Q.  What should I do to receive a good reference?  What should I do to give a good reference?

A.  Whether the economy is good or bad, there will be multiple points in your career where you will need a reference from, or be asked to give a reference for, a subordinate, peer, or boss.

With respect to receiving a good reference, here are a few things to keep in mind throughout your career:

People matter.  Always treat people with respect and courtesy, regardless of pay grade or function.  And remember the Golden Rule:  “Do unto to others as you have them do unto you.”

Be a helper.  Help people and make them successful rather than back-stab.  If there is credit for a success, share it.

Do your best.  Always do a good job and deliver on your commitments; you never know who will see your performance on what project and where that person will be in the future.  You also never know who an executive recruiter or potential employer knows and will call.

Keep confidences confidential.

Stay positive and objective.  Never bad-mouth people, products, your company, customers, or others.

Think ahead.  Where possible, take on work and volunteer assignments that build towards your future career objectives.

Stay in touch with your network on a regular basis.

Give back to your network, don’t just ask for help.

With respect to giving a good reference, I follow my own advice to think before speaking and my mother’s advice that if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.  Here are some additional thoughts on giving a good reference:

Be selective.  Give references only for people that you have a positive impression of; otherwise, recuse yourself.

Refresh your memory.  What were your interactions with this person?  What assignments have they had?  What are their strengths and opportunities for improvement?

Pick your themes.  Consider the job that the person is applying for.  Which of their strengths are relevant to this job and potentially future jobs at this employer?  What themes do you want to stress in your reference?

Prepare for these two questions:

Why should we hire this person?  This is where you should give your elevator pitch for the person that focuses on the themes developed above.

What are this person’s weaknesses?  Think carefully and objectively about this answer, particularly your choice of words and tone.  Everyone has areas for improvement.  The last thing you want to do is make a “B” grade in a secondary skill area sound like a “C” grade in a primary skill area.

Be honest.  Your credibility is on the line with this reference.

Keep it brief.  A meandering answer reflects badly on you and may inadvertently hurt the candidate.  You never know when you may be looking for a job with the same executive recruiter or a reference from this candidate!

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