Choose Your References Wisely

📚Once upon a time, I was teaching an in person job readiness bootcamp cohort.

😳On day 1, one of the women in my class didn't show up. ➡️No emails ➡️ No phone calls ➡️No text messages ➡️No carrier pigeons ➡️ She just didn't attend.

😳Class 2, she was late.

😳On Session 3, she asked me to serve as a reference for her for a job she was applying to. Really? You can't make this stuff up!

🤷‍♀️What on earth could I possible say that would both be honest and positive. Certainly there must have been someone that knew her better, in a professional capacity, and had something meaningful to say.

Lessons...

✅Choose your references wisely. Do not look for people that are "willing" to write a recommendation for you or serve as a reference that don't genuinely know you. In fact, you shouldn't trust the integrity of anyone that would blindly write a recommendation for you, without knowing you.

✅Do not do a "mutual admiration" I'll write a LinkedIn recommendation for you and you write one for me, at the same time, as it screams "favor" instead of sincerity.

✅Writing recommendations is a fantastic way to show appreciation for another individual. Write them generously for people that you are happy to endorse. Be mindful about writing them for someone that you don't truly know, as your reputation is on the line when you endorse someone.

❤ Cindy