Thank you all for reading. Today I’ll be featuring a guest blog written by my granddaughter, Haley J. Ledford – I think she has a great young-persons perspective on this topic!
We’ve all heard the stories of people being fired from their jobs because of something they posted on Facebook or Twitter and it has made us all somewhat more conscious of what we say online. It seems, however, that in light of the social media boom, we’ve forgotten to be conscious of what we say and do in real life – and not just online. If you can get fired for something on Facebook, you certainly can lose out on opportunities for things you do in real life, and that’s why good references matter.
This is not your parent’s pep talk about managing a credit card so you have a good credit score, and it’s not your grandma’s sermon on being a good person either. We all have our moments where we don’t behave as we should, but make it a habit and soon no one will be able to vouch for your character; no one can give you a good reference. When you want to rent an apartment, you need references. When you find an opening for a job so much better than the one you have now, you need references. When you are in the running for most adult things, you need references – and good ones at that. If your only reference is your old landlord who kicked you out for noise complaints, you’re out of luck.
Yes, “adulting” is hard, but part of “adulting” is building references of your character and your ability to act responsibly. Think of it as your stats for how good you are at “adulting”. If your references read more like a rap sheet than glowing praise, know now that it’s time to suit up and take things more seriously. It only gets harder getting older, so don’t stop yourself from realizing your dreams by getting poor references everywhere you end up. References matter because in the same way you don’t want Facebook to get you fired, you don’t want your actions to get you denied from your next home.
“Why Good References Matter”
By: Haley J. Ledford
Walla Walla Real Estate 