Writing a reference

[Lifeinagoldfishbowl]

I have been asked to write a reference for one of the nursery nurses I used to work with - I was the room leader at the time and just wanted to know what as a employer you are looking at in a reference.

I have my own references in my nanny portfolio it's just writing one seems a little daunting.

A basic description of duties: e.g. XX was responsible for caring for X number of children aged X to X.

Any particular skills she showed: e.g. she was cheerful and positive with the children, sensitive/honest/good at artwork/enjoyed cooking with the children.

Organisation skills - was she good at timekeeping/organising/reliable

Reasons for leaving/happy to reemploy her?

Things not to include: you should not make statements of opinion that are negative - ie if you have nothing good to say, say nothing.

I used to work in recruitment and I can tell you what agencies look for if that helps - we had a checklist to go through. Off the top of my head:

reliability, punctuality, work ethic, presentation, motivations, teamwork/leadership if relevant, trustworthiness, flexibility

Just think about what you'd want in a reference and write it for her, assuming it's truthful