Interim certificate
An interim reference is a document issued by the employer that describes & documents an existing employment relationship.
Important elements of an interim reference
A qualified interim reference has some important elements that you should pay attention to. We have listed these for you below:
- Heading: Interim certificate
- Introduction: Salutation & name, previous position and start & end of employment contract
- Job description: Task, stations & successes in the company
- Assessment of work performance & social behavior: motivation, comprehension, working methods, ability to work in a team
- Reason for issuing the certificate
- Conclusion & wishes for the future
It should be noted that there is a difference between a simple reference and a qualified reference. A simple reference only requires factual and neutral information. These are, for example, What did the employee do from when to when and what tasks did he or she perform? Further information is not included.
Another special feature is that the interim reference must always be formulated in the present tense. The reason for this is that the employment relationship has not yet ended, but continues to exist.
Request the certificate
As the reason is also stated in the reference, it makes sense to mention this to the employer. If you do not give a reason, it may be suspected that you would like to apply for a new job. As a general rule, the employer is not obliged to issue an interim reference for the employer. There is therefore no legal entitlement.
When applying, it makes sense to specify a deadline of 2 or 3 weeks for the preparation. Otherwise this may be unnecessarily delayed. If the supervisor needs more time to prepare the certificate, they must provide a reason for this.
Possible reasons for requesting a reference without arousing suspicion of termination of the employment relationship are:
- A new supervisor is appointed.
- The company is taken over.
- Job cuts are planned.
- Further training is pending, which requires a certificate.
- A longer absence is imminent (e.g. parental leave).
- A change of position within the company is imminent.
If the employment relationship is generally based on positive cooperation, there should be no problems with the application.
Secret formulations
There are always secret codes that need to be translated in references. The general rule is that a reference should be formulated “truthfully” and “favorably”. Open criticism is prohibited.
However, these benevolent formulations can sometimes be very deceptive. It may be that the reference reads well and makes a supposedly good impression, but the content is not meant to be so positive.
We have some sample formulations here:
“Ms. Müller has been employed in our company since DD.MM.YYYY.”
This sentence is written passively and may suggest that the person is not very committed.
“He/she masters new tasks for the most part without any problems and thus meets the requirements of the position.”
This statement is very negative and only makes it for a poor rating.
“The behavior towards colleagues and superiors is always friendly.”
Although it is said here that it is always friendly, it could be better. The expressions “professional or exemplary” would be better here.
