3 min read
Despite all the fears of a recession in Germany, qualified specialists are still in high demand. Companies receive few applications from specialists, and active recruiting through in-house active sourcers or external headhunters is often necessary. What is increasingly noticeable is that fewer and fewer documents are requested, often only the CV. And for good reason. Where a German employment reference ("Arbeitszeugnis") was once an important part of application documents, it is increasingly secondary.
Why? We discuss this in this article.
Why employment references exist
All employees are entitled to an interim and a final reference for a job. These serve both as proof of employment (simple reference) and as an assessment of the work carried out (qualified reference), to help employees apply successfully again. Professionally written employment references are standardised, which means they begin with a description of duties, followed by a performance appraisal, and end with a note of thanks and good wishes for the future. The wording used in an employment reference resembles a code that only experienced recruiters can interpret correctly. (Länzlinger, 2022)
This is because references must not contain negative wording. Nor may they contain contradictory or ambiguous statements. That is what German employment law prescribes. (Haufe Online Redaktion, 2022)
Employment references: pros and cons
What a few years ago was still a credible document that could not be missing from an application, and which ultimately had a strong influence on the chances of being hired, is now increasingly overshadowed by negative aspects.
As already explained, the employment reference is meant to serve as proof of the work carried out at a company and, in the case of a qualified reference, also to reflect the applicant's performance. For that, however, it must be written professionally and objectively. There are now many IT programmes that do this automatically, but they are only as good as the people using them. Ideally, automatically generated texts should be proofread again by experienced recruiters and adapted where necessary. (Süddeutsche Zeitung, 2022)
In small companies in particular, writing a reference is still a problem today, as there is often no HR department and therefore the necessary expertise is missing. As a result, codes are used incorrectly, and standard phrases obscure recommendations. What is well meant can quickly be misinterpreted in the eyes of experienced recruiters.
Another important point is objectivity. It is sometimes difficult to assess an employee's performance over many years, with possibly changing tasks, on a single page. If the end of the employment is due to a termination, regardless of which side initiated it, objectivity quickly suffers. If the employer dismisses the employee, references are often worded extremely generously, purely as a precaution to avoid employment law disputes. If, on the other hand, the employee resigns, employers are often less pleased and tend to word the reference more critically. (Vollmer, 2017)
Conclusion
Employment references are still relevant in 2022, particularly for public sector employers. However, they should be treated with caution.
Yes, an employment reference confirms that someone worked at a company and, in the case of a qualified reference, also contains statements about performance. The person who wrote the reference, however, may not have been qualified to do so, or may have been influenced in their objectivity.
That is why we at CareerPeakr also look at the CV first and check it against what the applicants tell us in a personal conversation. Here it is quick to tell whether someone really has the experience and qualifications described in the CV, by asking for concrete examples and having them described in detail.
If in doubt, it also helps to ask for references. Abroad, these are already commonplace.
Sources:
Haufe Online Redaktion. (11 October 2022). Retrieved from https://www.haufe.de/personal/arbeitsrecht/die-beurteilungsgrundsaetze-im-arbeitszeugnis_76_322150.html
Hunziker, R. (22 December 2021). Retrieved from https://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/arbeitszeugnisse-haben-ausgedient-757837633029
Länzlinger, J. (1 March 2022). Bewerbung.com. Retrieved from Bewerbung.com: https://bewerbung.com/arbeitszeugnis-stellenwert/
Süddeutsche Zeitung. (18 July 2022). https://www.sueddeutsche.de. Retrieved from https://www.sueddeutsche.de: https://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/arbeit-wie-wichtig-sind-arbeitszeugnisse-noch/
Vollmer, A. (21 July 2017). welt.de. Retrieved from https://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/webwelt/article166867159/Warum-ein-Arbeitszeugnis-nicht-viel-wert-ist.html
