Making Contact with References
Courtesy requires that job applicants contact potential references before including them on an application. Once a student has identified a potential reference, they may be unsure how best to ask that person for their help in the job application process. Students must organize the information for their job search, gather contact information, determine how best to contact each reference, and plan what to write or say. They must also prepare to answer questions about their job search or deal with an unexpected response, such as someone who is unwilling to act as a reference. These are complex organizational and social skills that must be practiced to ensure a continued good relationship with the person acting as a reference.
Teaching Ideas
Click on the icons below for detailed information on how to teach this skill.
Guiding Questions
- Have you adequetely addressed the issues presented within the Identifying References intervention topic?
- Has the student prepared a resume to share with his references?
- After the student has prepared a resume and identified references, does she understand the reasons for needing to contact the potential references and share her resume?
- Considering the issues related to making contact with references (e.g. sharing information precisely and efficiently, obtaining necessary information from the reference, being polite in the request and expressing gratitude at the end of the exchange, etc.), what communication strategies have been used in the past (scripts, social narratives, cue cards, etc.) that might support the development of this new set of skills?
- Does the student have particular strengths or interests in a certain style of communication, such as email, telephone, or in-person? If so, can those strengths be adjusted to support the other styles?
Visual Supports
Graphic organizers can provide a student with a way to represent and organize concepts, thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and potential outcomes.
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Social narratives are a set of tools that visually represent social situations and appropriate social behaviors. The social narrative connects the important details of a setting or social situation to support the student in understanding the social context and in developing a new social skill.
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Visual Cues are learning materials that students can keep with them to help guide them through real life situations.
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