What your reference really says
Reading references correctly
Whether you are changing jobs or positions, the reference is of great importance for employees and recruiters. An employment reference or interim reference not only serves as written proof of work performance, but is also an important tool for professional development. After all, a good reference can open the door to your new dream job.
However, reading and understanding your own reference correctly can be a real challenge. References are often written in a special form and contain hidden information. We will explain to you which elements an employer reference should definitely contain and how you can easily decode the hidden messages from HR staff.
The importance of references
Job references are often seen as a formality by employees. If you change position in the company or even employer, it is good manners to issue a reference or interim reference. The reference is actually an important part of your application documents and reflects more than just your professional career. Recruiters use references primarily to get an idea of the applicant's skills, experience and personality. Recruiters in particular have a trained eye for what makes a good or bad reference. Employees should therefore also familiarize themselves with how a reference should be checked and understood in order to check their own.
The components of job references
First of all, a distinction must be made between the interim reference, the simple reference and the qualified reference. While the interim reference, which is issued when an employee changes position or takes parental leave, and the qualified reference contain a detailed description of the employee's working methods and social skills, the simple reference only provides brief information about the nature of the job and the period of employment. You should therefore make sure that you are issued with a qualified reference, especially if you change jobs.
A qualified job reference or interim reference should contain the following elements:
1) Header, title and personal data
This is actually a formality. Nevertheless, make sure that it is clearly recognizable on the reference by whom and for whom the reference was issued. This should include the name of the issuing company (including address if applicable) as well as your personal details, so that HR staff can later assign the reference exactly.
2) Period of employment and job description
This section should provide information on how long you worked for the employer. It should also contain a clear and specific description of the activities performed. The types of activities are often listed here as bullet points. However, some recruiters also formulate these in the form of a continuous text.
3) Assessment of performance and working methods
Alongside the assessment of social skills, the assessment of performance is the most important section of any reference. Here you should pay particular attention to the way it is worded. In most cases, words such as "very good", "good" or "satisfactory" are used here, which can easily be translated into school grades.
4) Social skills and ability to work in a team
In this section, recruiters describe how you have behaved in your workplace and towards your colleagues. An interested recruiter will pay particular attention here to whether conclusions can be drawn about your personality.
5) Conclusion and wishes
In the final formulation, the employee is given wishes for the future career path. Even these can have positive or negative connotations and should be carefully scrutinized.
The secret language of recruiters - how to decode the reference letter
By law, references must be worded favorably. As a result, over time a kind of secret language has become established in the wording of references in order to cloak both good and bad assessments in a positive light. If you want to know whether your reference is actually good, you should therefore pay attention to the way it is worded.
Basically, the ratings in a reference correspond to the classic school grades from one to six. Of course, you can now search for the terms "very good" or "good". However, it is often not that easy. To help you find your way around, we have created a brief overview of sample formulations that you can use to decipher your reference.
School grade |
Formulations (examples) |
"very good" (1) |
"The tasks were always fulfilled to our complete satisfaction." "Your work results were always of very good quality." Keywords: "complete satisfaction", "very good", "always exemplary", "outstanding", "perfect", "very great commitment", "in the shortest possible time" |
"good" (2) |
"The tasks were always fulfilled to our complete satisfaction." "Your work results were always of good quality." Keywords: "good", "full satisfaction", "in a short time", "comprehensive", "careful", "great commitment" |
"satisfactory" (3) |
"The tasks were completed to our complete satisfaction." "Even technically demanding tasks were completed in a reasonable time." Key words: "flawless" "self-motivated", "appropriate" |
"sufficient" (4) |
"The tasks were completed to her satisfaction." "She completed the tasks assigned to her in a reasonable amount of time." Key words: "satisfactory", "knowledge in relevant subject areas", |
"inadequate" (5) |
"The tasks were generally completed to satisfaction." "She was quite careful and independent in the delivery of her work results." Keywords: "without blame", "not to be criticized", "quite", "no difficulties" |
"unsatisfactory" (6) |
The sections and key phrases mentioned above are completely missing. |
In addition to the reason for termination, the final paragraph of the reference also contains the regret formula and future wishes. In an application process, it is of course interesting for recruiters to find out why the previous employment relationship ended. What is almost more important here is the form in which the regret about the resignation is formulated: "We very much regret that we have to let go of an always committed top performer with his resignation" corresponds to the grade "very good".
Overall, job references are an important tool for documenting your professional past and opening new doors for your future career path. Therefore, when reviewing your reference, pay attention to the above-mentioned structure and the type of wording. If you feel that the wording does not adequately represent your professional profile, it may be worth approaching your (former) employer openly or contacting an expert for career advice to optimize your reference.

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