The Job reference is, together with the letter of application and the curriculum vitae, the business card when it comes to looking for a new job.
The employer’s reference follows a form which is standardized in the meantime.
In addition to the self-assessments, the personnel manager gets an impression of how you are seen by others and what experiences you have had to date. Also possibly by which soft skills you distinguish yourself.
Briefly& concise: structure of the reference
Yes, according to Section 109 of the Trade, Commerce and Industry Regulation Act, every employee has a right to a written reference upon termination of employment.
When drawing up an employer’s reference, it is not necessary to follow a DIN standard. However, the certificate should be issued in written form and signed by the employer’s own hand.
Information on which points should be included in an employer’s reference can be found here.
In the following, we have compiled some important information for you, which is primarily about the structure and formal aspects of a reference. What must a reference contain? What structure should a reference have?
The job reference: structure and form
In the best case, an employer’s reference contains all the essential elements so that a future employer can get as good a comprehensive impression as possible when applying for a job of your performance and conduct can provide. This means that all relevant facts and evaluations should be part of this document. At first it is not so much about the formulations, which are meanwhile also very cliched and standardized.
Important! Upon termination of employment, an employee shall Entitlement to a written reference (see § 109 of the trade regulations), at least to a simple certificate with information on the nature and duration of the activity.
But how exactly must a reference look? Which concrete contents are obligatory with the employer’s reference? Is there a sample?
General information about the content of a reference
First of all, a reference must always be in written form be given. An exclusively electronic form is not permissible, according to Trade regulations § 103. Besides the Company name should also company address be named.
Important! Your certificate must Signed by the employer or supervisor in his or her own hand become. A facsimile or even a scanned signature are not permitted.
The content of the reference is not prescribed by law, but it must be issued in writing in any case.
Also Employees with authority to issue instructions You can sign the employer’s reference. Care must be taken to ensure that the Function or position indicated with will be. In addition, the Date of issue always be included. It marks at the same time the last day of the existing employment relationship. These statements are relevant for both a simple and a qualified reference.
You should know that a qualified certificate can be issued at the employee’s request and usually contains more detailed information about the employee’s evaluation compared to a simple certificate. The Abilities, achievements and the commitment should be formulated as objectively as possible on the part of the employer be.
Generally speaking: A testimonial should benevolent and truthful be designed. Among other things, attention should be paid to the so-called reference language, which now provides its own semantics.
Job reference: content and structure – what to look for?
There are no DIN standards for the preparation of an employer’s reference, nevertheless some points are standardized. These apply equally to the termination of an employment relationship as well as to an interim report. The basic content is very similar in both cases.
All this must be included:
Some aspects should be taken into account in the structure of the certificate.
- Heading
- Input formula
- Company outline
- Description of tasks
- Performance appraisal
- Management performance
- Behavioral assessment
- Reason for termination/ reason for awarding a reference
- Closing formula
- Signature and date
This structure of a reference is an example. Different information may be provided. But the aspects mentioned here are usually decisive.
The reference may contain Letterhead contain. This should contain the full details of the employer. But they can also be listed at the end. This depends on the specific handling of the company. Possibly there is even a special company paper. Important! The reference is not a letter.
More detailed explanations on the content of the job reference
The heading should indicate the type of reference – reference, work reference, interim reference.
In the company sketch it is mainly a matter of briefly describing the branch in which the activity is to be located.
This is followed by the most important part of the contents of a reference – the Description of the tasks. The activities are complete and clear to describe. A future employer should be able to get a complete picture of the job and the field of activity. Here it is quite clear Objectivity The presentation in the center.
This also concerns the points of hierarchical position and the development of the employee in the company, which should be shown here with. aspect can be included in Main and secondary activities be subdivided.
The structure of the reference, especially if it is a qualified one, includes an assessment of conduct.
On the following point, the two types of a job reference differ. In the content of the qualified reference is the Performance appraisal of enormous importance. This is not only a Assessment of the way the task was performed.
A reference must contents to the motivation, to the readiness, to the vocational specialized knowledge as well as the mental abilities contain. There should be statements on the Resilience and reliability be made. Any, demonstrable work successes of the employee are to be emphasized.
That is with the employer’s reference the following contents are relevant regarding the performance evaluation:
- The willingness
- The ability
- The knowledge
- The how
At executives should contain statements about the leadership performance are made.
In addition to the hard facts just mentioned, a further central aspect is the question of the behavior of the employee. In the content of the qualified testimony this is inevitable. This is about the behavior in the face of superiors, colleagues and other employees, but also to customers and business partners. As the recipient of the testimonial, you should make sure that one-time incidents or misconduct do not occur.
The point in the testimony content – Testimonial award reason – is especially relevant for the content in an interim testimony.
The Final sentence is not to be demanded from the employee according to jurisdiction. It can be included and then usually contains a Expressing gratitude for the cooperation as well as regretting the termination of the employment relationship. In addition go with it Congratulations for the future one. However, if this phrase is missing, it is usually interpreted rather negatively.
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