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Professional References
Before you apply for a contract it’s a good idea to ensure that your professional employment references are in order. If you don’t have suitable employment references to hand you may find that an Agent or Client opts for a rival contractor if the assignment is due to start at short notice.If you are either looking for a contract or have recently found a contract call Commonwealth Contractors now on 0800 294 4388 to find out how we can help! If you are looking for a contract one of our experienced Account Managers may be able to provide advice on a CV or reference. If you have already secured a contract we can help you to work out the best contract solution to use, Umbrella Company or Contractor Limited Company. For more information call now on 0800 294 4388 or Submit your details and we will get right back to you!
What Information should an Employment Reference Include?
The information required for an employment reference often depends upon the job that is undertaken. For technical IT roles it is important that a reference includes details of technologies and technical skills used e.g. databases, programming languages, operating systems, development tools etc. For less technical roles a description of responsibilities, business benefits brought etc would be ideal.An IT Employment Reference should include details of:
- Employer details: At the top of the page the employer should head the letter and confirm the name and address of the company. The reference must be on company letterhead. A prospective client or agency would normally be suspicious of a reference provided on blank A4 paper.
- The date the reference was provided
- The dates relating to the start and end of employment: Ideally start and end dates should confirm the actual dates on which the employment started and ended (e.g. 21st August 2007) however it may be possible to provide just the month and year (e.g. Aug 07)
- Position held: It is very important for a reference to include details of position held by the employee. If multiple positions have been held it is either a goo idea to list all positions (or you could request several references for each position held)
- Technical Skills: For references in Information Technology technical skills are a must. It is a good idea to split out technical skills into groups such as programming languages, databases, development tools etc. This will help a prospective employer to quickly check that you have experience in a certain area
- Responsibilities: Information should be provided on the type of responsibilities you held in your previous role e.g. you managed a team of 10 programmers. It is important to ensure that your CV is accurate so that when it comes to providing a reference the two documents match up.
- Reason for leaving
- Referees Information: The reference should be provided by a senior figure within the organisation in which you used to work. The referee should provide his or her name, signature and position
For a downloadable example of a Professional Employment Reference click here
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