Handling requests for references

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This question came up in a T4T alumni question and answer session (“How do I join those??” You take a four-week class with T4T!). “I’m applying to agencies, and lots of them ask for references; it seems weird to provide references from agencies I already work for, because I’m not sure that my current clients would be thrilled to know that I’m applying for other work, and it seems odd for the new potential client to know who I already work for.”

I agree on all fronts, and direct clients ask for references too, so let’s break this down.

First: Make a habit of getting ahead of this request

The best defense is a good offense, and very few of us make a habit of asking clients for a testimonial or letter of recommendation, even when we know that they’re happy with our work. Get in the habit of doing this:

• Whenever a client says something complimentary about your work, or you get the sense that they really like you, act on it! Ask for a LinkedIn recommendation (always assure them that it’s no problem if they’re not able to do this), or a testimonial, or a brief letter of recommendation. Ask on LinkedIn only if you’re OK with it being public knowledge that you work with this client. Otherwise ask for a testimonial and anonymize it when you post it on your website (or elsewhere). Just list it as “Translation agency project manager,” or “Law firm paralegal,” or whatever the person’s title is.
• Ask clients ahead of time if you can list them as references. Again, this doesn’t get around the issue of other clients knowing who you already work for, but it gets around the issue of scrambling at the 11th hour when you need a reference and want to make sure it’s OK with them.
• Keep a running list of your projects/assignments and the subject matter. There’s nothing worse than being sure you’ve done work similar to what a potential client wants, and in the moment (“Tell us about your experience working with clients in XYZ sector”) you draw a complete blank. Again, be prepared before the request comes in!

Second: In my opinion, colleagues make better references

To me, here’s the heart of the issue. I have very few clients (not zero, but very few) who understand my source and target languages well enough to really comment on the quality of my work. Of course, there are tons of other factors involved. Is this person pleasant to work with? Do they meet deadlines? Are they reliable, do they follow directions, do they get along with the client’s other translators and interpreters, etc. etc. But I would argue that in general, colleagues make better references, because they can comment on the above factors, plus the actual quality of your work (what a concept!).

References from colleagues have a few other advantages:

• Your close colleagues probably already know who you work for, so there’s not really a confidentiality issue
• You can pre-emptively ask a couple of close colleagues whether you can list them as a reference if the need comes up. I always add, “You can also feel free to list me as a reference, and you don’t need to ask every time, it’s fine with me in general.“
• You can tell them what to say. Clarification: you don’t get to dictate what the person says about you; that’s the point of the reference. But you can give them some hints that might be weird to tell a client: “This potential client has high-volume projects, can you comment on how I’ve never missed a deadline.” “This potential client needs someone for bidirectional interpreting assignments, can you comment on that assignment we did together where we worked in both directions.” That kind of thing can be really helpful.

Asking for references is, in my opinion, reasonable. Clients want to know what other people say about you, not just what you say about yourself. And, being asked for references can be stressful! I hope that these tips can help smooth the process at least somewhat.