give -- and get -- LinkedIn Recommendations.

You must either be connected to the individual you wish to Recommend or know his or her email address. Also, the individual must have a valid LinkedIn account. You may find it easiest to use the "select from your connections list" in the "Make a Recommendation" section.

You can also make a Recommendation from the individual's profile page directly:

(Note: In the Pass-Along Materials, the screen shots are of a fictionalized profile. You can also replace the screen shots with your own profile, like I did above with my own LinkedIn profile)

Some things to consider before writing a Recommendation are:

• What are they good at?
• What did they do better than anyone else?
• What impact did they have on me? (How did they make my life better/easier?)
• What surprised you about the individual?

Within the Recommendation, you want to include four things (this is an excerpt of the full "Formula for a LinkedIn Profile"):

• How you know the person
• Why you recommend them
• A story that backs up your Recommendation (providing "social proof")
• A call to action

Your finished Recommendation might look like this (this is an example of the type of notification email you'll receive when someone Recommends you):

Resume writers -- learn more about the "How to Give -- and Get -- LinkedIn Recommendations" Pass-Along Materials package. It's brandable content you can use in your own resume writing business.

Here's what you can do with this content (you can edit the report or use it "as is"):

• Use it as a free giveaway to build your prospect mailing list or sell it.
• Tweet excerpts or post updates to Facebook and/or LinkedIn using the tips in the content.
• Break it into sections and use it as a series of blog posts or articles on your website. 
• Turn it into a video and use it to drive traffic to your website.
• Use it as a a script or an outline for a webinar.
• Make it a handout for a LinkedIn training class.
• Add it as a bonus for a LinkedIn membership program or training.

Because it's provided in Microsoft Word format, you can change out the screen shots to feature your own profile, and you can add to -- or edit -- any of the content.

If you are a Bronze member of BeAResumeWriter.com (just $10/month), you can access this content in the Paid Member Resources section from now until Oct. 9, 2012. Or, you can purchase the package at this link: How to Give -- and Get -- LinkedIn Recommendations.