What do you hope your next job will be? Can you think of 3-5 people who could speak about you in ways that would help you get that job?

A “professional reference” is a particular kind of communication (email, phone, or letter) in which someone you have a professional relationship with vouches for you.

As a college student, you’re most likely to be asked for references when applying

• for a job or internship
• for a scholarship or fellowship
• to get into grad or professional school

Typically, the kinds of references you’ll need fall into 2 categories.

1. letters of recommendation, which are usually requested up front. These require your references to write letters.
2. conversational or interview-style references, where you provide the references’ contact info and someone reaches out to them to ask about you.

Potential references are networking gold. As you grow your network and make your way through college, be thinking about who could be a good reference.

Some examples include current or former

• teachers and professors
• advisors or leaders of clubs and activities you’ve participated in (or coaches of sports teams)
• supervisors in jobs you’ve had

Your references don’t all need to be able to talk about the same thing—if anything, try to find references that could talk about different sets of strengths you could bring to a position.

It doesn’t hurt to think of everyone you engage with as a potential reference. That’s true in a positive sense: anyone you work with could be just the right person to endorse you for your dream job. But it’s also a reminder to stay kind and professional all the time—it’s a small world and you never know who’s talking to whom.

This may seem obvious, but the first step is asking if they’d be okay recommending you. (If you don’t ask, they may be unprepared and give you a not-so-great reference.)

If you’re asking someone you talk with regularly, asking may be as easy as sending them a text or raising it whenever you’re next talking; you can follow up with more details afterwards.

For people you have a more formal relationship with or haven’t talked to in awhile, set up your ask more thoroughly. Compose an email that briefly reintroduces yourself, your connection to the reference, and your situation before asking if they’d be willing to be a reference.

Assuming the answer is yes, tell them what the format is (e.g. letter, call from employer). If you need to list a reference for a job application, confirm what contact info you should use.

Note about timing: talk to refs as early as possible (try to give letter-writers 2 weeks), but plan to follow up later or remind them they might be contacted.

Once you get their agreement to be a reference, it’s your job to help them understand the scope of the request. Follow up by sending them the position description, saying why you’re interested, and how it’s related to your experience with the reference.

No matter how well they know you, don’t assume that they know what aspect of your work it would be best to highlight. In fact, the better they know you, the more topics they’ll be able to address—and the more you need to help them identify which ones to focus on.

Depending on the person, you might be able to say “I’m hoping you’ll talk about …” and then name a few things or offer a brief bullet list.

If you’re worried that’s too pushy, say something like “this position is looking for XYZ, which reminded me of the time we worked together on ABC” and let them fill in the rest.

Make sure to thank the person who provided the reference as soon as possible. If you find out that you got the position, make sure to reach out to them again and let them know.

Chances are, if you’ve approached them once, you’ll want to be able to approach them again. Whenever you have the opportunity, make sure to communicate to them that they are a valued member of your network.