Many of your students are at that critical juncture in their college experience when these topics are highly relevant including:

• Writing a compelling resume/cover letter
• Job search strategies
• Career exploration
• Preparing for interviews
• Networking
• Using the SPARK Grant

Your Career Coach liaison is available to give classroom presentations on these topics and more and to make students aware of the opportunities available to them.

Look for your Career Coach liaison here to request a presentation.

• Students can set up a file with our office to retain letters of reference.
• All letters received by Career Services are optically scanned, indexed and stored on a secure server.
• For this reason, please submit letters of recommendation with a BLACK and WHITE college logo; color does not scan. (If you need electronic letterhead, use Marketing and Communications' ticket form.)
• Students using the office's credential service can have their letters sent via email, postal mail, fax or have them uploaded to certain online application web sites.
• Students can choose to designate these letters as "confidential" meaning not subject to their review. However, you should not assume this is so unless the student gives you a signed form from our office to that effect. Absent that signed form, students have access to letters written about them and kept by Career Services.

1. Verify Consent - Prior to providing a reference, obtain consent from the person about whom the reference will be given. If you are unaware that the job applicant has named you as a reference, ask the prospective employer for verification that the individual has given consent for the reference. Such verification could include a copy of the student's signed application listing you as a reference, your name listed as a reference on the student's resume, or verbal confirmation by the student to you.
   
   
2. Reference Type - Discuss the type of reference that you will provide with the person who asks you to be a reference. If you cannot provide a good reference, be honest with the individual. Don't promise a "glowing reference" and then provide merely a "glimmer."
   
   
3. Providing Non-Confidential Letters Directly to Students - Information coming soon.
   
   
4. Be Specific - If possible, relate your reference letter to the specific position for which the person applied and to the work that the applicant will perform. Give specific examples to illustrate your points.
   
   
5. Stay Formal - Informal lunch discussions or "off the record" telephone conversations with prospective employers regarding a person's performance should be avoided. There is no such thing as "off the record."
   
   
6. Just the Facts - Information given should be factual, based upon personal knowledge/observation of the person through direct contact with the person or obtained from the person's personnel record or student record.
   
   Avoid giving personal opinions or feelings. If you make subjective statements or give opinions because they are requested, clearly identify them as opinions and not as fact. If you give an opinion explain the incident or circumstances on which you base the opinion.
   
   Don't guess or speculate-if someone asks you questions regarding personal characteristics about which you have no knowledge, state that you have no knowledge.
   
   
7. Confidentiality - When writing a confidential reference letter, we suggest you state in the letter, "This information is confidential, should be treated as such, and is provided at the request of (name of student or applicant), who has asked me to serve as a reference." Statements such as these give justification for the communication and leave no doubt that the information was not given to hurt a person's reputation.
   
   
8. Personal Privacy - Do not include information that might indicate an individual's race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, citizenship status, sex (unless by the individual's name it is obvious), or marital status. Do not base an opinion of performance on stereotypes about an individual, for instance "for a woman, she excels in math."
   
   
9. Documentation - Document all information you release. It is a good idea to save copies of each letter you prepare.

Dear [Name of Employer]:

This reference letter is provided at the written request of [name of student], who has asked me to serve as a reference on [his/her] behalf. It is my understanding that [name of student] is being considered by your organization for the position of [job title]. Please be advised that the information contained in this letter is confidential and should be treated as such. The information should not be disclosed to [name of student, if student has waived access] or anyone in your organization who would not be involved in the hiring decision regarding this individual. Additionally, the information should not be disclosed to anyone outside of your organization without the consent of the student.

I have known [name of student] for the past [number of months, semesters, years] as [he/she] has taken the following courses which I teach: [list courses, give brief description of content of course]. As [his/her] professor, I have had an opportunity to observe the student's participation and interaction in class and to evaluate the student's knowledge of the subject matter. I would rate the student's overall performance in these subjects as [below average, average, above average]. This is evidenced by [his/her] grades—[state the grades].

[One or two specific examples of the student's performance may be appropriate.] As part of [his/her] grade in [name of course], the student was required to prepare a paper. The paper was designed to measure the student's ability to research, to analyze the results of the research, and to write. [Discuss how the paper submitted by the student indicated to you the student's skills in these areas.] Based upon this, I rate the student's skills [indicate rating].

[It may be appropriate to give specific examples about the student's area of expertise.]

Based upon the student's academic performance and my understanding of the position for which the student is applying, I believe the student would perform [place overall evaluation here].

If you would like to discuss this further, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

- See more at: http://www.naceweb.org/gg/faculty-reference-letter/#sthash.ApnDp6Zm.dpuf