I have questions about etiquette when asking for a job reference for a research assistant position:
Feel free to answer as many or as few as you like.
1. THANKING
How and when do you thank your references? After they serve as a reference once, even if you still need them as a reference because you didn't get the job? Do you send cards or buy small gifts?
2. ASKING
Do you have a great way of asking for a reference? (This is one of those moments that many people find awkward.)
3. MULTIPLICATION
Is there anything wrong with asking someone to be a reference, and then using that references for multiple jobs, not just a couple? Overusing them? (My thinking is that being a reference may be hard work filling out all these forms and taking calls from prospective employers.)
4. WHO AND WHO NOT
Would you ask for a reference from someone on your same level? From someone you spend a lot of time with at work who is not your boss? From a friend or family member? A student? A boss who doesn't know you well personally? (Example, if you are an ER volunteer and you work and enjoy chatting with sitters, other volunteers, nurses, and front desk staff, and they've all observed your work, would you ask any of them for a reference?)
(Different occupations might have different expectations or social rules.)
Feel free to answer as many or as few as you like.
1. THANKING
How and when do you thank your references? After they serve as a reference once, even if you still need them as a reference because you didn't get the job? Do you send cards or buy small gifts?
2. ASKING
Do you have a great way of asking for a reference? (This is one of those moments that many people find awkward.)
3. MULTIPLICATION
Is there anything wrong with asking someone to be a reference, and then using that references for multiple jobs, not just a couple? Overusing them? (My thinking is that being a reference may be hard work filling out all these forms and taking calls from prospective employers.)
4. WHO AND WHO NOT
Would you ask for a reference from someone on your same level? From someone you spend a lot of time with at work who is not your boss? From a friend or family member? A student? A boss who doesn't know you well personally? (Example, if you are an ER volunteer and you work and enjoy chatting with sitters, other volunteers, nurses, and front desk staff, and they've all observed your work, would you ask any of them for a reference?)
(Different occupations might have different expectations or social rules.)
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