Employment reference letter
Encyclopedia
An employment reference letter (German
: Arbeitszeugnis) is a letter from an employer about an employee's qualities. This letter could then be used to help the employee find a new job at another company. Germany
and Switzerland
are the only countries in Europe
where employees can legally claim an employment reference, including the right to a correct, unambiguous and benevolent appraisal.
This language has established itself as an unwritten code in the employment world. Its purpose is to give even weakly performing employees a letter of recommendation that does not sound negative and would hinder his/her future career. However, the fact that every employer understands the hidden message behind the euphemistically glazed-over descriptions, which use very fine verbal gradations to reflect the actual work performance, means that the above purpose is not served any more.
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Arbeitszeugnis) is a letter from an employer about an employee's qualities. This letter could then be used to help the employee find a new job at another company. Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
are the only countries in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
where employees can legally claim an employment reference, including the right to a correct, unambiguous and benevolent appraisal.
Content
The employment reference letter could cover topics such as:- the employee's tasks and responsibilities
- the duration of employment
- the employee's abilities, knowledge, creativity, intelligence
- the employee's qualifications (foreign languages, special skills)
- the employee's social attitude
- reason(s) of employment termination
Language
Although some reference letters do give explicit grades on these points (e.g. excellent, good, poor), most express these in an implicit way using a unique language:- Excellent = stets zu unserer vollsten Zufriedenheit erledigt
- Good = stets zu unserer vollen Zufriedenheit
- Satisfactory = zu unserer vollen Zufriedenheit
- Adequate = zu unserer Zufriedenheit
- Poor = hat sich bemüht, den Anforderungen gerecht zu werden
This language has established itself as an unwritten code in the employment world. Its purpose is to give even weakly performing employees a letter of recommendation that does not sound negative and would hinder his/her future career. However, the fact that every employer understands the hidden message behind the euphemistically glazed-over descriptions, which use very fine verbal gradations to reflect the actual work performance, means that the above purpose is not served any more.
External links
- arbeitszeugnis.de – PDF file
- Info-Arbeitszeugnis – Secret language
- Codes or Language used in German reference letters