Colleague from previous firm agreed to write reference but...

Hi Monkeys, 

Have been reaching out to former colleagues as I'm recruiting for new positions currently after lay-offs. Someone I worked closely with agreed to write a reference for me (given I wrote the draft) however said they would only be okay with me providing it to a hiring manager if I gave them the hiring manager's email address. 

Is this because they are not happy actually recommending me and are too scared to say upfront or is this totally normal. If I give them the email of the hiring manager will they actually send the draft they agreed to or will they try to fuck me over and send a shitty reference?

I'm a junior so haven't had the pleasure to write reference letters yet.

Would love to hear your thoughts.

3 Comments
 
Most Helpful

This is not how I’ve done references before. You correctly asked permission for them to provide a reference, but the next step should be providing your references’ contact information to the recruiter / hiring manager who then calls your reference. If you know this person well then they’ll just answer a few questions about you. You don’t need to write a script but definitely let them know what you’ve been highlighting from your resume during interviews.

I was laid off late 2022 and my associate and MD gave references in this manner. I emailed / caught up with them first to ask permission then provided their emails to the company where I was interviewing.

 

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