Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 3: How to use a different type of recommendation
• Method 2 of 3: How to Get the Recommendations You Need
• Method 3 of 3: How to get the job you want without referrals
• Tips

Many employers want to see one or more recommendations that would describe your professional skills and knowledge. However, for a variety of reasons, including a lack of work experience, it is not always easy to get referrals. However, the lack of references should not interfere with finding a job or applying for any position. Try to get in for an interview without the references that employers might need.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: How to use a different type of recommendation

1. 1 Provide the employer with an example of your work. If you cannot provide a contact person with whom the employer could discuss your skills and abilities, provide a sample of your work, from which it will be clear what you can do. If you have no work experience, you can use the thesis that you wrote at the university.
   • Reports, presentations, research papers, essays, articles in various publications, analytics and other documents can demonstrate your skills.
   • Exclude confidential and proprietary information from documents.
2. 2 Show the employer the results of the assessment of your performance at your previous job. In most companies, all employees go through an assessment process sooner or later. If the results of the assessment have been issued to you, make a copy for yourself. Show this assessment to a potential employer if you cannot provide a recommendation. This is especially helpful if your former employer is unable to provide you with a recommendation.
   • Exclude confidential and proprietary information from documents.
   • In addition to the results of the assessment, certificates, letters of thanks, testimonials from clients or colleagues, and awards may also be suitable.
3. 3 Use personal work recommendations instead of company recommendations. Recommendations from a company are written by an employee of the company on behalf of the organization. Officially, such a recommendation is considered a recommendation from the company. If you can't get a referral from a company on letterhead, ask a former executive or co-worker to write you a personal referral.
   • It gets harder and harder to get referrals from companies, even if you left the company for a good reason. Many employers fear lawsuits for providing both positive and negative characteristics to their former employees.
   • Personal work recommendations are recommendations from employees personally. Such a recommendation can be given by someone with whom you have worked before, but at the same time it should not be written on behalf of the company.
   • In such recommendations, the person should describe their personal experience of working with you. He does not have to write as a representative of the company.
4. 4 Provide letters of recommendation, not contact information of people with whom a potential employer can discuss your skills. Recommendations may not be oral - they can be provided in writing. A written recommendation may indicate information either that you actually worked for a company, or your skills and abilities, or both.
   • If you are fired for objective reasons (for example, layoffs), ask for a written recommendation as part of the discussion of the terms of the firing. This will be especially useful if the company is reorganized or sold, which will make it difficult to contact managers in the future.
5. 5 Know what types of referrals employers typically need. Potential employers sometimes ask for the contacts of people who can give recommendations, not in order to ask questions about the skills and knowledge of the applicant, but to make sure that the person actually worked in the specified place.
   • This type of recommendation can be provided by a former supervisor (especially if the organization is small) or an employee of the HR department. Since a potential employer will not ask personal questions about you, the person confirming that you actually worked for the company does not need to know you personally. He just needs to be able to communicate that you actually worked in this organization for a certain time.
6. 6 Agree with the potential employer on the terms of the recommendation. A potential employer will probably not like a lack of referrals. But you won't be the only job seeker without referrals. If you are asked for recommendations, ask what type they should be and how many are needed. If you don't have work recommendations, offer twice as many personal recommendations.
   • A personal recommendation is a recommendation from anyone who knows you but has never worked with you. For example, you can provide a recommendation from a friend, classmate, teammate, coach, teacher, and so on.

Method 2 of 3: How to Get the Recommendations You Need

1. 1 Look for previous supervisors and colleagues. Although several years or even more may have passed since working in the previous position, it is worth trying to find former colleagues and managers. If you can find them, ask them for guidance.
   • You can also reach out to former clients if your job involved customer service.
   • You might immediately think that you don't want to bother the people you have worked with for a long time, but remember that you will be doing this for a good reason. If they do not understand the importance of recommendations (this happens often), they are too lazy to do it (very often) or they do not know how to write recommendations, insist on your own. Perhaps a sincere phone call or meeting can help you get around the problem.
   • If you manage to find a former boss or colleague, but the person is very busy, offer to write the recommendation yourself, let the person edit it, and ask them to sign.
2. 2 Ask your supervisor and colleagues for a recommendation before you leave. If, for some good reason, you decide to quit (moving, returning to school, finding a better job, deciding to be at home with children, or the job just doesn't suit you), ask your manager or colleague (or both) to write you a recommendation before of how you leave. Even if you don't plan on changing jobs anytime soon, it's worth making sure these people can refer you if needed.
   • If you know that there will be a long time between your dismissal and your next job (because you are returning to school or going on maternity leave), ask the person to prepare a letter of recommendation. But remember that written guidelines are often not enough.
3. 3 Analyze your network of professional contacts and start expanding it. Professional networks are very helpful for job seekers. With the help of a professional network, you can find a job, as well as get the position for which you applied. Analyze who is in your professional circle now and try to expand it if necessary.
   • The network can include friends, colleagues, fellow volunteers, clients, managers, religious leaders, classmates, teachers and educators, clients and other business contacts, and so on.
   • Think about who you can turn to for advice, support; who knows what is happening in your field of activity; who knows someone to introduce you to; who can teach you something useful; who will support your good ideas. All of these people should be part of your professional circle.
   • Maintain relationships with these people as often as possible. For example, stay tuned to your contacts on LinkedIn and congratulate them on promotions and other significant events in their lives. Send them birthday and holiday cards.
   SPECIALIST'S ADVICE

   

   Colleen Campbell, PhD, PCC

   
   
   Career and Personal Trainer Dr. Colleen Campbell is the founder and CEO of Ignite Your Potential Career and Personal Development Centers in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles. Accredited by the International Federation of Coaching as a Professional Certified Coach (PCC). She received her Master's and PhD degrees in Clinical Psychology from Sofia University and has been in career coaching since 2008.

   Colleen Campbell, PhD, PCC
   Career and personal trainer

   Get creative if need be. Colin Campbell, Founder and Leader of Ignite Your Potential, says: "If you don't have a recommendation, try chat with people in the industry you want to work in. For example, if you're hoping to get a job at a startup, go to events where startups share their ideas. If you are sociable and good at presenting yourself, it is quite possible that you will have opportunitywhich you wouldn't have if you just submitted your resume. "

   
   
4. 4 Volunteer for a nonprofit organization or at a special event. But remember that most volunteer organizations themselves take referrals very seriously. If you do manage to volunteer, know that the experience will be as rewarding as a paid job. Volunteering often means working in a group or team and reporting to a leader. Volunteer colleagues and volunteer managers can provide you with recommendations.
   • Volunteering for a religious or social group will become a work experience and a source of guidance.
5. 5 Ask a former teacher or faculty member for a recommendation. If you're graduating from school or university soon, ask your former teacher or faculty member to be the person an employer can turn to for referral. These people not only saw your work, but also had the opportunity to assess your ability to work with others, be a leader, make presentations, and work under stress.
   • Ask for this before graduation. You will most likely not be the only student to make such a request.
   • Ask your teacher or instructor to write a recommendation letter for you as well. Teachers and instructors will have many students in the future. If the person writes a letter while they still remember you, it will be useful for everyone.
6. 6 Don't cut useful connections. This may sound obvious, but let's say this: It pays to maintain good relations with former managers and employers. As much as a former boss or employer annoys you, he can still be useful to you. If you wish, consider being courteous to them as a selfish act on your part in order to get a recommendation.

Method 3 of 3: How to get the job you want without referrals

1. 1 Apply for jobs even if you don't have a referral. Even if you're worried about a lack of guidance, don't let that stop you. If you don't have a referral, just try to make your application, resume and interview outstanding so that the employer wants to hire you without referrals.
   • Put your best effort into finding a job, filling out an application and interviewing, and try not to think about references.
   • When a potential employer asks for a person's contact details for referrals, discuss alternatives with them. If by this time you manage to make a strong impression, they will want to work with you without recommendations.
2. 2 Make sure your resume is flawless. A resume should always be given a lot of attention, however, if you don't have a recommendation, you should make your resume flawless. It is important that your resume stands out from others. It should look professional and should be free of grammatical and typos.
   • A curriculum vitae is often required to apply for a research or research paper. The curriculum vitae is longer than a regular resume. Do not include a CV if the employer does not have such a requirement. The hiring manager is unlikely to read it to the end.
   • A resume, like a cover letter, can be adjusted to suit the job you want to get. For example, at the beginning of your resume, you can indicate your goal, and it can change depending on the selected vacancy.
   • In today's computerized world, it is important to design your resume so that it is easy to scan. In many large organizations there are special systems that scan resumes and fill the database with the information received. The presence of your resume in such a database will increase the likelihood of getting a job.
   • Try not to go beyond two pages, especially if you are early in your career.
3. 3 Do not attach recommendations unless asked to do so. Many employers ask for recommendations only after they have read the motivation letter and resume, or even only after the interview. Don't add the phrase to your resume "Recommendations are available upon request"... If the employer wants to get a recommendation, he will say so. You should not offer this information or immediately say that you have no recommendations.
   • Phrase "Recommendations are available upon request" takes away useful space on the resume and actually communicates what is already understandable.
4. 4 Write an outstanding motivation letter. Motivation letters aren't always needed, but if you don't have a recommendation, you might find it helpful to add this letter to your resume to stand out from others. A motivation letter is your opportunity to tell the employer how your knowledge and skills compare to the job requirements for your chosen job.
   • A motivation letter should be rewritten for each new vacancy. You can copy individual fragments, but everything else should be written specifically for a specific vacancy.
   • Use keywords from the job description. Many employers use a motivation letter to determine how well the applicant has studied the vacancy text, whether he understands what the company does, and whether he was able to understand what kind of employee the company is looking for.
   • The design of the cover letter (font, indentation, etc.) should be the same as in the resume.
5. 5 Find out all you can about the company you want to work for. You will need to do your best to compensate for the lack of recommendations. This means that you will need to find out more about the company, especially if you are scheduled for an interview. It is also important to study the information about the position for which you are applying. Take notes as you analyze the information. When you're done, go back to your notes and think about the questions you would like to ask the recruiting manager.
   • The best place to start is the company's website. If the company's shares are traded on an exchange, you will have the option to download the annual and quarterly reports from the company's website. You can also read the latest press releases to get an idea of ​​what the company wants to communicate to the general public.
   • This is a great opportunity to leverage your professional connections. Ask your acquaintances what they know about the company or about the opened position.If you know someone who has worked for this company before, ask them about the culture and the hiring process.
6. 6 Prepare for interviews carefully. If you are invited for an interview, it means that you have passed the first stage and your resume has been noticed. It also means that you are getting closer to submitting a resume. Use the interview as an opportunity to show the employer how good you are at personal communication. Set aside enough time to prepare for your interview and practice giving answers. You will need to impress the hiring manager to be forgiven for the lack of referrals.
   • Search the Internet for standard interview questions.
   • Practice interviewing another person. Ask him for an honest assessment of your answers, posture, style, demeanor, and more.
   • Practice speaking without "uh" and "well".
   • Take your notes and questions with you to your interview. Don't be afraid to take notes during your interview.
   • Make sure you know how to get to your interview location, especially if you've never been there before. Visit this location in advance if required.
   • Plan to arrive for your interview ahead of time. There is no need to walk in right away and state that you are early. It's just that if you give yourself more time, you will definitely not be late.
7. 7 Choose an outfit based on the job you are applying for. Dress appropriately for each interview and consider the nature of the job and organization. Unfortunately, you don't have a recommendation that a recruiting manager might need, so you should pay special attention to your look. If you do not know what the dress code is in the company, ask in advance. Most often, a business suit is suitable for interviews, but if you are applying for a job as a truck driver or construction worker, the suit can give the wrong impression.
   • Even if the company has a lax dress code, do not wear ripped jeans, shirts with obscene words or unusual logos, shorts, open T-shirts, very short skirts, and other things that may seem unprofessional.
8. 8 Seek advice from a career development counselor. If you don't have a job right now, your employer's website may have a career section. If you are laid off, consulting a career development specialist may be part of the termination of your contract. If you have the opportunity to communicate with such a specialist, use it. This will allow you to hone your resume, motivation letter, and interview skills.
   • If your employer does not offer you the services of such a specialist as part of the layoff, ask for them.
9. 9 Take advantage of the opportunities offered by job centers. If you are graduating from high school or university, contact your study branch's employment center, if available. In these centers, job seekers are assisted in writing a resume, preparing for interviews, and also offering individual consultations for analyzing a resume or a motivation letter.
   • Many university job centers also host networking events and job fairs, allowing students to find summer jobs as well as full-time jobs.
10. 10 Send your employer a thank you letter after your interview. Even if the interview did not go well, be sure to send a message to the people who conducted it. You don't have to send a paper postcard - an email will suffice and arrive much faster. Indicate in the letter 1-2 important things that were discussed during the interview.

Tips

• Be careful. When applying for some positions, the application form may require the mandatory identification of the person who will give you the recommendation. Call the manager and ask if you can bring letters of recommendation.
• Always ask people if you can provide their contact details for recommendations.
• If you provided someone's contact information when applying for a job, notify the person who owns this information.
• If you applied for a specific position for a specific reason, share it with the person who will be referring you so that he knows what things might be discussed if contacted.
• If you give the contact information of a person who is in a different time zone, in addition to the phone number, also indicate his email address. It may be easier for an employer to contact him by mail than by phone.
• Potential employers know that you might not want your current employer to know that you are looking for a new job. If you ask not to contact your current employer, you will surely be understood and listened to.