Professional Development Journal #4

Professional Development Journal #4

            A recommendation refers to a letter supporting a person or candidate’s application for a specific job, program, scholarship, or any other opportunity. On the other hand, a reference refers to a general endorsement of the character, skill, or knowledge of a person to a third party (Young et al., 2018).

           One should do some things when asking a person to be a reference for an opportunity. One important thing is to inquire from a person before including them as a reference. Provide some details to a reference when asking. These details may be shared in form of a polite email or phone call. It is also to mention the opportunity to the reference (Doll, 2018).

           Some of the barriers to employment I anticipate are criminal history, both physical and mental/intellectual disability, alcohol and drug addiction, welfare dependence in the long term, homelessness, lack of marketable skills, lack of adequate computer skills, and poor interview skills (Young et al., 201).

           The specific phrases or words from the job description/web presence that stands out as important are synonyms and acronyms about a specific job or level of learning. For example, what stands out is the specificity of the words and phrases such as Bachelor of Arts and B.A. These words means are fairly similar. I also consider job titles as important. 

           The three questions I could ask the employer are as follows:

• What do the daily responsibilities of this role look like?
• What does success appear in this position, and how is it measured?
• What qualifications and training would the ideal candidate have for this position?