Letters of reference really serve only a limited purpose, which I will explain latter.  In general, a letter of reference is less useful to an employer than a list of references he or she can call. For the most part, employers know that the candidate is going to choose supporters who won’t say anything negative—and if something negative is found in the letter, you will likely not find it attached to the person’s resume. 

Also, it is important to recognize that there are two kinds of reference letters, one which refers to a person’s character (which might come from a minister, a civic or charitable organization, or even one’s friend).  The other type of reference is work related and comes from a supervisor/manager, coworker, or client/customer for example.  If the reference is from a spouse or relative as the employer it can only be taken as a character reference. 

If you really want to impress the HR recruiter have a list of people who may be contacted for work references.  Include working relationship and for how long, with a current telephone number and mailing address.  

If you (yourself) are approached to write a reference letter you can always request to be added to the reference list instead. That way you can ask the potential employer about the job duties and you will be in a position to give lots of examples that relate to the specific position.  But, before doing any of this you must check your organization’s/company’s policy regarding references.  Because of the potential for litigation over bad references, some employers will only allow payroll titles and dates of employment to be given out. 

Over the years I have never had much luck with the reference letters that I have requested from my employers.  It has been a combination of the letters being too generic, or applauding me for the wrong skill/knowledge (that is other than the one I was presently trying to market), or the person simply did not know how to write a work reference letter.  

On the occasion when nothing else will do, but to have a letter of reference, be sure the person you are requesting it from has the basic points you want covered.  Likewise, if you are the letter preparer follow these suggestions: 

• State who you are as the preparer of the letter and what working relationship you had with the individual and for how long. 

• List a few of the relevant job responsibilities of the individual and give specific examples of his or her results in each area.  If describing work on a project team, tell exactly what the person did, versus the accomplishment of the team.  Avoid using language that sounds like you are reading a copy of a job description, that is if you don’t want the recruiter to cringe. 

• If the person was a good team player, had a great work ethic and didn’t abuse time off over the course of four years, or was well-respected by clients, say so. How the person performed is as important as what he or she did.  My former secretary at Maricopa County (Phoenix, AZ) said she got her subsequent job with the District Attorney’s Office based in large part on the recommendation I gave her with positive comments on her work ethics. 

• Finally, make a personal statement about how strongly you would recommend this person.  This might be a little touchy, because you may not know the particular demands of the new position being sought.   But, you can generalize the statement to the areas of particular competence. 

• Offer to be contacted in person if the employer wants more details.  This is the limited, but real value of a reference letter; letting the potential employer know that you are available for further contact. 

I have had the occasion where I received a telephone call for a refference and couldn’t really recommend this person with a clear conscience (even though the organization would be better off without him). I had to beg off by saying, “I think so and so would be a better reference for that employee.” And,” I didn’t really work with the employee for that long a period, so I don’t have enough information.” 

As it turned out the other person in the organization who I referred the caller to had no scruples at all, and gave the employee a glowing recommendation.  Three weeks later the employee was gone… off to his new job.

If you are really stuck in a situation, whether there is a phone call from a prospective employer asking for a candidate reference, or a person is in front of you asking for a letter of recommendation, you can always pull out the old stand by, “Sorry, I don’t like giving recommendations for anyone.” Of course, if you get this reply you will know why.