How to Get the Best Reference Letters
A client is being downsized from her employer, a Fortune 100 firm. Knowing that she will be leaving in 4 weeks, she asked me if she should be asking for reference letters from her peers and managers. My answer surprised her.
“Yes, of course you should get reference letters,” I said. But here is a better way. Let me write them for you so you get across the most important points that will impress a potential employer, and then give the letter to your cronies. Tell them you didn’t want to waste a lot of their time so you took the liberty of writing a letter in advance. Of course they can make changes and approve it.
The result? You are more likely to get the reference letters done and they will say what you want them to say. A nice technique that benefits everyone.
