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
