Reference generator in short

Employer¡¯s references (job references) and letters of recommendation are important documents in a professional and academic career. ETH Zurich employees are entitled to a job reference (employer¡¯s reference) or interim reference, which provide details of the type and duration of their employment relationship and information in favourable terms about their performance and conduct.

To support supervisors in writing references, Human Resources is providing you as line manager with a ¡®reference generator¡¯. It can be used to write references for all categories of employees with academic, administrative and technical, and IT support and management roles. However, the texts generated provide only a basis. To tailor the reference to the particular member of staff, editorial adjustments need to be done.

If you have any questions about reference assessments or the wording used in references, your personnel manager will be happy to help you with this and advise you on legally acceptable customary practices.

In the international employment environment, mainly in an academic context, letters of reference/recommendation are often requested. Would you like to know more about how to compose such a letter and have examples of suitable wordings? You can use and adapt the examples for your own purposes.