Work/Academic References: Does designation of the reference matter, and what are they asked?

[IT7]

Hi,

Several Vacation Scheme/Training Contract applications ask for work and academic references. I was wondering, does the designation of your reference make a difference to your application? i.e. if you have a reference from a Partner, does that give more weightage to your application than a reference from an Associate? Similarly, does a professor's reference hold more weightage than an associate professor? Further, are the academic credentials of the referee, i.e. the place they studied at, their research experience, taken into account at all?

Additionally, what are these work and academic references asked when they are contacted? Are they asked to give a reference letter/character reference, with details about the individual's performance? Or merely confirm basic details, like you worked at xyz at these particular dates?

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

Hi,

Several Vacation Scheme/Training Contract applications ask for work and academic references. I was wondering, does the designation of your reference make a difference to your application? i.e. if you have a reference from a Partner, does that give more weightage to your application than a reference from an Associate? Similarly, does a professor's reference hold more weightage than an associate professor? Further, are the academic credentials of the referee, i.e. the place they studied at, their research experience, taken into account at all?

Additionally, what are these work and academic references asked when they are contacted? Are they asked to give a reference letter/character reference, with details about the individual's performance? Or merely confirm basic details, like you worked at xyz at these particular dates?

No doesn’t matter at all - job title/experience of the referee doesn’t influence the reference.

The nature of the reference can vary significantly from firm to firm. Sometimes it’s just a request to verify your educational achievements/grades and your employment. Sometimes it can be more of a character reference. Just because a firm requests a more detailed or subjective reference, doesn’t mean that the referee has to provide it though. They could just choose to provide a factual reference that verifies your information you presented on your application.

 

[IT7]

No doesn’t matter at all - job title/experience of the referee doesn’t influence the reference.

The nature of the reference can vary significantly from firm to firm. Sometimes it’s just a request to verify your educational achievements/grades and your employment. Sometimes it can be more of a character reference. Just because a firm requests a more detailed or subjective reference, doesn’t mean that the referee has to provide it though. They could just choose to provide a factual reference that verifies your information you presented on your application.

This is extremely helpful Jessica, thank you so much!