UMD Career Services

Asking for References

Whether you are job hunting or applying to graduate or professional school, gathering references is a very important part of the process. Deciding who to ask to be your references and then asking them can be difficult. To make it easier, plan ahead. Make an effort to develop and cultivate positive relationships with those who may later serve as references for you. When the time comes, it will be easier if you have many people to choose from who know you well enough to provide detailed information about your skills and abilities.

• References should come from people who know you from an academic or work setting. Personal references should not be submitted unless they are specifically requested. To begin the process of choosing references, identify likely candidates from among people you know such as professors, employers, supervisors, advisors, customers, or business associates.
• Choose your references carefully. References will do the most good if they are provided by people who know you well, think highly of you, and can provide specific comments rather than vague generalizations. Letters of recommendation are best if they are written by people who also have excellent written communication skills. The positions or notoriety of people are less important than what they have to say about you and how well they say it.
• To decide who to ask to be your references, think of your audience. If you are applying for employment, generally work references are best. If you are applying to graduate school, faculty references usually carry more weight.
• When applying for employment you will usually be asked to supply a list of references. The list includes names, titles, professional street and e-mail addresses, and telephone numbers of people who have agreed to serve as your references. If you are asked to submit written letters of recommendation, you may either provide copies of general letters of recommendation which you already have, or request that each of your references write a letter directed specifically to the employer.
• When applying to graduate or professional school, the programs will usually provide their own reference forms or will provide specific instructions about the type of people from whom they want references and what they want them to write about.
• If a list of references is to be included with your resume and cover letter, the same high quality printing should be done on matching paper.
• Letters of recommendation are best when written on the professional letterhead stationary of the people supplying the letters.
• If you are not specifically asked to submit written letters of recommendation, you may still want to include copies of ones you already have, particularly if they are especially positive and strong.
• Be courteous to your references. Ask in advance if you may use their names as references. They will also need time to write letters, so do not ask at the last minute. Provide them with information regarding the application process and ask if they can meet the deadlines.
• Find out, from those who have agreed to be references for you, what information from you would be helpful to them. You may want to supply them with a copy of your resume and/or personal statement, a copy of your transcript, a list of courses you have taken from them, a list of contacts you have had with them, copies of research papers you have written, and/or a list of skills you possess that you would like them to highlight. Information about the programs or employers to whom you are applying may help them provide more effective recommendations. The more information you give them, the more detailed and thorough they can be.
• Provide your references with the appropriate recommendation form if one is required. Include envelopes that you have stamped and addressed to the program or employer to help ensure that the letters will reach the appropriate destination.
• Recommendation forms for graduate or professional programs may ask you to indicate whether you wish to waive the right to see the recommendation. Waiving the right to see a letter may increase its validity.
• If you already have a job or do not plan to apply for further education at this time, you may want to collect letters of recommendation and keep them in a file for use later. When the time comes that you need people as references, you can supply them with the appropriate supporting material about you as well as a copy of what they had written, perhaps years earlier, to help them remember you and remind them of specific details.
• For employment, usually three references is the standard request but you may supply up to five. Providing any more than five may suggest to an employer that you are desperate and insecure, trying to get as many people as possible to say good things about you, or that you are unorganized and unable to prioritize.
• For graduate and professional schools, one letter of recommendation may be all that is required. The number and type of references depends on the individual school or program, so be sure that you clearly understand the requirements. If you would like to deviate from the requirements, check with the program or school to see whether it is acceptable.
• Finally, write each of your references to thank them for their time and let them know you appreciate their efforts. Keep them informed of your activities.