If your employment references are willing to sing your praises, offer to draft a letter for their fine-tuning. They'll appreciate this timesaving offer. In drafting your recommendation letter for another's signature, bear these thoughts in mind.

• Identify your reference — who the person is, what the person does, and where the person does it.
• Give a clear statement of who is being recommended (you) and for what position.
• Add a narrative of the reference's relationship to you — how long, in what capacity, how closely, and what projects were shared.
• Include a time when the reference can be contacted for more information.
• Provide a flash-list of your top skills, judgment, work habits, reliability, productivity, compatibility, field knowledge, attributes, and achievements, as well as how these qualities benefit the prospective position.

If your references prefer to write their own letters, review with them the preceding points in case they have fewer, less impressive details in mind. Take no chances. A wishy-washy recommendation can cool your candidacy.